this post was submitted on 02 Jan 2024
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Showerthoughts
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The thing is, for-profit doesn't equal bad. There are a small subset of companies that aim to provide the best service for modest gain, and IMO, they are inherently as trustworthy as orgs like the EFF.
One of the problems is selling out. Like Bandcamp was, so far as I know, a cool way to share and sell music. Musicians got a good cut, customers got drm free music. But then they sold out because a few guys at the top could walk away with a hundred million dollars, and now the site's probably going to be enshittified or sold for parts.
Maybe we should rearrange our financial and tax incentives so long term earnings are better than short term, somehow.
I understand that perspective. In a lot of cases, people sell out because they are burnt out (Notch with Mojang/Minecraft) or because they think it's best for their company and its vision (LucasArts).
I don't think we can have a good solution to this issue until "creating shareholder value" moves down from 1st to 3rd or 4th or lower on the list of priorities for large companies.