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Re:The Adjacent User Theory by alexpetralia on Tuesday July 21, 2020 @10:56AM (#23907298)
Anything at scale does this.
Re:The Adjacent User Theory by gmfawcett on Tuesday July 21, 2020 @12:34PM (#23908285)
I don't think that's true. An entity (corporation, government, etc.) continuously decides whether to humanize or dehumanize its citizens/customers. Which way it leans in any (every) decision is a matter of goals and values, not a matter of scale.

E.g. a government may not know all its citizens in a personal sense, but it can establish charters of rights and freedoms, it can design humane and accessible services, etc. Scale doesn't prevent these things, rather it necessitates them.

Re:The Adjacent User Theory by aerosmile on Tuesday July 21, 2020 @01:32PM (#23908872)
Humane and accessible services are still designed at scale, rather than on an individual level.
Re:The Adjacent User Theory by gmfawcett on Tuesday July 21, 2020 @01:37PM (#23908918)
Of course. In context, I read "anything at scale does this" to mean "anything at scale dehumanizes its users" which is the point that I disagree with. A scaled-up service can still honour the client -- it takes intention and good design, but it's certainly possible.