I'll give this article a good rating while disagreeing. The cult of "let's complain about Dragoneer" is rife with bad non-sequitur reasoning. (A little here and a lot in general). With those things, you get one real complaint about a shady admin, two false whines.
I don't know the guy, but I reject what amounts to whining. Or worse (there's whole forums set up for worse, uggh.) It's like the neighborhood gardening club complaining about how they want to use your lawn.
The guy owns a vanity project. Nobody elects him to lead, he doesn't profit from data (it costs him.) But people seem to feel entitled to tell him what to do. It's not a class of consumers, it boils down to a false stakeholder claim- "we're the community". What "we"? People claim a label by choice because they merely share a hobby. It's voluntary association. I like that nobody has power to approve others' presence or speak for me. I wouldn't want it any other way. I avoid saying "we" whenever possible and I find it tacky.
"The community" uses the site but users aren't "the community". Treating it like that looks suspiciously like gatekeeper envy. Not that there's real gatekeeping, when any number of free sites offer the same thing.
He should only "step down as head of Fur Affinity" if you pay him what the site is worth, if he feels like it. "Promoting friends and family who are otherwise unsuitable... creating a conflict of interest and an example of nepotism" - suitable according to who? Nepotism applies to unpaid work? If "Dragoneer's widely unpopular and ill-advised staff appointments" run it into the ground, that's a Caveat Emptor situation of "user beware".
I'm glad "popularity" means little. Thank that for all the freedom to make porn (despite outside judgement), and a home-grown subculture of creativity that the rest of the world thinks is weird and freaky and can't be forced into a commercial mode.
But wait, I'm not just arguing - there's a solution implied. It's not whining, it's creativity and setting an example. Action for alternatives deserves more respect than complaining.
Speaking of collective interest, it reminds me of a conversation about unions. A teacher expanded my understanding. There were two factories in town - one had a union and the other didn't. One could put out cheaper goods, but the other could take the better workers with better pay - it made a good balance while if both had unions, costs would kill business. It's complicated (and I generally support them), especially with global capitalism screwing up local communities. But that sort-of analogy fits a "community" that doesn't have big business in it.
I'll give this article a good rating while disagreeing. The cult of "let's complain about Dragoneer" is rife with bad non-sequitur reasoning. (A little here and a lot in general). With those things, you get one real complaint about a shady admin, two false whines.
I don't know the guy, but I reject what amounts to whining. Or worse (there's whole forums set up for worse, uggh.) It's like the neighborhood gardening club complaining about how they want to use your lawn.
The guy owns a vanity project. Nobody elects him to lead, he doesn't profit from data (it costs him.) But people seem to feel entitled to tell him what to do. It's not a class of consumers, it boils down to a false stakeholder claim- "we're the community". What "we"? People claim a label by choice because they merely share a hobby. It's voluntary association. I like that nobody has power to approve others' presence or speak for me. I wouldn't want it any other way. I avoid saying "we" whenever possible and I find it tacky.
"The community" uses the site but users aren't "the community". Treating it like that looks suspiciously like gatekeeper envy. Not that there's real gatekeeping, when any number of free sites offer the same thing.
He should only "step down as head of Fur Affinity" if you pay him what the site is worth, if he feels like it. "Promoting friends and family who are otherwise unsuitable... creating a conflict of interest and an example of nepotism" - suitable according to who? Nepotism applies to unpaid work? If "Dragoneer's widely unpopular and ill-advised staff appointments" run it into the ground, that's a Caveat Emptor situation of "user beware".
I'm glad "popularity" means little. Thank that for all the freedom to make porn (despite outside judgement), and a home-grown subculture of creativity that the rest of the world thinks is weird and freaky and can't be forced into a commercial mode.
But wait, I'm not just arguing - there's a solution implied. It's not whining, it's creativity and setting an example. Action for alternatives deserves more respect than complaining.
Speaking of collective interest, it reminds me of a conversation about unions. A teacher expanded my understanding. There were two factories in town - one had a union and the other didn't. One could put out cheaper goods, but the other could take the better workers with better pay - it made a good balance while if both had unions, costs would kill business. It's complicated (and I generally support them), especially with global capitalism screwing up local communities. But that sort-of analogy fits a "community" that doesn't have big business in it.