There is a group of people out there who like to loudly announce their choice(s) of "moral" products or services. They congregate on "moral" social networks talking to each other about their current outrage and what they're doing to move away from it. It's like listening to a group of dogs barking to each other.
The latest darling of the tech set is the Kagi search engine. Kagi itself got run through the wringer quite awhile back when they announced they were going to use Brave's home-spun search engine as one of many sources to help with results. The response by the CEO was level-headed and appropriate but this didn't prevent people from damning them anyhow and canceling their subscriptions in a fit of rage. Oddly Kagi never quite fell out of favor and seems to be riding a wave of increased attention. Many of the same folks that were up in arms about the use of data from Brave seem to have never left or went back because they finally ran out of options to be angry at.
The list of stories like the Kagi example is long. Wave after wave of outrage rolls in, each with proclamations about how each product or service needs to be boycotted because they offended some bit of morals of this group. It never ends. A couple of questions come to mind though in this situation:
The latest darling of the tech set is the Kagi search engine. Kagi itself got run through the wringer quite awhile back when they announced they were going to use Brave's home-spun search engine as one of many sources to help with results. The response by the CEO was level-headed and appropriate but this didn't prevent people from damning them anyhow and canceling their subscriptions in a fit of rage. Oddly Kagi never quite fell out of favor and seems to be riding a wave of increased attention. Many of the same folks that were up in arms about the use of data from Brave seem to have never left or went back because they finally ran out of options to be angry at.
The list of stories like the Kagi example is long. Wave after wave of outrage rolls in, each with proclamations about how each product or service needs to be boycotted because they offended some bit of morals of this group. It never ends. A couple of questions come to mind though in this situation:
- Do these folks think anyone outside of this small group really cares?
- Do they really think anyone's choice of tools defines them as people?
The answer to question 1 is a resounding no. Nobody cares. At least nobody outside The Group, but The Group is the one that drives sales of subscriptions to small, boutique services like Kagi. They have the ability to kill a business but feel that's OK when their moral compass has been put a bit off kilter for a bit (well, at least until their own business is at risk at which point they just want to have everyone "move on"). But regular people? The types that use Gmail because it does the job and they don't give a damn about anything other than sending/receiving emails? No, those people don't care about the opinions of The Group.
The answer to question 2 is also a resounding no. That someone writes on Substack, or reads publications on Substack, does not make them Nazis. It does not mean they support Nazis. None of these tools define us, they are tools, and we need to stop acting like they are anything else.
That isn't to say not to vote with your wallet. If something bothers you and you feel like the answer is to stop paying a company for a service that is what you should do but please stop with the grand "I'm leaving" announcements and blog posts. Stop with the crucifying of said companies on social media because the CEO might be doing something you don't like. I've been guilty of this myself in the past and I can say with certainty that absolutely nothing good has ever come of it and at worst it's done damage to people's well-being. Just leave and find a suitable replacement. Maybe also reconsider your position as someone who has their own moral failings, we all do. I expect that if you were held under the same microscope, to the same unreachable standards, you wouldn't like it.
I just read this the other day about the HEY email service and it fit's quite well with my changed views on all of this:
Yeah, despite the somewhat cartoonish appearance, I like the heymail features too much to give it up. I've never paid attention to management and short of seeing allegations that they're literal Nazis or Commies, I don't expect to start.
I (along with many others) dumped HEY in a rage against the way the founders treated their employees at a low point in the company's history several years ago. I didn't like the way they handled a situation at the time. One of the founders seems to have gotten worse since then but I'm back on HEY for email anyhow. Why? Because they've done good work on the product since I was away and I like what I've seen. The online behavior of one of the founders of the company shouldn't sully everyone else attached to the company.