The $hitification of everything

spedini said:
So many negative, bitter people on this Forum.

Hard to understand.
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@spedini It seems like human beings generally have their likes and dislikes, etc. But if you're here long enough and read enough posts, I believe you'll find that "negative people" are few here, and that most members have positive things to say and to contribute. Many here are quite helpful to one another.

Having been here two years now, that's my personal take.
 
spedini said:
So many negative, bitter people on this Forum.

Hard to understand.
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You're repeating yourself :)

Some of these topics are indeed negative. Perhaps if we ignore everything bad it will just go away?

Yes, I can describe the world with a less than positive attitude (just being accurate). But I am not bitter and everyday in my life is filled with possibility and potential;)
 
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IMO it isn't negative, it is analytical (the title is a little click-bait-ish/depressing but the topic is real). I didn't watch every moment of it, but I totally agree with it and it appeared to be zeroing in on the root cause toward the end.

I have run across the explanation a few times but I never remember it exactly, something about a change in business some decades ago from considering a company good if it made profit every year to a new economic business goal of only considering a company good if it made HIGHER profit every year.

And the problem isn't just in quality of consumer products, in one company I worked for they posted higher profits every year but it wasn't because they were really making the company more productive and profitable, instead they were hollowing out all the quality, they laid off more and more people and worked us to death and had insane impossible deadlines and in spite of causing a multi-million dollar problem they managed to make the company look amazing on the books and then sold it.

Another company I worked for sold a software package to other businesses and charged continuing fees which were advertised as used to keep the software upgraded, but then the company laid off the programmer who was the only person expert in the software and just gave the customers pitiful meaningless UI upgrades each year.
 
spedini said:
If you're on the internet complaining,
you don't know what problems are.
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Not entirely true. Perhaps a homeless person with an Obama phone is hunkered down outside a restaurant using free wireless and posting some grievences online?

There may very well be forum members here that are dealing with serious health issues, financial challenges, or an unsafe living situation/conditions?

But since they are communicating on this forum their problems cannot be real or significant?

Is there a chart or rating system that classifies when a problem or issue is deemed worthy of complaining about online?
 
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spedini said:
So many negative, bitter people on this Forum.
Hard to understand.
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Most of us try to tolerate differing opinions... and we even listen kindly while being told how often someone urinates. Oh wait, that was you. Well anyhow, sometimes someone joins here and says offensive things about members like @MACKTEXAS pointed out with the link. Oooops, that was you, too. You sound very much like someone who was recently banned... you been here before? Just curious, don't beat the messenger.
 
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outlander said:
You're repeating yourself :)

Some of these topics are indeed negative. Perhaps if we ignore everything bad it will just go away?

Yes, I can describe the world with a less then positive attitude (just being accurate). But I am not bitter and everyday in my life is filled with possibility and potential;)
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Well the video is true so I see no issue with you being bitter. Just sharing something factual.
 
outlander said:
I found this somewhat amusing, but the truth behind it is sad.

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Earlier this year, I bought a new clothes washer (one item mentioned in the video). I'm really pleased with it and hope it lasts.

This isn't a quality issue, but what I'm running into a lot these past months is that Walmart has stopped carrying various items in the store that I've been buying there for years. When I asked an employee about one item this week, she said, "That's a dot com item now, no longer carried in the store so you have to order it online." She said the same thing last week about a vitamin supplement that's generally carried by most stores.
 
She is so right about the planned obsolescence. I first started paying attention to it about 8 years ago... things are not being made like they were in the past, and the first culprit I noticed was major appliances. What our parents bought that lasted for 20 or 25 years now has a lifespan of 8 or 10. But did the cost go down? No way!

Clothing the same on a smaller scale. And even smaller still, I noticed a few years ago when tuna cans went from 6 oz. to 5 oz. Did they think we wouldn't notice? But they didn't have to raise the price too much... just give less food and maybe no one will catch it. Shrinkflation is showing up more and more every time I shop.
 
Obviously, many products and services never change, so the author is exaggerating for the sake of emphasis, a poor communication habit of many. Specific to the video, she seems to think all Levis jean products have always had the same wear quality, however that has never been so.

Levi 501/505's, I use for outdoor activities, have always used heavier duty fabric than say the Levi 511 jeans I use as street wear. Likewise, Levi's have plenty of special jean products using lighter fabrics and a wide range of colors. And they advise treating those products differently, including keeping them clean, and NOT regularly washing them for months that is an admission they are not intended to be used like 501s. So, if she wanted durable black Levis, she should have done so with the 501 model.

As to $hitification, yes that is an increasing common bait and switch strategy of corporate marketing bean counter types for the sake of higher $$$ profits. And I too, am one that does not like it nor the slimy way they try to do whatever as though intelligent consumers won't notice.
 
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