Never trust a company

Answer to a thread in the Gnutella-Forums where people bashed LimeWire for putting money first.

They are a company, and you don't trust companies. Not because they are evil, but because they have to think of money first and foremost.

If they do not put money first, they go down and others come up who do - and their employees will lose their job. At least as long as people still buy products without regard for ethics.

I hold them in very high esteem for GPL-ling LimeWire and for standing up against the lawsuit.

They are a company, and that makes them non-trustworthy, but because they are a company, they can fight a battle which none of us others could fight.

Never trust a company, but don't judge them down for thinking money before morals or ethics from time to time, as long as they don't do it all the time. You only know they are going down a dark road, if they even do harm where it is against economical sanity.

And never ever deal with... - a Shadowrun saying :)

PS: Also keep in mind that a company in the stock market might actually be forced to do unethical but profitable things, because the CEO is liable to the stakeholders and could personally face legal action when refusing them. If it is not in the stock market, the company has a responsibility to the employees. Which is why you as customer can never trust it even if the owners are all well-meaning folks — though they might act in your interest most of the time, so expecting betrayal all the time would also be wrong. They would have to be very strong in ideology to put your well-being over the well-being of their employees (judge for yourself whether they would then actually be good).