I know this thread is supposed to be an argument thread, but you've changed my mind on you. I think you're probably a decent person outside of our disagreements. Have a nice day.
@Victoria If their motive is public relations, which is my claim, whatever they do is being done because of a bad motive, if you accept that public relations is a bad motive to do something (which, for the sake of your soul and its virtue, I hope you do). And you are right about cookie dough.
Because the motive is not to pursue virtue or truth for its own sake, but the social and/or monetary rewards. I'm going to assume that you are not a liar. Do you refrain from telling lies because it is bad to lie? Or do you refrain from telling lies because you are afraid of the consequences? If you are the first, you are on the path to virtue. If you are the second, you are on a dangerous path. Motives matter more that results, to me. I would prefer an good motive and a bad result over a bad motive and a good result. Virtue is internal, not external.* ATA, I hold, is not doing anything because they think it is right, true, or good. I hold that they are doing everything to make a profit. That is not a virtuous or good quality. They should do something because they think it is moral, not because they think the market will reward them. In many ways I am Don Quixote, so I am not expecting you to embrace my worldview (although you should). But when I am criticized on false grounds, I feel honor bound to defend my position, however old-fashioned and utopian some may find it. *Although this is debate as to whether we need external goods to be virtuous. Plato said no. Aristotle said yes (its more complicated than that, but to ape from philosophy journals- that is not the subject of this post).
One could argue that monetary gain is a good motive. ATA provides a platform where people around can congregate, discuss ideas, escape from rl, work out their issues in ways not everyone is privileged to irl. In order to do so, ATA has overhead they have to maintain. Office space, computers, employees. Those employees need to eat, as do their families. ATA is providing entertainment to the masses and creating jobs. I would bet the employees love their jobs, and I bet for many of them it's a dream job. Without this company, how many of them would be on a daily grind that they hate just to feed themselves or their children? I'm sure there is plenty of true good happening because of it, even if you don't see it. I myself am rather monetarily motivated. I've been hungry enough, cold enough, and sick enough in my life to work my ass off to assure neither I, nor my family, ever has to again. I eventually want to adopt, donate to charities for children, fund dental and medical research. None of these things are possible without money. While the pursuit of money may not be the direct pursuit of virtue or truth,that doesn't mean that it's a pursuit in rejection of these things. Public relations is important, especially in an app with a global reach. Many communities and cultures come together here, and public relations is a way of saying, "We may have different views and beliefs, but it is in the interest of everyone involved that we do our best to understand and include as many of those different populations." Public relations is important to any and every business for profit or nonprofit. We don't live in little communes anymore where you send the children around with your messages and it takes months to cross an ocean. Also, no criticising. I simply asked to assure I understood your position before explaining my own.
ok so: ya i agree that adding things for marginalized groups for the sake of just making money off those folks is sketch HOWEVER don’t shít on the marginalized groups for enjoying the thing. i would rather see everything equally commercialized (unless a majority of a group has said they would rather it not be) than only the western white cishet christian stuff be celebrated in that way it comes down to whether or not it’s exploitative. the bracelets don’t feel so. the furni doesn’t feel so. why? because the pride gifts are inexpensive. the furni is not any rarer than any of the other furni. so idk i don’t think we can really tell what the motives are entirely. of course there is an aspect of money, but that’s to be expected. it’s a game, a company. but just because they do make money off of things doesn’t necessarily mean that everything they do is just to squeeze every last cent out of our pockets lmao, at least not anymore with these gifts than others
I think it was focused more on "ATA is a company in a capitalist country with majority of its users being from capitalist countries so it is going to operate in a capitalist way". idk i'm a socialist and while capitalization of certain things does bug me, i don't have an issue with an app making pride or eid gifts for people to share with each other. i know in the pride gifts posts they mentioned having someone of the developer team that is part of the lgbt community, and i am sure that they have at least one muslim on the team, too. while i do think a lot of the pride gifts were tone deaf, i think that having diversity on their team makes them want to show that diversity on the game as well. especially like tyto said ー the userbase is diverse as well.
I think capitalism is important and has its place in our modern society. I do live in a capitalist coutry, and you have to play the game before you can advance far enough to change it. I don't see how my focus on wages over property constitutes as me being capitalist, as capitalism is a system where the capitalist class owns the property that the working class makes their wages in.