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0 pointscnity3y ago0 comments

A potentially better analogy might be a library. The library borrowing model existed long before software, so one can't argue that modern software subscription models "enabled" this "predatory" practice.

I can borrow as much as I can read from the library, but I can't keep the books I haven't read at home while I am not a member. The books never really belong to me, just as the HP ink never really belong to users (until they are printed onto paper, at which point they become a constituent part of a "page" which _is_ owned by the user).

I think the cognitive dissonance arises because this "borrowing" model is being applied to a _consumable product_, which is not common.

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3 comments · 2 top-level

Aeolun3y ago· 1 in thread

For this analogy to work the library would have to trash the books you borrowed after you cancelled your subscription.

iso16313y ago

Perhaps a train then.

I buy an annual season ticket for a London-Reading journey with a monthly direct debit.

I then decide after 3 months I no longer want to use it, so I cancel the direct debit, and my account is settled

The train still goes, I'm no longer allowed to use it.

justinjlynn3y ago

When the product costs essentially little to nothing to manufacture - in comparison to the cost charged to the consumer - it may as well be considered a durable good to the manufacturer which allows you to "borrow" it for a fee that far exceeds the cost of lifetime replacement.

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