Thread

1. paweladamczuk · 1790451130 · focus · HN ↗

   This is really lovely. I think it's pretty obvious that it bases on sources like Internet Archive and the Library of Congress, but it does add value.

   I just wonder if it can survive - is there a business model here? If not, it's just a tech demo and then it doesn't have value as the hosted version, it would have it if the whole processing/indexing pipeline was open sourced so that anyone can host it themselves and pay for their own infrastructure.

   1. moritzwarhier · 1790454488 · focus · HN ↗

      [dead]

      1. wildzzz · 1790459139 · focus · HN ↗

         Someone has to pay the hosting costs. I don't see an issue with asking for a nominal fee for access to a curated library (there is a lot of useless garbage in the public domain). Of course, anyone can do as they please with public domain media once they've accessed it, even building their own hosting site so it's not exactly a real money making idea.

         1. moritzwarhier · 1790461619 · focus · HN ↗

            A good start would be to create a legal framework that prevents good and ambitious ideas from turning into nefarious rent-seeking schemes.

            Already quite an unwieldy task, because without regulation, rent-seeking, extortion and negative value via enshittification, even plain theft and crime, will always be privileged.

            The people who do this and "earn" the money usually hardly understand the product idea, they're just inclined to extract the maximum amount of money from original inventors, educated engineers etc, but generally, people with stronger predatory business instincts and no domain knowledge or talent.

            And this economical incentive for cryptic fraud exists independent from any political camp; assuming you are brainwashed enough to equate "liberal" and "left-wing".

            Back to business:

            without scavenging instincts that turn good ideas into bad, predatory and endhittified crapware, capitalism wouldn't work: at least not for people without any skills exceeding (self-)marketing

            People who are best at beint predators providing negative value are the most privileged and pampered members of the workforce, because everyone knows in secret that GDP growth doesn't derive from skills or value, its origin is brute power.

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