When I read this, I can't help but think of the enormous promises that came with the computerization of medical records versus the reality that we have today.
America, since its founding, has been an experiment in extreme individualism over collectivism. We worship capitalism over all else. Even a whisper of government programs that help the poor are vilified as communist. Selfishness and immorality is a natural consequence of that. Things won't change until our culture completely changes.
In my experience, it's likely that the founders' problematic behavior has existed from the beginning, but employees feared retaliation and thus didn't speak up until now, when they are safe from being fired.
This is one of most unbelievably naive, immature, and truly ignorant comments I've read on HN. I sincerely hope you're trolling.
Put down the Ayn Rand fantasy novels and go meet some people outside of your economic bubble. Not everyone can be a software engineer in Western society. I'd wager you're about as responsible for your lot in life as these people.
Read about the history of the industrial revolution. Tenement life in NYC. Try to empathize. Develop some humanity and real perspective for Pete's sake.
By the way, no one is stopping you from living like that if you're so jealous. But it's clear you wouldn't last a day like that, you're all talk anyway.
There is simply a massive difference between the theory of democracy and its actual implementation. Your personal autonomy is restricted by the government, massively, period, generally for everyone's own good. They decide what and how much medicine you can put in your body. Whether you can gamble, and where, and on what, and how much. What drugs you can take. What speed you can drive. Whether you must go to school or not based on your age. Which food you can buy at the supermarket. What you are allowed to see on television. Where and when you may protest. What behavior is allowed in public and what is not. What speech is considered 'free' and what isn't. What machines you may operate and under what circumstances. Which financial transactions you may or may not participate in and the terms of those transactions. The type of home you build and it's specifications. Which countries you may or may not enter and under which circumstances. Whether you are allowed to work or not. It's just the way things are.
Thanks for the detail. To me, that sounds like the cost of doing business as a VC, more than risk. Forgive me if I have a little less empathy for the other side :)
This is the type of logic that leads to mandatory military parades, the banning of religion as a distraction and "Dear Leader"-style propaganda and mythology. If the military would like to do something in my benefit I request they stop destabilizing the world and causing death for profit instead of glorifying and normalizing it through state-sponsored propaganda.
I expected to read about how OP built a successful e-commerce business after transitioning from full-time software development. Instead this is about how he earned $275 over three days on a one-time shirt idea. Click-bait.
Did your service offer a paid API? Scraping happens because of a lack of better options. Surely you can understand why the scrapers didn't want to contact you beforehand.
I knew a classmate who openly admitted to putting made up volunteer activities on her college applications, arguing there was no chance the school would fact check her. She was right!
Assuming a $50k income post-tax