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Comment by WalterBright

2 months ago

Who is going to know about your product if you cannot advertise it?

People who pay for consumer research type services. "I want a general-purpose systems programming language with a C-like syntax that compiles to native code. It should be statically typed and supports both automatic (garbage collected) and manual memory management." One micro payment later I have a list of links and reviews. In this case the research is the product instead of me.

  • I've known several people who developed quite a nice product, but felt that promotion and marketing were unethical. They failed to move a single copy, and wound up bitter and disillusioned.

    > One micro payment later I have a list of links and reviews

    You won't get on those lists nor will you get any reviews without marketing and promotion.

I guess the idea is to ban certain types of advertising. It’s a fun thought experiment and practical — it’s why some country roads don’t have billboards and some do.

Going to a conference to promote your product to participants..

Do you allow the shills to shill?

Well, shills gonna shill— I sure wish I promoted my businesses more. It is uncomfortable at times but that’s not really a good excuse to not promote what you know to be good.

  • I agree that billboards are a form of "visual pollution" that blocks scenic views. But paying for an ad on the side of a bus isn't a problem.

    No, I don't think we need to argue about where the line between the two is.

    • We definitely need to argue about the line. This is the internet, isn’t it?

      And, honestly, how do you know? I don’t think it is clear that all cars are fair game for all ads, nor that all billboards should be banned. We might not need a line, but we need criteria for value