[irrational]

I don’t have any values that would affect the cereal I buy. I’m not even sure what values would come into play. I don’t buy cereal that isn’t magically delicious? I just buy whatever is cheapest. Is not having much money a value?

Other than Richard Stallman, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone talk about how their personal values determine what software they will use. If I can afford it (free is better!) and it does the job, I use it.

[oblio]

I can't say I choose based on values, but I can give you an example of what people may mean by choosing based on values.

Apparently a Nestlé representative recently declared that if a law that requires large corporations to disclose and to stop getting raw materials from suppliers which use forced labor (i.e. slavery) passes, coffee customers might be impacted, probably by higher coffee prices. It's at best a clumsy statement and at worst an endorsement of slavery (!), all for reducing coffee costs by probably a few percent.

A moral choice, based on values, would be to never buy coffee from Nestlé brands and instead buy from companies that guarantee that their suppliers don't use forced labor.

[ohthehugemanate]

Yes, lowest cost is a value. But there are probably 5 or 6 cereals at the lowest price point at your local grocery store. Which one do you pick, and why? Whatever the answer is, reveals your values. (Even "the one at eye level" reveals the value of minimum energy expenditure)

> If I can afford it (free is better!) and it does the job, I use it.

OK so one value is clear. But there are literally tens of software options that fit into those requirements. So why do you pick gdocs over libreoffice, or your workplace MS365 subscription?

Every choice you make is determined by your values, whether you're conscious of it or not. Very often, people think they hold one set of values (eg "i'm a vegetarian because I value animal life") but that is belied by their actions (eg wearing leather soled shoes). You can guess which one is a better indicator of their real values.

[irrational]

>Which one do you pick, and why?

Easy. Whichever one has the most chocolate. All the cheap ones have a lot of chocolate? Buy them all! You can never have enough chocolate flavored cereal.

[eigenket]

Personally I do buy cereal partially based on values. I absolutely refuse to buy stuff from nestle.

[einpoklum]

> I don’t have any values that would affect the cereal I buy.

* Would you buy cereal made by slaves?

* Would you not prefer cereal made by a small cooperative of people you know, over something made by BigCorp inc. ?

etc.

[irrational]

> Would you buy cereal made by slaves?

No, but I don't know which cereal is made by slaves and which isn't. Maybe none of them are.

> Would you not prefer cereal made by a small cooperative of people you know, over something made by BigCorp inc. ?

No. I have nothing against BigCorp.