# If you use something for free do you/should you get to criticize/complain about its faults? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 5, 2019, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-use-something-for-free-do-you-should-you-get-to-criticize-complain-about-its-faults/833493 "2019-05-05T01:38:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-use-something-for-free-do-you-should-you-get-to-criticize-complain-about-its-faults/833493/21 "2019-05-07T00:21:07Z")
More evidence for why this is a completely stupid question occurred this afternoon. Yahoo email was down for several hours in numerous major areas around the world today, from late afternoon EDT until early evening. Yahoo email is mostly a free service, but many ISPs outsource to it, so it might be considered an added-value service with no specific or even real value attached to it, since you can always get it (or Gmail) for free, and it all uses the same infrastructure. So it was down for a few hours this afternoon. Yahoo email AIUI has a subscriber base of some 700 million users around the world. Should they be justified in complaining? Yes, they should. Should there be websites tracking outages and the volume of complaints, complete with realtime graphs? Yes, there should be, and there are. When you provide an important service and build a public dependency on it, then regardless of whether or not you’ve found a way to monetize it in some indirect way, and irrespective of the fact that it’s nominally free, you have a concomitant responsibility to support it. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-use-something-for-free-do-you-should-you-get-to-criticize-complain-about-its-faults/833493/22 "2019-05-07T00:31:14Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Tanstaafl. Nothing is free. At the very least, you are paying in time and effort and opportunity cost. If someone gave me a ‘free’ program and claimed I could do X with it and I spent a week trying to get it to do ‘X’ only to find out that it was fundamentally broken and would 't work, you bet your ass I’d complain about it. > > Offering something for ‘free’ does not absolve you from the pain or loss in time or opportunity it might cause to the people who use it. It also doesn’t absolve you from legal liability should you misrepresent what it does, or if it hurts someone due to your negligence. Yes, and this, too. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-use-something-for-free-do-you-should-you-get-to-criticize-complain-about-its-faults/833493/23 "2019-05-07T00:45:56Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Carry this illogical meme to its logical conclusion: > > If I’m allowed to criticize what I pay for, but not what is free; then what about _that which pays me_? I certainly wouldn’t be “allowed” to criticize my employer, if the meme were sound. > > A pizza shop sometimes has a 2-for-1 promotion, so we take an extra pizza home. “No complaints, please. It was free!” 😕 There is nothing at all logical about either of those. 1. Your employer pays you but (theoretically) you provide an equivalent value in labor. It is a mutually agreed upon exchange. 2. The 2 for 1 pizza deal does not mean you got a “free” or “extra” pizza. It is a marketing gimmick. You don’t think the owner is in the back crying at all of his money walking out the door do you? Or did I miss a whoosh somewhere? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-use-something-for-free-do-you-should-you-get-to-criticize-complain-about-its-faults/833493/24 "2019-05-07T03:03:09Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > It also doesn’t absolve you from legal liability should you misrepresent what it does, or if it hurts someone due to your negligence. I always wondered if those waivers of liability clauses in shrink-wrap license agreements are worth the bandwidth they are downloaded on. These usually accompany free software. I see them as contracts of adhesion or possibly not a contract at all (the software is free). In which case who is liable if the nuclear reactor blows up? The programmer who gave out free software on the express condition that all liability is waived including merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose? The engineer who installed the software? The power plant’s quality assurance team? ~Max ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-use-something-for-free-do-you-should-you-get-to-criticize-complain-about-its-faults/833493/25 "2019-05-07T05:16:16Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > The original metaphor is about the age of horses, which can be told from their teeth. If someone gives you a horse you’re supposed to say “thank you” without checking whether it’s old. But that’s about one of multiple things which make a horse valuable: if the horse you’ve been given is lame (that is, if it simply can’t be used for anything other than horse meat), that’s still a lousy “gift”. WHOA!!! I’ll gladly take all your old horse meat. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-use-something-for-free-do-you-should-you-get-to-criticize-complain-about-its-faults/833493/26 "2019-05-07T05:27:50Z")
I use the sidewalks freely. But if I slip on the ice and break my leg because they were not maintained properly, a lawsuit might be appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-use-something-for-free-do-you-should-you-get-to-criticize-complain-about-its-faults/833493/27 "2019-05-07T15:50:16Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > I use the sidewalks freely. But if I slip on the ice and break my leg because they were not maintained properly, a lawsuit might be appropriate. I’m not sure if that counts. If the sidewalks are maintained at the taxpayer’s expense, it’s not actually free for you, the taxpayer. Unless you do not pay taxes. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-use-something-for-free-do-you-should-you-get-to-criticize-complain-about-its-faults/833493/28 "2019-05-07T21:44:12Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > I get my air for free, but I certainly bitch about it when we have an ozone advisory that makes it tough to breathe, or there’s enough pollen and mold spores to inflame my allergies. I get free air for my tires at a local gas station run by a supermarket chain. It’s free because the station wants my gas business. Since I depend on that air machine, when I pull up to it with a soft tire and find out it’s broken with no explanation, I become a bit cross. _I don’t believe in anything, nothing is free They’re feeding our people that Government cheese_ - The Rainmakers ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-use-something-for-free-do-you-should-you-get-to-criticize-complain-about-its-faults/833493/29 "2019-05-09T16:52:39Z")
When I worked in real estate rentals, the worst people to work with were those on rent subsidy. Here they are, getting their rent paid by the government, and acting like they should be entitled to rent a condo that costs $3,000 a month. One couple who claimed to be living in their car and looking for something that would take their rental assistance refused a place because they didn’t like the area. Or, as they actual exchange went: Where’s it located? On (name of street) I’m not living there. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-use-something-for-free-do-you-should-you-get-to-criticize-complain-about-its-faults/833493/30 "2019-05-09T17:14:57Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > One couple who claimed to be living in their car […said:] > > “… I’m not living there.” Sounds like a self-fulfilling prophecy to me. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2019, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-use-something-for-free-do-you-should-you-get-to-criticize-complain-about-its-faults/833493/31 "2019-05-11T01:39:51Z")
> [@black\_rabbit](#): > > > [@Sitnam](#): > > > > Nothing is free or very long. If it costs nothing and someone likes to use it rest assured it will be monetized somehow soon. > > Mozilla and Firefox have existed as a nonprofit / open source project in one form or another for 21 years now. I’m sure they’ll monetize it one of these days. FYI, Mozilla gets money from Google (as the default search option) and from ads on the search results page. The Mozilla Foundation had net income of about $90 million in 2017. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2019, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-use-something-for-free-do-you-should-you-get-to-criticize-complain-about-its-faults/833493/32 "2019-05-11T02:33:48Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > FYI, Mozilla gets money from Google (as the default search option) and from ads on the search results page. The Mozilla Foundation had net income of about $90 million in 2017. the revenue you’re referring to is for the Mozilla Corporation which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation. [From Wiki:](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla_Corporation) The Mozilla Foundation will ultimately control the activities of the Mozilla Corporation and will retain its 100 percent ownership of the new subsidiary. Any profits made by the Mozilla Corporation will be invested back into the Mozilla project. There will be no shareholders, no stock options will be issued and no dividends will be paid. ---
**Author:** ![GMANCANADA](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gmancanada/32/2837_2.png) [@GMANCANADA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GMANCANADA)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-use-something-for-free-do-you-should-you-get-to-criticize-complain-about-its-faults/833493/33 "2019-05-14T01:45:46Z")
I just wanted to point out that some clarity is required on the way some posters talk about “not for profit” organizations. They suggest that since Firefox is a “not for profit”, we shouldn’t criticize their work. This implies they’re a bunch of volunteers or low paid workers doing their best. All the term “not for profit” means is that they don’t declare a profit at the the end of the year. Any surplus money (i.e.: profit) must be either invested back into the business or paid out to the employees (or senior managers) usually as a year-end bonus. My wife is an accountant who’s audited many “not for profits” that solicite donations from the public for various causes. While some employees were working at them out of passion for the cause, most were very well paid. Some senior executives were making literally hundreds of thousands of dollars a year plus large year end bonuses based on surplus income. Meanwhile, most of the public who donated money believed they were supporting charities of some kind, they were not. Not for profits are full-on businesses. As Dewey points out - Firefox has _lots of revenue_, they just don’t declare a **profit**. I’m not Firefox or Mozilla expert but from everything I’ve read they have large teams of people who are very well paid. Bottom line: there valid arguments to be made for when someone should or shouldn’t criticize something they get for free, however simply because the organization supplying is a “not for profit” is not one of them. Differences between a not for profit and a charity in Canada: > **[Differences Between Charities and Non-profit Organizations for Your Donations...](https://turbotax.intuit.ca/tips/differences-between-charities-and-non-profit-organizations-for-your-donations-5351)** > > Find out about the differences between registered charities and non-profit organizations that impact the rules for making charitable donations in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Annoying\_Buzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Annoying\_Buzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annoying_Buzz)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-use-something-for-free-do-you-should-you-get-to-criticize-complain-about-its-faults/833493/34 "2019-05-14T10:01:01Z")
Not quite the same thing as the OP, but I’ve noticed a pattern doing work for clients on things that are largely intangible. There’s a corollary to the expression “You get what you pay for”, in that people will assume your work is worth whatever they pay for it. When we’d do a project and charge $50,000 for it, the clients would keep revisions reasonable and professional, never add on other items (not without us then revising the cost estimate), and were typically quite happy with the results. When we’d do something for free for them as a favor, that same client would criticize every last point, demand sweeping changes even to things they’d previously requested, ask for new things that would have added huge costs (“why can’t you shoot new video content for this web page?”), and would barely even say thank you for it afterwards. Like the Joker said, “if you’re good at something, never do it for free.” What he failed to add was “because if you do, nobody will ever appreciate it.” ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-use-something-for-free-do-you-should-you-get-to-criticize-complain-about-its-faults/833493/35 "2019-05-14T17:42:55Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Nothing is free. > > Let’s say someone gives you a gift: A raggedy, musty, damp wash cloth. Perhaps the polite thing to do would be to just throw it away and never speak of it ever again, but would it be bad to tell someone, “This is a bizarre and totally useless Mother’s Day gift”? I don’t think so. Nor do I think it would be the worse thing in the world for this thought to be tactfully communicated to the giver so that they can do better next time. I think it’s a bit much to compare a free browser that worked perfectly for years and happens to have had a major snag recently to a moldy cloth. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-use-something-for-free-do-you-should-you-get-to-criticize-complain-about-its-faults/833493.md?page=1)