Sean, you said: “You may think that what Thomas is doing as a CEO is unethical or reprehensible and that’s your right to think that way. But at the same time, that’s your opinion.“

Absolutely, and I’m sure there’s plenty out there that disagree with me. But hey, this is the place where I share my opinions, so sharing my opinion is OK

And yes, I do think it’s (at least borderline) unethical. It’s certainly intellectually dishonest, and more than that, it’s incredibly bad business.

Sean said: “As far as morals go, he’s doing nothing different than other “evangelists” throughout history have done.”

See, that’s where I disagree, or at least where I think the real learning from this issue comes from. Marketers do this kind of quasi-devious stuff all the time. But a good evangelist knows better. Evangelism, after all means “spreading the good word”… not “ripping on your competitors to make them look bad”.

A good evangelist knows that you get more flies with honey, that taking the high road is almost always better than the alternative. Look at Stewart Butterfield’s response in this thread and tell me who comes off better in the exchange.

Sean, you said: “You may think that what Thomas is doing as a CEO is unethical or reprehensible and that’s your right to think that way. But at the same time, that’s your opinion.“

Absolutely, and I’m sure there’s plenty out there that disagree with me. But hey, this is the place where I share my opinions, so sharing my opinion is OK

And yes, I do think it’s (at least borderline) unethical. It’s certainly intellectually dishonest, and more than that, it’s incredibly bad business.

Sean said: “As far as morals go, he’s doing nothing different than other “evangelists” throughout history have done.”

See, that’s where I disagree, or at least where I think the real learning from this issue comes from. Marketers do this kind of quasi-devious stuff all the time. But a good evangelist knows better. Evangelism, after all means “spreading the good word”… not “ripping on your competitors to make them look bad”.

A good evangelist knows that you get more flies with honey, that taking the high road is almost always better than the alternative. Look at Stewart Butterfield’s response in this thread and tell me who comes off better in the exchange.

I’ve also decided to quit looking at and engaging with photos of other Flickr members. And to quit any conversations in the general groups with Flickr membership.

I’m still keeping my account and will hang out with my Pals in Deleteme Uncensored (a group ironically that Flickr won’t allow you to see unless you are logged into your Flickr account, as we’ve been somehow coded “unacceptable” for non Yahoo eyes).

But my activity at Flickr will drop dramatically.

More than anything this is due to the fact that over the course of the past month Flickr has stopped being fun for me. The recent censorship thing was a catalyst, but really underneath it all Flickr has turned from one of the intense joys in my life into something miserable in my life. Much of the passion that I’ve felt for Flickr over the course of the last 2 years is very much dead.

I’ve also decided to quit looking at and engaging with photos of other Flickr members. And to quit any conversations in the general groups with Flickr membership.

I’m still keeping my account and will hang out with my Pals in Deleteme Uncensored (a group ironically that Flickr won’t allow you to see unless you are logged into your Flickr account, as we’ve been somehow coded “unacceptable” for non Yahoo eyes).

But my activity at Flickr will drop dramatically.

More than anything this is due to the fact that over the course of the past month Flickr has stopped being fun for me. The recent censorship thing was a catalyst, but really underneath it all Flickr has turned from one of the intense joys in my life into something miserable in my life. Much of the passion that I’ve felt for Flickr over the course of the last 2 years is very much dead.

But at the same time, that’s your opinion.”

Well, of course. It’s not the law or anything. People are free to do all sorts of stupid things

I’m just trying to explain to Thomas why people might look askance at him when he chooses to follow this path. He’s free to take my advice or leave it.

But at the same time, that’s your opinion.

As far as morals go, he’s doing nothing different than other “evangelists” throughout history have done.

But at the same time, that’s your opinion.”

Well, of course. It’s not the law or anything. People are free to do all sorts of stupid things

I’m just trying to explain to Thomas why people might look askance at him when he chooses to follow this path. He’s free to take my advice or leave it.

But at the same time, that’s your opinion.

As far as morals go, he’s doing nothing different than other “evangelists” throughout history have done.

Jean-Luc Godard famously observed of movie reviewers that the best way to criticize a movie is to make another movie. I would go a step further and say that, if you want to criticize, you have to choose one approach or the other: if Movie A prompts you to make Movie B, it’s disingenuous for you to also write reviews describing how Movie A sucks. In other words, you can either respond with words, or you can respond with actions.

With Zooomr you have decided to “make another movie”. That’s fine – it’s actually laudable. But it also means that you have to let your work speak for itself. Zooomr as a service should stand as an articulate enough refutation of the things you dislike about Flickr. If it isn’t, nothing you can write will change that.

Jean-Luc Godard famously observed of movie reviewers that the best way to criticize a movie is to make another movie. I would go a step further and say that, if you want to criticize, you have to choose one approach or the other: if Movie A prompts you to make Movie B, it’s disingenuous for you to also write reviews describing how Movie A sucks. In other words, you can either respond with words, or you can respond with actions.

With Zooomr you have decided to “make another movie”. That’s fine – it’s actually laudable. But it also means that you have to let your work speak for itself. Zooomr as a service should stand as an articulate enough refutation of the things you dislike about Flickr. If it isn’t, nothing you can write will change that.