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by shinratdr 5257 days ago
That's what he was looking for, a nice snide response.

EDIT - I'm guessing from the downvotes that the Hacker News community finds it acceptable to refer to iOS and WP7 as appliances? I'm sorry but that's BS. Every definition of computer appliance I can find excludes devices that can have programs added after the fact, something that is definitely possible with both operating systems.

EDIT 2 - If people feel so strongly about this I really would appreciate a reply instead of just a downvote. I thought this place was about discussion over simply dismissing?

2 comments

People are downvoting you not because they disagree with your opinion, but because it adds nothing to the conversation. That's frowned upon in HN. The response you replied to was perfectly valid: there's no iOS or WP7 bundles because they are contrary to the philosophy of the bundles; this is a valid point that no one had mentioned. Complaining that the response was snide, OTOH doesn't say anything that's relevant to the topic at hand.

A better response would have been to say that you think referring to those platforms as applications is wrong, and probably some explanation as to why.

> People are downvoting you not because they disagree with your opinion, but because it adds nothing to the conversation.

I disagree, I think there was a valid point made in a comment that overall had an arrogant tone and some inaccuracies and that should be addressed like I chose to rather than just ignored.

Dispelling inaccuracies adds to the discussion, or at the very least attempts to prevent someone else from detracting from the discussion. To act like I just came out of left field with this or something is just ridiculous.

> The response you replied to was perfectly valid: there's no iOS or WP7 bundles because they are contrary to the philosophy of the bundles; this is a valid point that no one had mentioned.

Which is why I didn't take issue with or mention that part. I took issue with referring to iOS and WP7 devices as appliances when they aren't.

> Complaining that the response was snide, OTOH doesn't say anything that's relevant to the topic at hand.

It was both snide and inaccurate because of that, I assumed that was implied or obvious. I didn't think I needed to lay it out so blatantly.

> A better response would have been to say that you think referring to those platforms as applications is wrong, and probably some explanation as to why.

Like I said, I assumed that was implied. I did cover why in my edit. It's simply incorrect, no definition of computer appliance backs it up and it smacks of arrogance.

The "appliance" bit is of course an insult. However, the main point of what he was saying is that you cannot publish an app for iOS or WP7 without DRM (it is part of the platform), and one of Humble Bundle's major points is "DRM free".
I get that, understand it and agree which is why I didn't take issue with that part. You see the "appliance" bit as an insult as well, so we are in complete agreement.

His main point is correct, and I took no issue with that. Hence, it still doesn't really clear up for me why I'm being downvoted so heavily.