# Which dotcom companies have NOT enshittified? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 20, 2025, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dotcom-companies-have-not-enshittified/1025892 "2025-12-20T15:45:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2025, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dotcom-companies-have-not-enshittified/1025892/141 "2025-12-28T16:28:25Z")
I have a feeling that there are a LOT of business school papers being written, or that could be written about this- when does it happen, how does it start, how successful does a company need to be for it to start? When does it kill companies? How do others reach an equilibrium? I’m not sure customer service is where it’s at; I would bet there are plenty of wholly enshittified companies with great customer service, and I’m also absolutely sure the reverse is true. The more I think about it, my guess is that it has to do with the presence of alternatives in some way. Like there’s got to be some element of monopolistic or near-monopolistic circumstances. Just trying to squeeze consumers and vendors to maximize profit isn’t unique, but what is unique is the descent into being just shitty all around for everyone but shareholders, and I suspect that only happens when there aren’t alternatives. Think stadium food; I’ll bet those vendors have a lot of the same hallmarks as enshittified companies. Low quality, they probably relentlessly push prices down to their vendors, and the company/shareholders reap the rewards. Why? Because when you’re at the ball game/concert/whatever, you don’t have other options. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2025, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dotcom-companies-have-not-enshittified/1025892/142 "2025-12-28T16:31:02Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Think stadium food; I’ll bet those vendors have a lot of the same hallmarks as enshittified companies. Low quality, they probably relentlessly push prices down to their vendors, and the company/shareholders reap the rewards. Why? Because when you’re at the ball game/concert/whatever, you don’t have other options. Maybe this is a California thing but in my lifetime venue food went from shitty hotdogs to all sorts of fancy options. It’s the exact opposite. Do you recall a time when stadium food was good? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2025, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dotcom-companies-have-not-enshittified/1025892/143 "2025-12-28T16:38:33Z")
Big venues have indeed gotten better, and I’d bet that there was some kind of change in terms of breaking the old monopolies where Sodexo or whoever ran all the concessions. That’s my point- old stadium food was ghastly and expensive, and I’ll bet they drove a really hard bargain with their suppliers too. Classic enshittification. I have a suspicion that in addition to monopolistic situations or near-monopolistic situations, the lack of regulatory oversight has something to do with it as well. I don’t see the DOJ going after Amazon or other online platforms that are virtually monopolies. And not because of the current administration, but because the laws haven’t caught up yet. In the real world, they probably have; you may have a regulated monopoly of some kind (old Bell system, various utilties, and so forth), but that _regulated_ is the key piece there; if you get too shitty, the government steps in to straighten you out and/or they set standards that you have to meet, regardless of your profitability, etc… Put differently, your local water utility can’t provide water that’s too crappy, or your state government will slap them around. And generally, unregulated monopolies are prevented/broken up in normal business. But online? It’s still the Wild West in a lot of ways. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2025, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dotcom-companies-have-not-enshittified/1025892/144 "2025-12-29T15:42:02Z")
So why/how did stadium food unshittify, and can the same process work with online businesses? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2025, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dotcom-companies-have-not-enshittified/1025892/145 "2025-12-29T15:48:32Z")
I can only guess that demographics changed as tickets got much more expensive and they’re serving that market. I don’t think there’s an analogy for online businesses. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2025, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dotcom-companies-have-not-enshittified/1025892/146 "2025-12-29T16:58:31Z")
I think the internet is still enough of a frontier that regulation is difficult because most of our congress critters and presidents are lawyers clueless about technology — and at the same time heavily invested in the industry and dependent on it for bribes. Techbros are the modern railroad barons, and our government has always preferred serving rich merchants over the common person. Lina Khan (former FTC chair) briefly tried to rein some of them in, but she didn’t last very long. And if we want to look at venues, Ticketmaster is also quite the story of enshittification, monopolistically buying up smaller venues and being able to now single-handedly negotiate both sides of the deal between artists and listeners so that both lose. Now _that’s_ a value-extracting middleman. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2025, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dotcom-companies-have-not-enshittified/1025892/147 "2025-12-30T00:13:50Z")
GOG got sold today, from CD Projekt Red to one of their original co-founders. They say it’ll stay DRM free and unenshittified. [https://www.gog.com/blog/gog-is-getting-acquired-by-its-original-co-founder-what-it-means-for-you/](https://www.gog.com/blog/gog-is-getting-acquired-by-its-original-co-founder-what-it-means-for-you/) ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2025, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dotcom-companies-have-not-enshittified/1025892/148 "2025-12-30T01:02:30Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I have a suspicion that in addition to monopolistic situations or near-monopolistic situations, the lack of regulatory oversight has something to do with it as well. You might enjoy the book, considering this is pretty much exactly where it goes, with lots of colorful details included to piss you off. Well, they pissed _me_ off! None of it is by accident. It was baked into the business model since day one. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dotcom-companies-have-not-enshittified/1025892/149 "2026-02-10T12:34:31Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Nitro is how they make money. I’m happy that they have a transparent way to make money and advertise it directly. I hope they make enough money off nitro that they don’t need to enshittify the rest of the experience. Nothing can be provided forever that’s really free. Well, not anything that large, anyway. And now they are [apparently](https://bsky.app/profile/gbdialga.bsky.social/post/3megtojods22i) being hit with so many cancellations of Nitro that their servers are crashing, thanks to their recent [announcement](https://www.theverge.com/tech/875309/discord-age-verification-global-roll-out) that people will worldwide be forced to verify their age and identity with either a photograph or legal identification. This not long after they had a major data breach. > **[GB (@gbdialga.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/gbdialga.bsky.social/post/3megtojods22i)** > > Oh my god, so many people are canceling Nitro that it's having issues processing it, cook 'em hard bois. > > \[contains quote post or other embedded content\] People are _very_ angry over this. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dotcom-companies-have-not-enshittified/1025892/150 "2026-02-10T12:37:50Z")
Why are they doing that? Is some country forcing them to, legally? And why are they storing and processing IDs in house instead of using something like [Id.me](http://Id.me)? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dotcom-companies-have-not-enshittified/1025892/151 "2026-02-10T12:39:25Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Why are they doing that? Is some country forcing them to, legally? Presumably so they can sell the data. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dotcom-companies-have-not-enshittified/1025892/152 "2026-02-10T12:53:33Z")
Oh well. Onto the next IRC clone, I guess. The cycle repeats every decade or so… ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dotcom-companies-have-not-enshittified/1025892/153 "2026-02-10T13:02:02Z")
I actually think they are trying to get ahead of the various laws requiring they restrict services to minors. > **[Social media age verification laws in the United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media_age_verification_laws_in_the_United_States)** > > In the United States, age verification laws for social media are ostensibly designed to limit young people's access to content deemed problematic such as pornography and to reduce the negative impact of social media on the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents. > The purpose and effects of such laws are highly contested. Critics say that these laws suppress free speech by removing online anonymity. They have also stated the laws undermine safety, even for children, by inc... ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dotcom-companies-have-not-enshittified/1025892/154 "2026-02-10T13:38:01Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I actually think they are trying to get ahead of the various laws requiring they restrict services to minors. Or that’s just an excuse. They’ve already lost the data of 70,000 people in a “leak” last October. But they _promise_ it won’t happen again. (sure 🙄) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dotcom-companies-have-not-enshittified/1025892/155 "2026-02-10T13:50:55Z")
Why the scare quotes? Are you seriously suggesting they faked a break-in in order to sell the data? Or that the “leak” was really them handing the data off to some government agency where they also were required by law to lie about it? What point are you trying to make? I’m not arguing (yet), just trying to understand what your contention is. I agree w the rolleyes about the happen again part. Substantially _every_ collection of data connected to the internet gets broken into soon enough. No matter how diligent the IT staff. And yes, some aren’t all that diligent. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dotcom-companies-have-not-enshittified/1025892/156 "2026-02-10T14:04:20Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I actually think they are trying to get ahead of the various laws requiring they restrict services to minors. Yeah, this. This is coming on the heels of various Roblox and Fortnite predator grooming scandals and states/nations enacting laws about it. The number of people canceling Nitro (though probably not actually leaving the platform) versus the fallout of Discord being pinned as the next big CSAM and abuse site – which its already gotten flak for – falls in a way to let people quit if they want. Honestly, there’s no real great option for a secondary place for those people to go anyway. Ironically, data collection will probably be the reason why Discord _doesn’t_ want my ID: > “For most adults, age verification won’t be required, as Discord’s age inference model uses account information such as account tenure, device and activity data, and aggregated, high-level patterns across Discord communities. Discord does not use private messages or any message content in this process,” Savannah Badalich, Discord’s global head of product policy, tells _The Verge_. I’ve been on Discord for around ten years and they’re probably confident that I’m not a 12 year old by now. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dotcom-companies-have-not-enshittified/1025892/157 "2026-02-10T14:40:25Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Why the scare quotes? Are you seriously suggesting they faked a break-in in order to sell the data? Quite possibly. Or rather, to manufacture an excuse for why their data was released once caught. I don’t trust them at all. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dotcom-companies-have-not-enshittified/1025892/158 "2026-02-10T14:44:06Z")
I mean, they are mostly free. I don’t “trust” them. But i don’t think they are super nefarious, either. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dotcom-companies-have-not-enshittified/1025892/159 "2026-02-11T00:16:00Z")
Favorite comment: > This is the first time I wish I had Nitro! > (so that I could cancel it) **Spouse Weasel** and I use Discord multiple times a day to organize our lives and our links. I don’t think they are going to have a hard time figuring out we’re adults, though. “Should we put in the 2027 Roth IRA in March?” “The boy’s principal called…” “$10.45 on Amazon for white crew socks.” ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dotcom-companies-have-not-enshittified/1025892/160 "2026-02-11T13:23:28Z")
As always, the question isn’t “Can they figure you’re an adult?”. It’s “Can they comply with the letter of the dozens of overlapping and conflicting laws in various jurisdictions? Each written with varying care as to being even roughly logical and each with varying levels of detail?”. That’s the actual mission. Compliance, not logic. Which laws may well collectively demand they retain a copy of a government issued ID on file and invalidate it on its expiration date, or every X months or … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dotcom-companies-have-not-enshittified/1025892.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dotcom-companies-have-not-enshittified/1025892.md?page=9)