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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 13th, 2023

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  • I don’t own a timeshare. Feel pretty good about that decision.

    The numbers they were showing us seemed to make sense. If we spent an average of X on vacations for Y years compared to the cost of the timeshare and fees, the timeshare was cheaper AND we could trade our week in a ski area for timeshares anywhere in the world. How could we not buy into this? Might have signed, but when they told us we couldn’t take any of the information with us and had to decide NOW, I knew something wasn’t right. Had to say no for almost an hour, but but we were eventually allowed to leave the “no obligation presentation” required for our “free” weekend.

    When I did more research, I found dozens of people trying to unload their purchases for far less than the company was selling weeks to new members.

    I’ll NEVER own anything using that kind of sales strategy.


  • I think the best way to deal with the issue includes education, digital skills, and parental oversight of Internet use including the use of personal filters or blocking tools if desired.

    As a someone who works in technology and is a parent to 2 kids < 10, I’m already aware of what a niave statement that is.

    I keep my kids’ iPad locked down and have a router with some basic parental control features, but as the number devices in our lives that are able to browse the web increases along with the number of wireless networks my kids can connect to, trying to police this myself is futile.

    And I’m not even concerned about them occasionally seeing “normal” porn. As a former Reddit user, I’ve seen some things I wish I hadn’t. Things I’m not able to fully process as an adult.

    I can handle the conversation about…

    “you know how people drive in Fast and Furious isn’t how people drive in real life? That’s what porn sex is like compared to the sex you are going to have.”

    I cannot explain some of the darker corners of Reddit.

    If you applied Geist’s logic to alcohol, it would be up to parents to keep kids from going to liquor stores. Sure I can stop my kids from drinking the alcohol I have in my own home, but I rely on laws to make it very difficult for them to do something as a community we’ve agreed they aren’t mature enough to make good decisions about.

    Why can’t we apply the same policies on to internet services?



  • I used eBay for years buying everything from computers to expensive bikes. I even helped a friend who bought a car from eBay.

    Now? Full of knock offs and scams. My last transactions were garbage designed to last long enough for a product photo shoot. Using any of these products for their intended purpose is a real safety risk and returns require a back and forth with automated systems designed to try to make you give up before you get any $$ back.

    I haven’t used eBay in ~8 and likely never will again. The thing about critical mass and network effect is it has as much (if not more) of an impact during a service’s decline.