Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by hobbyhacker 4900 days ago
> Harvard fellow uses MIT's network surreptitiously to violate the terms of service to download a nonprofit's entire database and then give it away for free, putting them out of business.

Do you notice the contradiction in 'non profit' and 'putting them out of business'?

1 comments

Non-profits and being a business are not contradictory. The Associated Press and NPR are both non-profit and have the potential to "go out of business" if people stop supporting them and paying member fees. The best non-profits are run as good businesses...because you need money to pay salaries and keep the lights running.
It is also notable how many non-profits aren't necessarily what people would conventionally think of as charities, despite being given a special tax status, etc.