as i inspect the car crash...

[rone]

... that is the comments on Brad's acquisition announcement, i have concluded that:

• People can't be bothered to read something before opening their goddamn yap and asking a question that was already answered in the announcement.
• DRAMA!  SELF-RIGHTEOUS OUTRAGE!  ANGST!  These people probably need a hydraulic speculum to open their asses when they go do #2.
• Mocking these people is fun, although it doesn't hold a candle to the mid-`90s on Usenet.

Oh well, at least it entertains me.

Comments

[wisn.livejournal.com]

What strikes me, from reading lj_maintenance is how much money and personnel time LJ must be burning: A staff of three or four are both supporting tens of thousands of users and pretty nearly constantly (incidents at least once per week for the past few weeks) replacing and upgrading servers and networking hardware. Being able to pad their wallet will help prepare for the day that there aren't enough $2.50/month users to support all the freeloaders.

I'm sympathetic with Brad being forced to decide between becoming a platform developer or corporate manager and choosing the one he's happier with. Judging from his remorse in previous announcements about surrendering his absolute control of LJ to new staff hires, I don't imagine he's thrilled about selling off the whole package.

[nothings.livejournal.com]

LJ isn't padding its wallet, though. Brad personally profits, while the new owners of LJ have sunk EXTRA money into LJ for no visible gain (just owning LJ, and having Brad work for them).

Now, maybe the "corporate parent" has more available resources to throw at it, but that doesn't make sense in the long run--that's just a way for them to lose money.

And, yeah, I sympathize with his frustration over managing and running the business vs. developing. Hopefully that's really all that the change will amount to--he'll have some more professional people handling that stuff. But there are no guarantees. It's not AOL buying Nullsoft, but it's also not a patron giving him a million bucks (an invented number) and asking nothing in return.

[arian1.livejournal.com]

If you don't understand that the reason you start a company even one that promotes itself as a community, is to make money, then you've been lied to. Sure, I am completely sure that Brad iasa good guy, and started this with the best intentions, but to people honestly believe that he never intended to gain some return on his investment eventually? Seriously. I think a lot of the users (Not you persay) need to pull their heads out of the fog that is "idealism".

[arafel2.livejournal.com]

but to people honestly believe that he never intended to gain some return on his investment eventually?

Exactly as it says in his post, Danga is a company and exists to make money. Just not quite as rapaciously as some others.

[richtermom.livejournal.com]

Actually, I'd have to say that if people are only starting companies to make money and that's all, that the entrepreneurial spirit is dead. If a positive return is REQUIRED on all ventures, capitalism is doomed. There must be something else - personal contentment, satisfaction of accomplishment, egotism -- that makes the head guy get out of bed in the morning when cash flow hasn't started and venture capital people won't return your calls but the bank does, because you're $0.50 away from being overdrawn and payroll is this week.

It's only after the energy and adrenaline and control diminish that the life investment begins to need a more worldly payback.

[richtermom.livejournal.com]

Okay, what freaking timezone is this on?

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

Each post is set to the timezone that the poster inhabits. All comments are GMT.