Speaking both as one of the most vocal defenders of Apple on these threads and as someone who writes those defenses on a Linux machine and an Android phone, I'd respectfully ask that you not post baseless insinuation of astroturfing. We can respectfully disagree with each other without implying that one or the other of us is a paid off corporate shill.
> Please don't post insinuations about astroturfing, shilling, brigading, foreign agents, and the like. It degrades discussion and is usually mistaken. If you're worried about abuse, email hn@ycombinator.com and we'll look at the data.
To be pedantic, that wasn't an insinuation, it was an accusation. I also believe it is a false accusation, since Apple has many happy customers and employees on HN, but he is within the letter of the law.
Just perplexed at how fast any (even well balanced) critique on Apple is so quickly down voted here at HN. Maybe more people prefer brand over reality than I thought.
Again, for me it has nothing to do with brand loyalty—the only Apple device I use is the Mac that I have to use for work, and I regularly miss my Linux environments.
My reactions come mostly from perplexity at how many people so thoroughly misunderstood Apple's 30% fee as a ridiculously overpriced (10x) payment processor fee. That's never been how Apple or the law has thought about it, and the genuine surprise that Apple would insist on being paid is confusing to me.
It's up for debate whether the 30% was justified, but it was never in question that they'd want something.
Because Apple is a rare non-shittified company and people are apt to let them do whatever they want, in fear of upsetting the balance that keeps Apple products pleasant to use.
> Please don't post insinuations about astroturfing, shilling, brigading, foreign agents, and the like. It degrades discussion and is usually mistaken. If you're worried about abuse, email hn@ycombinator.com and we'll look at the data.
https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html