True, I remember the government trying to sell off Channel 4. Anyway I guess my point was that ads don’t necessarily ruin a platform if the platform has a decent purpose other than just profit… although I definitely do hate seeing any ads, even on Channel 4 or anything else.

Interesting, maybe the content has changed, I probably don’t watch enough TV to have noticed. But I think Channel 4 news is pretty good, and I liked their Paralympics coverage.

But then you could look at Channel 4, which does show ads to UK people, but I think Channel 4 is still okay and I don’t think it has been ruined by ads. So maybe a profit motive is what causes enshittification, rather than just ads. I definitely hate ads but maybe ads alone don’t destroy platforms.

True, they don’t show commercial adverts in the UK, but they do to other countries. People outside the UK can access the BBC website but they’ll see adverts on there, and apparently BBC America (shown in the US) has commercial adverts

And Channel 4 of course does show commercial adverts in the UK, but I think they still make some decent content, and I don’t think they’re on the verge of self-destruction

Maybe the real problem is when an entity is chasing profits, because Channel 4 isn’t a normal for-profit business, since they’re owned by the government, and I think they have to abide by some rules

I don’t think that’s necessarily true - maybe it depends on (a) the owners of the platform and/or (b) whether there are sources of funding besides advertising

E.g. here in the UK, the BBC and Channel 4 are both broadcasters owned by the government, and both are funded at least in part by adverts. But I think both of them are relatively healthy and aren’t on the brink of destroying themselves.

I think most of the BBC’s funding comes from the licence fee (British people pay for a TV licence) but they make some money from ads shown to international audiences. Channel 4 is solely funded by adverts I think, but it’s owned by the government and I think they have to abide by certain rules and targets.

The Steam Deck seems like a decent console, if that counts, because you’re free to do what you want with it

But perhaps you consider that to just be a handheld PC instead of a console, which I suppose is true

If someone has bought a Switch game legally, then it’s legal to dump that game to a PC and play it on a Switch emulator, right?

Sure you could say that very few people dump their own games, but those that do are doing everything legally I think?

The funny part was when he said he was a free speech absolutist, but then he started restricting the free speech of people he doesn’t like

More anti-consumer stuff from corporate bigwigs

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I’m not trying to justify unlimited greed, nor do I mean that we should permit unlimited greed. I’m saying the opposite of that - I think we should have laws to curtail unlimited greed.

But I do still think greed and selfishness are human nature, because when I look at humans, I consistently see selfishness and greed. Maybe this means I’m a pessimist but I think it’s just realistic. If humans weren’t inherently greedy and selfish then there would be no need for laws that punish theft.

As for whether greed and selfishness have been dominant in human societies… it looks like the rich and powerful in society, throughout history, never gave up their power and wealth unless they were made to do so.

You are wrong. HMD is a Finnish company, not Chinese. Apparently it is largely made up of former Nokia employees.

If you’re going to be a smart-arse and say things like “you’re welcome”, maybe you should check the facts first.

To be fair, he may well have been like that. Humans have been selfish bastards since the dawn of time. And maybe this is why we need good government regulations - because human nature is greed. Any company in a position of power will just leech as much money as they can, if nobody is going to stop them.