From: fedora@fea.st   
      
   On Fri, 30 Jan 2026 10:27:40 -0500, Noah Sombrero    
   wrote:   
      
   >On Fri, 30 Jan 2026 02:11:00 -0800, dart200   
   > wrote:   
   >   
   >>we finally invented a type of good that has a zero-cost to copy, and we   
   >>still can't seem to figure out how to build a production system where   
   >>all the products are freely distributed, cause we're so concerned about   
   >>getting payment upfront   
   >   
   >So there you have it.  This is why commercialism always fails.   
   >Everything must be paid for because we all must pay each other for   
   >what others do for us with few exceptions.  The system depends on us   
   >all doing that.   
   >   
   >The fault that devolves from that is that some of us get more pay than   
   >others, have more status than others, live apart from us in mansions,   
   >work apart from us in skyscrapers in corner offices, so we have no   
   >access to, never even see those people as far as we know.  These are   
   >the people who make the decisions in society.  Their separateness from   
   >us means that they are never held accountable for bad self serving   
   >decisions.   
   >   
   >When shit comes down, the blame goes to the person who enforces those   
   >decisions, not to the decider.  The enforcer is thrown under the bus,   
   >quietly goes away, is fired or moved elsewhere.  In rare cases, maybe   
   >even get some jail time.  But the decision stands.   
   >   
   >And the rest of us are powerless.  Why can't things be different?  '   
   >1) because those who have the power like having power, will not allow   
   >things to be different.   
   >2) because the rest of us like it that way too.  We are powerless, but   
   >we are also blameless.  The guy in the corner office at the top of a   
   >skyscraper did it, not us.   
   >   
   >Too radical?  Of course it is, because this is the way things have   
   >always been, since humans stopped being hunter gatherers.  This is how   
   >we know how to be.   
      
   It is true that, as individuals, some of us can rise above this.  But   
   at the level of "the madness of crowds", we do not have that power.   
      
   "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds" is a book   
   that remains read 175 years after publication because there is truth   
   in it, truth about us, even if it was written when the issues of the   
   time were different.   
      
   >>it's silly and entirely anti-consumer. it doesn't cost anything to grant   
   >>a consumer access to the digital good, let them have the experience and   
   >>decide after if it warrants payment for the experience. and for   
   >>continued development by creator. this will create a better feedback   
   >>system where people only pay for products they value after they had the   
   >>experience, not before...   
   >>   
   >>will some people cheat the system??? i guess, but that already happens,   
   >>and we end up with a worse feedback system where people have to pay   
   >>speculatively upfront for the experience rather than paying back for an   
   >>experience they valued enough to voluntarily pay for   
   >>   
   >>never mind all the DRM and platform locking bull crap that just wastes   
   >>everyone's time with utter nonsense   
   --   
   Noah Sombrero mustachioed villain   
   Don't get political with me young man   
   or I'll tie you to a railroad track and   
   <<>> to <<>>   
   Who dares to talk to El Sombrero?   
   dares: Ned   
   does not dare: Julian  shrinks in horror and warns others away   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)