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by xyzzy_plugh 19 days ago
Believe me the point is not lost on me. But it's certainly not a universal dick move. It's an opportunity in a society that does not care for the laws on the other side of the world.

If it's such a universal dick move, then why do Chinese companies keep doing it? Do you imagine they realize they are being unethical? Perhaps your morals and ethics are less universal than you believe. Do you think that perhaps it is the case that a society that prides itself on its communist integrity might not hold fond feelings about copyright

I see businesses make this mistake again and again. I don't know why they expected a different outcome. You don't anthropomorphize a lawn mower. Shaming does nothing to improve the situation.
2 comments
kennywinker 19 days ago
What you’re espousing here is just basic moral relativism. Except what you’re getting wrong is that US companies break IP law constantly. It turns out companies aren’t moral actors, they’ll do whatever. The GPL is a business opportunity here too. It’s just that in the US/canada/eu the legal side is more enforceable. Don’t give a f about the GPL in china -> successful biz. Don’t give an f about the GPL in the US -> successful biz + a chance at a lawsuit or some social blowback. That’s the only real difference - no need to evoke some deep cultural or moral difference.

> Shaming does nothing to improve the situation.

Except it does? Less bambus are being sold because of this, and more printers from manufacturers that respect the open source licenses are being sold. In fact, bambu initially locked things down hard and the social blowback made them backpedal and gave us “lan-only mode”.

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xyzzy_plugh 19 days ago
Fundamentally I agree with you.

I'd love to see stats showing a material impact to their sales but I'm not optimistic. If I were to guess I'd reckon their sales are still climbing.

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BadBadJellyBean 19 days ago
It would be nice if they felt the push back but sometimes it's just nice to see when some calls out a dick move.
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BadBadJellyBean 19 days ago
I have been to China, I know a lot of Chinese people and I am pretty sure that this is a dick move in China as well.

Problem is that companies don't care if they are dicks as long as the money is right.

And you call it shaming, I call it warning others. Sometimes bad publicity is actually bad for the company. Sometimes people will reconsider buying things if they find out that companies are being dicks. Not always. But sometimes.

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