Wall Street's internet darlings require an endless supply of idiots

A perfect example of Marxism in action.

"From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs." has one glaring problem: who decides?

in which the devoted contributors are ‘taxed’ without being represented.

As the author has clearly not travelled a great deal in this fine world of ours, might I suggest a trip the the United States of Murica.

There you will find a system that is fully 110% committed to the principle that in which the devoted contributors are ‘taxed’ without being represented. And it has been that way for quite some time.

And we all sing . . . nada . . .

The Right sees every attempt to regulate anything (including the Internet/e-commerce) as an affront to "free market" capitalism. But they're so intellectually bankrupt that they don't notice that the "free" in the market hasn't been there in ages.

The unwashed independent "middle" is so star-struck by all the "wealth" that the Internet/e-commerce is supposed to be providing them that they haven't notice that their ranks are shrinking fast.

And the Left . . . the Left is so captured by "grass-roots" mobilization and the sex-appeal of litigating issues in the courts that they haven't noticed that they've bcome a strident whisper in the night.

I am not amused.

All of this has happened before.

As far as I can see, there is nothing specific to the Internet about this.

Kickstarter is not an investment platform. It's a speculative pre-order platform. Pre-ordering products has existed for a long time before Kickstarter was a thing.

Or how about freelance and contract workers not getting a cut of the sale value when the business they work for is bought? This is new to the "sharing economy" is it?

> In short, you’ve been a mug.

AFAICT the ultimate argument seems to be that anyone who isn't a shareholder, or an employee of a cooperative (ie. where all employees have part ownership in the company), is a mug.

I'm inclined to agree, tbh. We need more cooperative enterprises.

Exploiters

The internet is no different than any other human endeavor. If it can be exploited, the exploiters will be there. And they are, in droves. But I believe that those who contribute without payment get some satisfaction or sense of achievement for their efforts.

BTW this includes Reg commentards, who add a lot of value to this site.

Kickstarter is just a way of seperating idiots from their money

Its no different to gambling, except that at least with gambling you have a fixed odds of getting something back.

There are too many stupid people in the world with too much disposable cash. IMO its a public service taking that cash off them and giving it to people who can do something useful with it. Even if that is just buying a ferrari and disappearing.

"and fails to mention his [Kim Dotcom's] ownership of a signed copy of Mein Kampf."

Because that is relevant how?

You're an idiot, and Dotcom isn't a Nazi.

Improved stance

Thank you. Now I have better ideas for my argument with those of sharing persuasion. I would add here the group of open sourcers even though they seem not mentioned explicitly. The weekend edition works for me although I tend to use the RSS feed more. Cheers.

Two Godwins before the comments have even started. Could this be a record?

>> Getting an "internet economy" that benefits the people who do the work, take the risk,

>> or provide the resources

Who's the dreamer now?

Meanwhile, Down Deep in the Dotcom Lair ........

Yet the professionals whose job it is to describe the world, and make public policy fit for it, seem to be in the greatest denial.

Considering the titanic festering pig’s ear that they make of that colossal enigmatic task, is it mighty impossible to not view them and their ignorant clients as the new terrified and terrorising nazi idiots on the block/in the hood/top of the class and fit for incarceration in the asylum …… and there can be sugaring of the pill nor denying of that perfectly relevant and pertinent impertinent fact whenever the reality for sharing is ridiculously compromised and perverted to present a false view ……. Ridiculous. A world run by terrified and terrorising idiots

Getting an "internet economy" that benefits the people who do the work, take the risk, or provide the resources – and gives us a modicum of self-respect - should be a start. Our media, MPs and policy wonks are still off dreaming of Unicorns, though. Maybe we need a new lot entirely.

Maybe, we need a new lot entirely, Andrew? You’re ‘avin’ a larf, mate, but it aint funny, is it, for of course we need a new lot entirely.

The Register could always grow a pair and start supplying new lots with feeds and seeds of truths uncovered and discovered to render the terrified and terrorising a figment of the imagination in the history of the past. With IT and Media and CHAOS [Clouds Hosting Advanced Operating Systems] and Creative Cyber Command and AI and Computers Controlling Communications and Virtual Machineries/Ab Fab Fabless Foundries, is it not difficult. One just needs to know how easy IT is to do in Global Command Head Quarters, and that is just simply a matter of following quite obviously what would be are seriously sophisticated sets of relatively basic instructions so that the ridiculous can be transformed by the sublime.

Wanna give IT a Go, El Reg/Andrew? And are El Reg commentards up for some revolutionary virtual action and NEUKlearer HyperRadioProActive IT Deliveries with SMARTR IntelAIgent Salvos, too.

Or will what may be well worthy of way above top secret classification and a wild wacky westernised delight take invisible and wayward engaging flight to be an exotic and erotic and esoteric eastern confection and sweet sticky flower that attracts all comers to the benefits accrued for mass private public provision of intelligence and information laced with protective hindsight for immaculate foresight which reinforces intentions with mutually advantageous support facilities/utilities/abilities?

Sitting on fences is for scaredy alley cats and no longer a viable option available to thinking mans’ kind if they be into thinking at all and wanting things to change for bad to good and worse to better, and you don’t need to ask for dumb permission from any politically incorrect and inept subset in these matter. One just does IT.

Carpe Diem, Amigos/Senoras, loose and lose those contrived market chains which encircle and enslave you, and watch and listen to the nightmare disappear and destroy itself with perfectly presented and promoted dreams. Capiche?

You don't get it

When some people create a platform for others to make money; that is the deal.

All the big names you mention are explicit about the arrangement, so what is the argument?

"Hey! You have been letting me use your platform to make money, and now you're making money too!"

I believe it is a bit of a stretch to call all customers investors in the business, even if they are the very first customers. I cannot think of any business that gives away equity in the business to customers, can you?

Well it isn't any different out of the internet sharing economy. How many people have their names on several patents and receive nothing for it. Ok, they got a paycheck at one point but it's entirely possible that their old company is going through their old notebooks and filing patents on the contents.

Just last year I got some patent paperwork to sign from a company I left back in 2005 to verify I was one of the original inventors, I know I won't get squat but I sign it because I know it adds to my list of patents which may make me more employable. I know my former company is far more likely to make real money from those patents than I ever will or did but the option is to not sign and they patent it with someone else's name. The Kickstarter folks only kicked in a few hundred probably less and got their really expensive tee shirt or beta prototype and that's fine, they went in with eyes open and knew what to expect. You might argue the Wiki-contribs are more naive in that the rules can change at any time but they should know that too yet they walk into the door knowing what's currently on the other side.

That's the nice thing about living in a more or less civilized society. You can play the game by the current rules or make your own game with your own rules. If, like Uber, that screws the establishment then they will have to adapt to the new rules or try to get you to play by their rules.

Best quote, which I want to send to thousands of people...

"...weakening property rights means everyone profits from the work except the person who creates it."

Amen. A point apparently lost on those who try to claim copyright and patents are infringements on free speech. A point that should be driven like a spike into their tiny brains until they get it.

Sure, intellectual property law desperately needs overhauling. The ridiculous over-extension of copyright, the bullshit patent extensions for alleged but non-existent "significant" changes, and many more abuses exist and need to be righted. A lot of families and corporations got greedy, and lobbied and bribed a corrupt Congress to help them profit forever from someone else's work. The law needs fixing.

But I'm tired of hearing idiots try to claim piracy is not theft. If they're going to steal, they should at least have the balls to admit that's what they're doing, not resort to chicken-shit whining about "ideals" or "rights". You don't fight lies with lies.

this is how the Modern Enterpreneur in Silicon Valley makes his/her business case

Take something that's already been done, but do it now in such a way as to foist off as much of your operating expenses onto other suckers..errr..investors, and the general public/your neighbors, etc.

then brag about the big profits you make because you don't pay for infrastructure, or insurance, or backend hardware, or parking spaces/floor space, or "volunteers". Crow about how your "new" idea is "superior" to established products that actually pay for their operating costs.

Then, sell your company/idea for $billions before public backlash, regulation enforcement, and legal issues catch up and shut your "new thing" down. Don't forget to complain about "Conspiracy!" before that, too.

Sure, Big Corporate does Evil Things like that too. How this "justifies" a thousand penny-ante "enterpreneurs" crapping all over where they live, is beyond me however.

The regulations got put in place by will of the same people who pride themselves on dodging them, around here.

Now I'm off to make Big Money with my sewage/toxic waste disposal service, where you call into an app and an "independent" truck picks up the stuff and makes it disappear. We don't actually do it, but we have "rules" for our drivers to follow...so it's not our fault if these "independent contractors" don't follow the rules. Besides, we're cheaper than that Big Disposal Outfit that pays all those oppressive EPA fees.....