13 votes

Why you can't boycott Amazon (and shouldn't even try)

9 comments

  1. [8]
    kayelcio
    Link
    I don't disagree with that political involvement is necessary to make change, but I don't see how trying to boycott Amazon isn't also a worthwhile endeavor. With the exception of AWS, it's not...

    I don't disagree with that political involvement is necessary to make change, but I don't see how trying to boycott Amazon isn't also a worthwhile endeavor. With the exception of AWS, it's not hard to find alternatives to most of the companies cited. Both methods are worthwhile, and not mutually exclusive.

    17 votes
    1. andre
      Link Parent
      Indeed. I'm happy to advocate for political change while simultaneously not purchasing things from them.

      Indeed. I'm happy to advocate for political change while simultaneously not purchasing things from them.

      10 votes
    2. [6]
      unknown user
      Link Parent
      If you put in a bit of effort, DigitalOcean and Linode can replace the majority of used AWS applications. They have S3-compat storage, block storage, CPU/Memory/GP-optimized compute VPS's, managed...

      With the exception of AWS

      If you put in a bit of effort, DigitalOcean and Linode can replace the majority of used AWS applications. They have S3-compat storage, block storage, CPU/Memory/GP-optimized compute VPS's, managed databases to replace EC2, and one-click installs and managed apps if that's your thing.

      3 votes
      1. [2]
        stu2b50
        Link Parent
        It's rather easy to avoid AWS as a developer - not only are there many smaller providers, but the other big clouds like GC and Azure exist, the problem is boycotting AWS as a platform. Vast...

        It's rather easy to avoid AWS as a developer - not only are there many smaller providers, but the other big clouds like GC and Azure exist, the problem is boycotting AWS as a platform. Vast amounts of the internet are hosted on AWS, and if you want to rid yourself of Amazon entirely, you are self banning yourself from a very significant amount of the internet.

        15 votes
        1. PendingKetchup
          Link Parent
          Boycotting isn't the same as refusing to talk to, nor is it the same as boycotting everyone else who doesn't participate in your boycott. If you aren't buying anything from Amazon or AWS, you can...

          Boycotting isn't the same as refusing to talk to, nor is it the same as boycotting everyone else who doesn't participate in your boycott.

          If you aren't buying anything from Amazon or AWS, you can declare boycott success.

          5 votes
      2. [3]
        Adys
        Link Parent
        No, if you think that you don't understand the extent of AWS' features (even just counting the ones say, at least 90 percent of clients use). Digital Ocean lacks alternatives for IAM, Cloudwatch,...

        If you put in a bit of effort, DigitalOcean and Linode can replace the majority of used AWS applications.

        No, if you think that you don't understand the extent of AWS' features (even just counting the ones say, at least 90 percent of clients use).

        Digital Ocean lacks alternatives for IAM, Cloudwatch, SNS and Lambda. I could simply tell you "look at the AWS product menu", as in truth AWS has maybe 200+ services that DO doesn't offer; but these four alone make up for a TON of the use cases people use GCP and AWS for.

        If you want to avoid AWS the only alternatives are GCP (Google is a similar evil to amazon) and Azure. Neither has the extent of features AWS offers but they are real contenders. And I guess there is the Chinese one, if you want to jump from the frying pan and into the active volcano that is china.

        5 votes
        1. [2]
          unknown user
          Link Parent
          You think 90% of AWS clients use IAM?

          You think 90% of AWS clients use IAM?

          2 votes
          1. Adys
            Link Parent
            A solid 100%, given that IAM is a core part of nearly every other AWS service (IAM went down the other day and AWS was basically unusable). Even if you don't actively use the advanced features,...

            A solid 100%, given that IAM is a core part of nearly every other AWS service (IAM went down the other day and AWS was basically unusable). Even if you don't actively use the advanced features, you have to use the basic features and you're very, very likely to use the entry-level ones such as the permission system.

            4 votes
  2. Gaywallet
    Link
    Short, sweet, and to the point. Completely agreed, the cards are stacked in their favor to continue to control the world and nothing will change until we decide government has to work in our favor...

    Short, sweet, and to the point. Completely agreed, the cards are stacked in their favor to continue to control the world and nothing will change until we decide government has to work in our favor or not at all.

    6 votes