Let the market decide? If it's so obviously terrible it will fail.

Like with cigarettes.

Please don't make unsubstantial comments on HN. You're not being as clever as you think you are.

Edit: The context of my pro-free-market comment is app stores. Of course it's not absolute. You very well know this. Please don't argue in bad faith.

The comment was not unsubstantial, nor was it “clever” in the way you suggest was attempted. Cigarettes were quite a popular market driven product for literally decades. The point being, obviously, that “the market decides” isn’t necessarily a good way to determine or identify quality, or what consumers actually want or need.

The "what about cigarettes?" argument would be relevant if one of the market participants in this scenario was literally killing people (or otherwise harming society in some way).

An honest reader would not interpret my pro-free-market comment as being 100% absolute in any and all circumstances. An honest reader would consider the context. You're not arguing in good faith.

Try again?

> An honest reader would not interpret my pro-free-market comment as being 100% absolute in any and all circumstances.

FWIW, based on my experience, whenever I see Americans arguing pro-free-market, I am going to assume that they genuinely argue in absolutes. ("FWIW" because I can see from your profile that you're Canadian.)

Generally fair I guess, but extending the argument from electronics all the way to something as universally reviled as cigarettes? That's quite a leap! I mean, why stop there? Why not flame throwers and ballistic missiles? :-)

This is exactly the kind of thing that makes me want to participate less and less in online discussion. HN's rules require people to interpret comments charitably but it's still full of stuff like this. It's exhausting.

I just don't have the energy for it anymore and honestly that makes me quite sad.