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Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by 1000units on Thursday March 14, 2019 @04:08PM (#19393095)
I think my conscience would be more satisfied working in porn than mobile gaming.
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by TeMPOraL on Thursday March 14, 2019 @04:30PM (#19393348)
It's similar to how prostitution seems more ethical than telemarketing - one involves voluntary exchange of value between two willing consenting parties, the other involves harassing people and, frequently, trying to scam them.
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by braythwayt on Thursday March 14, 2019 @05:27PM (#19393956)
My understanding is that the people working in that industry prefer to call it "sex work."

"Prostitute" has negative historical connotations. For example, we will say that Mitch McConnell has prostituted himself to billionaires, but we would never call him a sex worker.

/ducks

Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by LorenPechtel on Thursday March 14, 2019 @06:46PM (#19394662)
"Sex worker" is a broader term than "prostitute". The former covers most every commercial activity whose objective is orgasm, the latter covers only those whose normal job is orgasm via insertion (although they may do it by other means at a client's request.)
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by blattimwind on Thursday March 14, 2019 @07:06PM (#19394793)
> The former covers most every commercial activity whose objective is orgasm

I don't think that's technically true.

Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by michaelt on Thursday March 14, 2019 @07:32PM (#19394982)
Certainly, a farmer manually collecting bull semen isn't engaged in sex work.

But I would say at the very least "sex work" covers dominatrices, pre-recorded and live-streaming porn performances, strip club and lap dance performances, as well as escorts. So "sex worker" isn't precisely equal to "prostitute"

Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by hopler on Thursday March 14, 2019 @08:22PM (#19395260)
The objective of fertility work is sperm/egg/embryo/whatever, not orgasm. If they could efficienctly stick a needle in the gonads and extract the reproductive cells, they would.
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by JohnFen on Friday March 15, 2019 @01:01PM (#19401648)
Strippers are sex workers, but most of them aren't trying to make their customers orgasm. At least, not in the moment.
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by 1000units on Thursday March 14, 2019 @07:21PM (#19394902)
Very well, but how do we accomplish this at scale? Email me if interested in discussing!
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by imjustsaying on Friday March 15, 2019 @01:12AM (#19396778)
anytime you'd like to make a claim or an argument, please put it forth rather than simply eject ad hominems and make snarky vague claims.
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by 1000units on Thursday March 14, 2019 @06:06PM (#19394314)
We wouldn't call him a "sex worker" precisely because it is an unnatural and forced piece of language.
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by jacobsenscott on Thursday March 14, 2019 @07:33PM (#19394985)
Organized crime has been really successful in spreading the "two willing consenting parties" myth. Trust me - there is only ever one willing consenting party. No woman on earth wants to @%$! a constant parade of scumbags.
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by stickfigure on Thursday March 14, 2019 @09:42PM (#19395712)
I suggest you go out and talk to some actual sex workers, with an open mind. I know (socially) a few former sex workers, and they would vehemently disagree with your characterization. The world is way, waaaay more complicated than you seem to think.
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by jacobsenscott on Friday March 15, 2019 @11:23AM (#19400501)
Which characterization? I made two. I disagree with your characterization that "sex work" is "waaay complicated". Putting together a lego set is more complicated.
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by JohnFen on Friday March 15, 2019 @04:42PM (#19404086)
"there is only ever one willing consenting party"

This is demonstrably untrue.

Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by Shacklz on Friday March 15, 2019 @04:25PM (#19403943)
"Trust me" isn't exactly a convincing argument...

I agree with your second sentiment (although I wouldn't generalize to "scumbags"), but there are a lot of people out there doing jobs that are extremely unpleasant, for far less money than prostitution can make.

If you don't have to fear your customer because the legal system has your back (making you independent of pimps and the like), prostitution is a possible way to make a significant amount of money - on your own conditions, in your own time, without the fear of being fired and all the other stuff a normal workplace imposes.

Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by naniwaduni on Thursday March 14, 2019 @07:38PM (#19395017)
Okay, so now there's one consenting party instead of zero.
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by 1000units on Thursday March 14, 2019 @07:59PM (#19395139)
I'm sure the telemarketer consents.
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by hopler on Thursday March 14, 2019 @08:23PM (#19395263)
Not really, they are under economic coercion.
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by 1000units on Thursday March 14, 2019 @09:04PM (#19395508)
My, aren't we all.
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by Haga on Friday March 15, 2019 @02:07AM (#19396992)
If one isn't rich one shouldn't be considered free..
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by Haga on Friday March 15, 2019 @02:05AM (#19396987)
Also consent can now be retro actively withdrawn, so if you don't keep your books, your hooks will bleed you.
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by tedajax on Thursday March 14, 2019 @07:57PM (#19395126)
I worked in mobile gaming at one point and the real "beyond the pale" moment was when I came in to work and one of our designers was reading a book titled something along the lines of "The Science of Addiction".

Noped out of that and started getting a lot more critical when it comes to where I work with regard to ethics.

Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by TomMarius on Friday March 15, 2019 @01:46AM (#19396899)
There are similar books catered towards social apps. Btw is there an ethical corporation? Not even LOB apps are fully ethical today.
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by naravara on Friday March 15, 2019 @05:06AM (#19397911)
I’d say many corporations are amoral, while the mobile gaming business is totally immoral.

Neither is good, but the latter is worse.

Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by NikkiA on Friday March 15, 2019 @07:24PM (#19405274)
I've worked in (mobile) porn and the gambling industries; porn was more ethical by far, even if the weirdos were slightly more common (there are a lot of really really weird/creepy 'punters' in the FOB industry)
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by pawelmurias on Thursday March 14, 2019 @05:42PM (#19394088)
I worked in mobile gaming and would never work in porn (unless it was like filtering or prosecuting creators). A coworker hard a good point to say what the people who are addicted to mobile games would be addicted/spend money on if they didn't play. It's possible they would be buying meth/booze with it.
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by YaxelPerez on Thursday March 14, 2019 @05:49PM (#19394161)
We don't hand children meth so that they behave, but we do with mobile games.
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by 1000units on Thursday March 14, 2019 @06:03PM (#19394273)
In fact this is almost exactly what happens with many children being prescribed Adderall.
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by crankylinuxuser on Thursday March 14, 2019 @09:04PM (#19395507)
To counteract your bullshit...

If someone has ADHD, adderall slows them down so they can concentrate. It reduces mind-fog from too much stimulus.

If you don't have ADHD, its like a super cup of coffee, but in pill form.

My doctor was trying to figure out my cognitive issue. And for a time, I was on adderall. It was pretty easy to tell that I didn't have ADHD, since I started getting upper'd. Felt nice, don't get me wrong. But I'll stick with coffee.

Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by zkomp on Friday March 15, 2019 @01:34AM (#19396858)
More interesting question: How do we know regular drug users are not self medicating.
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by TomMarius on Friday March 15, 2019 @01:47AM (#19396906)
They in fact frequently are. There are huge communities dedicated to that on the Internet. BTW a lot of the previously illegal and unthinkable treatments these people used have just been legalised in the EU, using MDMA etc.
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by JohnFen on Friday March 15, 2019 @04:44PM (#19404110)
Indeed. And although I wouldn't recommend the self-medicating route, it's hard to deny that there are some people who get much better results doing that than getting "official" medical help.
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by TomMarius on Friday March 15, 2019 @07:13PM (#19405202)
Professionals can be found even though its illegal. I wouldn't recommend self-medication either.
Re:Gwern's Law: Ads cost you a tenth of your users by JohnFen on Friday March 15, 2019 @06:38PM (#19404969)
> A coworker hard a good point to say what the people who are addicted to mobile games would be addicted/spend money on if they didn't play.

That is nothing like a good point at all. It sounds more like rationalizing questionable activity.