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top 200 commentsshow 500
[–]hairyreptile 2549 points2550 points2551 points  (94 children)
After reading through this thread, I'm inclined to believe the answer is "every industry".
[–]SmallishBoobs 487 points488 points489 points  (38 children)
Next thread: "What Industry isn't as Shady as We Might Think?"
[–]FancyFoxFive 248 points249 points250 points  (12 children)
Responses would probably be more surprising tbh
[–]Back2Bach 4959 points4960 points4961 points  (1041 children)
The funeral industry:
From the cost of coffins to monuments, obits to flowers to cemetery plots/grave-openings, grave-closings - there's a great deal of mark-up and charges built in to the entire funeral expense. People are often surprised by total outlay - and how they sometimes pay for things not really needed, but included in the overall bill.
[–]Undoubtedlyoboe 335 points336 points337 points  (29 children)
A month or so ago, I got quoted $3600 for the cheapest, no service, no frills cremation and internment. After hearing that I was low-income (I'm disabled, I barely make $9k a year,) they quoted me about $1500 without internment. When I found someone who would do it cheaper, the funeral home wanted to charge me $600 for a removal fee when I didn't even call them in the first place, the police did.
It's quite a racket. I can only imagine how much they take from people who actually have money to spend.
[–]usb_lighter 1883 points1884 points1885 points  (520 children)
Yes try to sell anything funeral related and you can't even get pennies on the dollar for it. For instance, take any popular funeral home in the town where you live and look at the price for two burial plots, lets say its $3500. Now if someone buys those burial plots they can legally sell them but no one will buy, you can't even get $800 out of them if you tried. Source: tried to help a client unload her parents' unused burial plots
[–]permissionjunkie 2936 points2937 points2938 points  (295 children)
Were her parents raptured?
[–]hybrikk 570 points571 points572 points  (197 children)
My mom is the last living person on her side of the family. She inherited 5 burial plots in our town cemetery. There's 4 of us, including my father who wants to be buried with my mom. Meaning we have 5 burial plots, but only need 3. What are we gonna do with the remaining 2 ?
[–]once_said_blah 2238 points2239 points2240 points  (34 children)
Jacuzzi?
[–]Tsera 355 points356 points357 points  (16 children)
Rent them out to some vampires? Check references though, it's a bitch getting rid of bad renters.
[–]AnticitizenPrime 537 points538 points539 points  (31 children)
Well, if you ever need to get rid of a body, you've got just the place.
[–]MAK911 175 points176 points177 points  (23 children)
Good point. Who looks for a body in a cemetery?
[–]Bloodyfinger 161 points162 points163 points  (4 children)
What are we gonna do with the remaining 2 ?
Summer home?
[–]ILoveSunflowers 722 points723 points724 points  (72 children)
Lost at sea.
[–]EnnuiKills 1702 points1703 points1704 points  (54 children)
After 5 years they returned with one goal, to save their city.
E: shout out to /u/jp4645 for gilding my dumbass comment! Thanks dude!
[–]chunkaloaf 440 points441 points442 points  (32 children)
They had to become someone else.
[–]BadAdviceBot 362 points363 points364 points  (117 children)
you can't even get $800 out of them if you tried
Wait...why will nobody buy them cheaply?
[–]nixonrichard 571 points572 points573 points  (100 children)
Most people really, really aren't comfortable planning that far ahead.
[–]trailrunner666 324 points325 points326 points  (77 children)
My dad always found it very sad when people are having bbq or soliciting money on the side of the road to pay for funeral services. My grandparents have paid theirs in advance, as have my parents. Woohoo for money saving tips.
[–]DiscordianAgent 188 points189 points190 points  (58 children)
Pre-paid funerals are ok, but it's more flexible to use life insurance for covering final expenses, that way you're not tied to one specific funeral home.
[–]macho_madness 158 points159 points160 points  (39 children)
Also my grandfather pre paid for his funeral and they still wanted a few grand from me.
[–]determinedforce 19 points20 points21 points  (6 children)
I could care less. Pine box. Boot hill. Potter's field.
[–]Shikra 38 points39 points40 points  (5 children)
I want to be one of those cadavers they leave out in a field to study how people decompose.
Just think, dead two years and still meeting people.
[–]BarbarianNerd 69 points70 points71 points  (48 children)
Concrete vault+pine box+church rental
Really shouldn't cost more than a grand. I understand plots being at a premium, but even cremations are pricey.
My family is lucky, we inherited a couple plots from pioneer days in an old cemetery. If everyone gets cremated, we can plant everybody left in the family in the same two holes.
[–]Industrial-crow 134 points135 points136 points  (35 children)
If you bypass the funeral home and go directly to the crematorium, you can save thousands. I just lost my dad and mom within 3 years. Mom went through the funeral home to be cremated. Cost $3,000. Dad, we sent him directly to the crematorium. Cost was $650. The things you learn!
[–]UndisputedYachtRock 130 points131 points132 points  (24 children)
Great article in the Bloomberg last year about the guy from Vegas that's shaking things up with Chinese caskets. Check it out. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2015-02-20/casket-industry-fends-off-chinese-imports-favored-by-vegas-entrepreneur
[–]dominion47 309 points310 points311 points  (29 children)
Similar technique to engagement rings.
"You want to show them how much you love them "
As told to you by the guy selling the 'show'. Oh. While you are grieving.
[–]mikepat92 155 points156 points157 points  (25 children)
PRE-ARRANGE EVERYTHING FOR YOURSELF TO HELP YOUR LOVED ONES!!!
[–]RobLowesVoice 3994 points3995 points3996 points  (534 children)
The fitness / supplement industry. A bunch of new supplements daily with "proprietary blends" that don't need to be FDA approved with false claims all over the labeling. You have a bunch of fake reviews on Amazon or all over their business website with a bunch of shoddy science and people buy into them to "get fit quick".
[–]Themalster 1570 points1571 points1572 points  (221 children)
Frontline is about to release a piece on it. Hope its good.
That shit could just be sugar, flower, and cocoa powder, and you wouldn't be able to tell unless you had the right equipment.
EDIT: There is a testing group called informed Sport, who test supplements to see if they fall within the World Anti Doping Association's standards.
[–]Is_A_Velociraptor 972 points973 points974 points  (107 children)
flower
I think you mean "flour", unless you're implying it's made of ground-up daffodils or some shit.
[–]ragn4rok234 1843 points1844 points1845 points  (20 children)
He wouldn't know without the right equipment!
[–]canopringles 321 points322 points323 points  (40 children)
Bro, haven't you heard? Daffodils are a key revitalizing agent and will not only kickstart your muscle growth into overdrive, but will also nourish and replenish your epidermal stratum, leading to silky smooth skin. Not to mention the anti-toxin properties.
[–]molrobocop 204 points205 points206 points  (15 children)
Infused with swoleflower seeds. So you know it's good.
[–]1kn0wn0th1n9 125 points126 points127 points  (8 children)
Remember to cycle out with activated almonds, because the body can quickly build daffodil tolerance, or daffodolerance as scientists say
[–]sarahollyx 62 points63 points64 points  (22 children)
Herbalife, ItWorks! (that crazy wrap thing), Isagenix, Shakeology!
Anything that is 'guaranteed' for you to lose weight- you should always be skeptical of.
[–]nsryan 299 points300 points301 points  (64 children)
and then using people on steroids to market the products as if it was the supplements that gave them the results. those guys aren't ripped and jacked from the preworkout they use or the protein they take... the look like that because they're on steroids
[–]RobLowesVoice 156 points157 points158 points  (14 children)
Yup a lot of the models are just that, models. They don't actually use the particular products that they're advertising.
[–]Luckyducks 2657 points2658 points2659 points  (688 children)
The wedding industrial complex. So much price gouging.
[–]Grimdotdotdot 1829 points1830 points1831 points  (220 children)
A friend and I used to be DJs that did weddings (along with other parties). We didn't get booked for many weddings, then one day on a whim I doubled the price stated for weddings on our website, and we were getting wedding gigs every other week, even though we didn't do anything differently.
Talking to other DJs I found out that they all do this, and they all have the same results.
Protip: If you need a DJ for a wedding, enquire about a party. Don't specifically mention wedding until a price has been agreed (even then, it doesn't really make any difference as far as the DJ is concerned). If the DJ asks you if it's for a wedding and then tries to change the price, make sure to ask them what the difference in service is. Maybe they will do things a little differently, and it's up to you to decide if it's worth the extra cash.
[edit] I should point out that we were based in the UK, where the weddings are normally a lot less extravagant than they are in other parts of the world.
[–]rabton 704 points705 points706 points  (75 children)
This was so annoying with our wedding. My now in-laws paid for it, but they refused to look at the "cheap" options. Everything had to be the most expensive option and in the end, a lot of the vendors were really shitty and disappointing. Late about everything, refusing to respond to inquiries, poor taste (everything just had to be cliche and tacky), just all around bad service.
But at least they were the most expensive!
[–]Hydrok 502 points503 points504 points  (63 children)
I got a great DJ for 650 dollars. My father in law was pissed that it didn't cost 1.5k. He grumbled about it all the way up to the wedding until the DJ flawlessly pronounced everyone's name in three families one French, one Italian, and one Lebanese. He didn't care after that.
[–]PETER_JACKSON 318 points319 points320 points  (42 children)
Wow. Then there's my DJ. My wife hired him for $1,000.
I asked him to play one embarrasing song when my best man stood up to give his speech. Bit of an inside joke, but fuck you I'm paying you to do it. He didn't play it and told me a little later he didn't have that song (which he then played an hour or two later, telling me he downloaded it on iTunes just for me).
His Macbook "froze" during the mother/son dance. I had to stand there with my mom for 5 minutes in the middle of everyone while he made small jokes brushing off his inadequacies.
He had us give him a "do not play list" of songs we didn't want him to play, even if they were requested. My wife put a few of the cornier wedding dance songs in there that she really didn't like. He played them all. He played The Cupid Shuffle twice. Twice. I finally went up to him and told him that was on the "do not play" list. He just told me people were asking for it. WTF do you have this list for then?! I started telling him off until my wife grabbed me and took me away to enjoy my actual wedding.
This douchebag took $1,000 from us to fuck around on his iTunes list for 3 hours and do nothing he said he would/would not do.
[–]spydurchem 400 points401 points402 points  (79 children)
Former wedding DJ here. In my experience weddings were a lot more work than a party. You often have to bring a second set of equipment for cocktail hour. After cocktail hour you need to introduce the honored guests, wedding party, and the married couple. Gotta make sure you don't mess up the names otherwise you will look like a tool. While everything is going on you need to coordinate with the maitre d to know when courses are coming out and when you can get people on the dance floor. Add in running the cake cutting ceremony, the bouquet toss, and every other traditional wedding ceremony, and it ends up being a lot more work than a party where I would just show up, play music, and make a few announcements.
[–]daddidnteditit 20 points21 points22 points  (3 children)
At my brother's wedding, the DJ messed up spectacularly. He didn't preview any of the songs he downloaded for us. The worst part came when it was time for the mother/groom dance. It turned out that the file he had for the song my brother picked out was corrupted and unplayable. The song he ended up playing instead was a touchy-feely country love song that made the dance have these really creepy Oedipus vibes. Everyone in the room felt uncomfortable, while my mother and brother were mortified.
In the end the DJ was so embarrassed for it that he refused to accept payment. The entire event ended up being DJed for free! So hey, good on him, but I really hope he took a lesson to always make sure his files are playable well before the event!
[–]topherherb 488 points489 points490 points  (178 children)
Yeah, pro tip: avoid letting a vendor know that your order is for a wedding at all costs. People holding your order hostage to get you to pay more for "expedited service" at the last minute is not uncommon.
This advice obviously needs to be taken with a grain of salt. There are some things it would be better for the vendor to know it is for a wedding. Use your own judgement - the local cover band you hired should know the crowd and that this is an important gig, the flowermart shop where you've talked to a different person every time probably shouldn't.
[–]effingeenyus 592 points593 points594 points  (21 children)
"A 3 tier cake with a little bride and groom on top? We can do that. What's the occasion?"
"No occasion, just have a craving for something sweet on June 19th"
[–]1kn0wn0th1n9 247 points248 points249 points  (6 children)
"To be honest... wow this is embarrassing. Every summer, my friends from high school get together and we spend a weekend watching romcoms and eating wedding cake.
You know, I don't even remember why we started doing it, but it always lights up our social media!"
[–]wh1skeyk1ng 280 points281 points282 points  (120 children)
My fiance and I are in the process of lining up our wedding. You can literally see the dollar signs light up in the rep's eyes when we mention a wedding. The cost of everything these venues require you to pay for individually along with renting the venue itself is sickeningly phenomenal and nearly every person we deal with gives me that slimy car salesman vibe.
It's to the point where going to Vegas for 3-4 days and getting hitched is looking pretty cheap.
[–]IdiotPile 286 points287 points288 points  (40 children)
I went to a very popular Historic Inn for brunch with my fiancé'. $20.99 for an amazing spread with Mimosas, carving stations, omelets to order, etc... and a beautiful décor. I asked the waitress if it was possible to reserve 100 people for brunch at a time, and she said yes - and they also have a private room if we wanted to sit together. I asked if it was OK to have a party during brunch also, and she said yes, I booked it for 100 people: $2,099.00 with tax. Called the manager and asked if we could bring in flowers for the centerpieces...and she paused and said, "Is this for a wedding? Because we have Wedding Packages that start at $59.00 a plate per person." I said no. I invited my cousin to the brunch who just happened to be a Justice of the Peace.... and I wore a white dress. We got married in the room. The Manager met me at the door when we were leaving and said, "Congratulations to you both... at finding a very costly loophole in our policy."
[–]pb0316 63 points64 points65 points  (25 children)
Mmm did you get a feel if the manager reacted positively or negatively to that? I may end up doing that if the day ever comes but I don't want some dick face manager making sparky comments about some loophole.
[–]ShelSilverstain 1011 points1012 points1013 points  (149 children)
Photographer here. The reason for the "price gouging" is because everybody wants to get married on the 8-10 Saturdays a year with the best weather. Get married on Wednesday in the winter, and we'll all gladly give you a huge discount. I shot a wedding for $750 in November that I'd charge $3,500 to shoot in July.
[–]the_strat 352 points353 points354 points  (66 children)
This is true. Also brides/grooms can be a complete pain in the ass to deal with. Just putting up with them requires greater compensation.
Edit: I a letter.
[–]Serima 240 points241 points242 points  (40 children)
Why aren't my 400 retouched photos available yet?? You've had a whole day and a half to work on them!!
[–]Stembio 127 points128 points129 points  (22 children)
One of my coworkers got married on a Saturday and then was complaining on Monday that his photos weren't available yet. Chill out dude, the photographer has to sort through and edit a million photos, and they likely shot another wedding on Sunday too. Good editing takes time, this isn't fuckin' instagram.
[–]Sunsparc 48 points49 points50 points  (11 children)
It's the typical "doesn't understand technology" mindset.
Sure, you could just batch them through Lightroom real quick and they'll be ready but probably look like shit. Finishing touches take time.
[–]nkdeck07 342 points343 points344 points  (26 children)
Unfortunately the wedding industrial complex has essentially put a tax on sanity. My husband used to cater weddings and they ALWAYS charged more for them because 1 in 5 couples would be batshit insane and loose them money or just be a royal pain in the ass to deal with. The other 4 couples wound up penalized because of the one crazy one.
The thing is a wedding really is a harder event to deal with then a family reunion or something. If you are catering a family reunion no one is gonna give a rats ass if it's the wrong kind of parsley, a wedding someone might completely and totally lose their shit on it.
Edit: A word because 5 people felt the need to comment
[–]ghostbackwards 39 points40 points41 points  (5 children)
Wedding chef caterer for over 10 years can confirm.
[–]Eloquentdyslexic 3111 points3112 points3113 points  (260 children)
The aged care industry, especially the private sector. There is a lot more neglect than people realize.
[–]acidpaan 624 points625 points626 points  (37 children)
Oh my God, many facilities have bare minimum staffing and have nurses and aides working mandatory overtime. I cant imagine quality care from a nurse whose been short staffed at work for 16 hours against her will.
[–]dontpanicmatt 189 points190 points191 points  (14 children)
Worked dietary for 8 years in a nursing home. Can confirm. We had a long term wing that housed 40 residence and staff was at 3-4 CNA's...that's 10-13 residents per aide. The company was terrible and cut corners all the time. Part of the reason I left was because they lost sight of their mission statement. To provide the best long term and rehabilitation care to the elderly. It became about just meeting expectations, not going above and beyond.
[–]ROCK_HARD_DOG_DICK 64 points65 points66 points  (8 children)
My sister did this for a while when she was still in nursing school and it broke her heart. She'd try her best to get to know the people and just sit and talk to them but she was super busy doing 4 other jobs that she had no time, and basically had to treat them like a number.
[–]Muffinizer1 849 points850 points851 points  (23 children)
Fucking Sandpiper Crossing
[–]Player_Six 444 points445 points446 points  (34 children)
It has a lot to do with caregiver fatigue. A lot of certified/patient care assistants are given the job of caring for patients from a ratio of >10 to 1 caregiver. They are always on their feet and constantly hoisting the elderly up and around in bed to wheelchair. It can be taxing on the body, but also the mind. Many of the patients I've seen are suffering from dementia and it can be heartbreaking.
If you want to do right to your parents, let them stay in your house in their advanced age. If that's not an option, then go for an extended care facility that has a low caregiver to patient ratio.
[–]ROCK_HARD_DOG_DICK 701 points702 points703 points  (26 children)
Now you can go to sleep, or I can put you to sleep. Check out the nametag. You're in my world now, grandma.
[–]AlwaysGnarlyAlways 340 points341 points342 points  (11 children)
I'll get you a warm glass of SHUT THE HELL UP.
[–]beer_madness 87 points88 points89 points  (0 children)
Oh, well, now your back's gonna hurt, 'cause you just pulled landscaping duty. Anybody else's fingers hurt?... I didn't think so.
[–]Ginkgopsida 2703 points2704 points2705 points  (503 children)
Mattresses indstry. Price rigging leads to several hundered percent price increase.
[–]mynameishi 1166 points1167 points1168 points  (282 children)
Have you ever tried to compare mattresses from different retailers? They guard the technical details like crazy, and each retailer has different buzz words.
[–]OK_Compooper 2139 points2140 points2141 points  (26 children)
It's like they're all in bed with each other.
[–]therock21 562 points563 points564 points  (226 children)
I have a gel foam mattress. I got it for like $700 at Sam's Club. It was pretty cheap for a king size but I like it. It probably cost like 10 dollars to make though.
[–]straighttoplaid 56 points57 points58 points  (5 children)
Part of that is so they don't have to price match. They change inconsequential stuff so it is technically a different model.
[–]IDDQD-IDKFA 477 points478 points479 points  (57 children)
Protip: www.sleeplikethedead.com is your friend.
[–]baminy 393 points394 points395 points  (25 children)
Going into this, I was thinking that this was going to be some website where you can get heavily discounted prices on mattresses that people have owned previously but died, possibly on said mattress.
[–]yourotherusername 172 points173 points174 points  (13 children)
You may have just created a niche industry. Run with it man.
[–]ParchmentNPaper 187 points188 points189 points  (34 children)
Quite remarkable to see this so high in this thread, considering people always mention mattresses to be the one thing to spend a bit extra on in those AskReddit threads. I guess that's exactly why the industry can pump up the prices.
[–]Sir_Phillip 434 points435 points436 points  (49 children)
The school textbook industry. They come out with a "new edition" every 2 years and most of the time they don't change a thing. But the universities are all on board and make it a requirement for professors to use the most updated books.
[–]blorgensplor [score hidden]  (1 child)
Add to this all those school accessory websites. I have to pay $50 for one website just so I can get access to a lab manual to print it myself.
Then all those websites charging $50-100 just so you can do your homework on them.
[–]EdibleBatteries 1020 points1021 points1022 points  (136 children)
The olive oil industry. Olive oil is one of the most adulterated products in the world, to the point that most of the "extra virgin" oil you buy does not actually adhere to international guidelines and some can be classified as "lampante" grade (literally - lamp oil in Italian).
[–]tungstan 241 points242 points243 points  (90 children)
What are you supposed to do with that information, other than simply never using olive oil? It's not like the stuff is incredibly cheap anyway.
[–]zipzag 209 points210 points211 points  (39 children)
In the U.S., you want to buy olive oil from one of the credible California companies. California Olive Ranch is reviewed as superior, as is Trader Joe's California Estate product.
Forget imported southern European olive oil, especially Italian. Italians certainly know how to buy good olive oil in-country, but who knows what is in the stuff they export.
[–]ARuinerOfThings 1145 points1146 points1147 points  (60 children)
If you've ever driven through Western North Carolina you've probably seen gem mines. You maybe even went into one and purchased a bucket of dusty looking feldspar with a few colors peeking through the dirt. You lustily imagined finding diamonds, rubies, and sapphires as you ran each rock under the recycled water stream of your assigned flume and soon enough, you acquired a tidy little pile of assorted raw form "gems". You probably then took those rocks to the workers who told you that you found a beautiful emerald worth hundreds of dollars if you'll just pay a small fee to get it cut, and maybe you agreed. A few weeks later a package arrived at your door with your brand new emerald that you found!
Yea, no. We took your greenish rock, threw it back into the pile with all the others for another little shit kid to find tomorrow and then dug a precut stone out a draw full of them to send to you. This stone is of the shittiest possible quality that can still be cut and is worth less than the bucket of shit rocks that you "found" it in. Enjoy!
[–]paisleyterror 133 points134 points135 points  (4 children)
Well you ruined that for me!
[–]Ekkosangen 77 points78 points79 points  (1 child)
If everyone is finding gems worth hundreds of dollars, no one is.
[–]Plz_Dont_Gild_Me 28 points29 points30 points  (0 children)
I kinda like getting shitty minerals and bullshitting with my friends. Never would expect to find anything more valuable than the memory of doing it though
[–]horsenbuggy 19 points20 points21 points  (1 child)
Um, I bought buckets that I knew were "salted." I got rough garnets from the buckets. I took those home with me. I was told maybe one would turn out to be cutable if I bothered to take it to a gem cutter.
I was very well informed of the "process" and still thought it was fun.
[–]wordserious 5051 points5052 points5053 points  (1235 children)
The whole fucking app economy.
[–]akuun 3893 points3894 points3895 points  (297 children)
Here's a simple little app. Try it now! It's just some harmless fun!
...Now give me your phone number, address, your entire contact list, your credit card information, mic access, and permission to monitor your location at any time.
[–]DrInsano 1503 points1504 points1505 points  (228 children)
But why does it need all that? I thought the app was supposed to just give me random cat facts every day! D:
[–]jacoman74 1995 points1996 points1997 points  (199 children)
You are now subscribed to DogFacts! Did you know the average dog has slightly less than 4 legs?
[–]Dark_Crystal 42 points43 points44 points  (2 children)
The two big causes: The android permission system was designed by a committee of drunk children, and the descriptions of what each one does then run through google translate 60 times. That part is slowly getting better. The second cause is SDKs. Say you want to make an app that uses physics but don't want to write that part, just grab an SDK/framework and stick it in. Oh, but it needs these 4 permissions because it was written to be more generic so that more people use it so it also can handle taking photos so now your app HAS to request that permission even if you don't use it or the SDK crashes your app on launch!
[–]iprefertau 662 points663 points664 points  (33 children)
you mean how most mobile games are skinner boxes that abuse human psychology to make the most amount of money possible off you
eddit i have to go sleep im missing words in my sentences
[–]MokitTheOmniscient 67 points68 points69 points  (6 children)
This extra credits video gives quite a good summary of the problems.
[–]QUEENROLLINS 202 points203 points204 points  (11 children)
wait did I just have a stroke or does this comment not make sense
[–]The_Juggler17 2885 points2886 points2887 points x2 (644 children)
Remember in the mid 2000s when flash-based games were really popular? Like on Newgrounds (and lots of others). There was some really neat stuff back then, all totally free and without too many ads.
Pretty close to every single flash-based game on Newgrounds back in the 2000s was better than any mobile game today
.
Even really popular ones like Angry Birds would have been pretty standard stuff on Newgrounds, something like Candy Crush wouldn't have been very popular at all. I don't really remember what any of those Newgrounds games were called, you could typically just click on something and expect it to be allright.
They made a lot of really neat time waster kind of games back then, stuff to play for a little bit while you're bored - just like the audience for mobile games today.
.
But mobile games today, almost 100% shit compared to what was around for the same price and the same demographic just a few years ago.
Mostly, the difference is the motivation of the content creator. Back then, those games were usually a project of passion, something they did because they loved doing it - a hobby. But today the only motivation is money in microtransactions and ad revenue; they make a game just barely good enough to keep a certain demographic of addictive personality paying for it.
[–]mr_malhotra 1140 points1141 points1142 points  (98 children)
I lived on AddictingGames.com
[–]The_Juggler17 351 points352 points353 points  (19 children)
Fuck yeah, anybody in high school or college from around 2000 - 2008 did.
[–]DheeradjS 2546 points2547 points2548 points  (80 children)
Candy Crush wouldn't have been very popular at all
It was actually. It was called Bejewled.
[–]Davis660 962 points963 points964 points  (54 children)
And flappy bird was called copter.
[–]aginpro 833 points834 points835 points  (43 children)
and angry birds was called crush the castle (i think that was the name)
[–]tghGaz 225 points226 points227 points  (15 children)
Yeah Crush the Castle. Or going even further back "Castle Clout" (that was the first version of Crush the Castle).
Edit: The thing that annoys me is when asked the Angry Birds developers claim the game idea came to them after they drew a picture of a bird without wings and imagined how it would fly. Yeah right, why not just say "we played a cool flash game and wanted to make a game like it but with some improvements"?
[–]TheOneTonWanton 264 points265 points266 points  (14 children)
Yeah I thought I was taking crazy pills when angry birds first got big. It was/is such a blatant ripoff.
[–]WyMANderly 1018 points1019 points1020 points  (232 children)
Newgrounds was alright, but Armor Games is where it was at!
[–]jtlcr777 553 points554 points555 points  (7 children)
I'm getting flashbacks of their animated sword and shield logo...shink...shink...tink....
[–]mattpayhan 19 points20 points21 points  (1 child)
I'm getting something closer to war memories recalling that ABSURDLY LOUD UNMUTABLE LOGO. God damn that thing would have busted me so many times if my teachers knew what that sound was and if I didn't know my way around a computer lol
[–]g0_west 482 points483 points484 points  (57 children)
But newgrounds had the 18+ section
[–]Mosepipe 730 points731 points732 points  (82 children)
Miniclip completed the holy trinity.
[–]PM_BEAUTIFUL_SHIRTS 367 points368 points369 points  (28 children)
I loved Heli Attack 2 back in the day
[–]spwack 162 points163 points164 points  (20 children)
Miniclip was kind of eh... most of the time. But then you find that one game and you were always coming back.
Good times.
[–]Yorshy 418 points419 points420 points  (28 children)
Obviously only the cool kids went to Kongregate.
[–]rodinj 88 points89 points90 points  (2 children)
Achievements before achievements were popular
[–]SpeakNoBullshit 116 points117 points118 points  (5 children)
Kongregate was my shit. I think I hit some decent leaderboard spots in Toss the Turtle
[–]shoopdahoop22 37 points38 points39 points  (1 child)
I still play Portal Flash at school to this very day
[–]CaptainHacker 422 points423 points424 points  (69 children)
I work in the mobile gaming industry. For a lot of mobile developers, the goal isn't necessarily to make a fun game. It's to make a game that will make money. It's not uncommon to hear developers talk about their player base as if they were drug addicts. "How do we keep them coming back for their next hit?" It's kind of scary, actually. It's a soul sucking job to have to develop like this when I just want to try to make something fun.
[–]The_Juggler17 171 points172 points173 points  (13 children)
For a lot of mobile developers, the goal isn't necessarily to make a fun game. It's to make a game that will make money
This is it, this right here.
The goal is to make a game that isn't necessarily fun, but keeps people playing despite not really enjoying it.
[–]Imperium_Dragon 130 points131 points132 points  (23 children)
A huge chunk of apps are pretty much unusable, and they make you pay money to even work. Even some MMOs make you have the ability to have some fun, but game apps are just insane.
[–]dramboxf 178 points179 points180 points  (19 children)
Especially the kids' games. Jesus, even the ones I pay $1.99 for, my granddaughters come to me with the iPads saying "Poppa, what does this mean?" or "I can't go any more!" and I look down and it's UNLOCK THIS FEATURE FOR ADDITIONAL MONEY!
I'm looking at you, Disney.
[–]Minn-ee-sottaa 593 points594 points595 points  (100 children)
Literally every mobile game now follows the FarmVille model: eye glazingly boring grinding that can only be sped up with in app purchases.
If this is the future of gaming, it's not a future I want to live in.
[–]k5berry 259 points260 points261 points  (45 children)
Yeah they're literally all the same thing, go around, try and build up your land or do whatever, but to do that you need to play for 3728562371 hours or pay for this. Like in the Mobile Strike ads they play during the NFL Arnold literally says "build walls twice as high as they need to be, attack with double the necessary troops!"... They're literally putting in their ads they want you to buy shit you don't need lol.
[–]Maccas75 1266 points1267 points1268 points  (209 children)
International sport.
Match-fixing, links to organised crime, drug cheating, corruption. The more money invested in a sport, the higher the likelihood of shady shit going on. Most people have their head in the sand over it because they're so passionate about their particular sports.
[–]bunka77 904 points905 points906 points  (109 children)
So for Americans, you're talking about football.
And for non-Americans, you're talking about football.
[–]Seagull66 64 points65 points66 points  (2 children)
League play is where it's at. International competitions just don't have the leverage to force proper behavior.
[–]Noonealex 620 points621 points622 points  (57 children)
Breast Cancer Awareness. Especially big ones like Susan G. Komen.
[–]ApaUK 3667 points3668 points3669 points  (846 children)
The KPOP industry.
The girls are literally used as prostitutes among music producers, record label execs and advertising CEOs.
Such a corrupt and disgusting industry.
Edit: Wow, this really upset some hardcore kpop fans that can't fathom the idea that their beloved kpop isn't as pure as they're lead to believe (although it's not exactly like they're hiding it).
[–]red_sutter 1663 points1664 points1665 points  (235 children)
The pop music industry chews up and spits out kids everywhere. Why do you think so many ex-Disney entertainers end up going crazy?
[–]Hexatona 703 points704 points705 points  (219 children)
God, if one of my kids had the "opportunity to be famous" I'd run the fuck the other way. They might hate me, but god it's not worth it at all.
[–]redditATworkBC 1053 points1054 points1055 points  (160 children)
It would appear to be okay in some circumstances. Of course, some things could come to light down the road. But I'd say the Harry Potter kids seemed to make it out okay. Even Malfoy grew up to be seemingly normal.
Edit: Wow, this got more attention than I was expecting. I honestly had no idea Radcliffe struggled with booze, he seems sober and ok now which makes me happy :)
Edit 2: Jesus guys, the Malfoy quip at the end was meant to be a joke.....
[–]Hexatona 751 points752 points753 points  (132 children)
I think, for that one, there was a lot of support for the kids. I don't think Rowling would be very happy at all if the kids involved in the production were being exploited somehow.
That being said, I have seen Radcliff may have gotten into the coke, but that's just a slim rumour.
[–]modernbenoni 467 points468 points469 points  (39 children)
To be fair many youths with that much money would dabble in cocaine or other drugs. I do know that he struggled with alcohol though, which is unfortunate, but I'd say overall his life seems to have been made better by the fame.
[–]jong123 399 points400 points401 points  (45 children)
I'm pretty sure he was in rehab for alcoholism when he was in his early 20's. Having said that he does seem to be really switched on and is clearly quite intelligent.
[–]daddidnteditit 29 points30 points31 points  (4 children)
I recall that he said in an interview somewhere that there were many times that he was drunk on-set. There are entire scenes that he doesn't even remember filming.
[–]steelear 64 points65 points66 points  (7 children)
There is one kid in my daughter's 7th grade class whose parents have been trying to make famous since 1st grade. She has an agent, takes voice and piano and acting lessons, and is always "on stage". All the other kids in the class can't fucking stand her and most of us parents can't stand her or her parents, it is so gross it's almost sad. The biggest thing she has accomplished so far is an advertisement on the side of a building with her and another kid's photo and they act as if she is a star. The picture is both of the parent's facebook profile pic. The dad by the way is a failed musician and the mom a failed actress so they are fully projecting in an attempt to live vicariously through this kid. To make things even worse she has a younger sister who is all but ignored.
[–]Nick357 174 points175 points176 points  (3 children)
I told my brother and BILs if I die my wife cannot put our son in any child acting thing or baby modeling. He used to be very cute but now he is starting to look like me so I don't even have to worry about it!
[–]SnowHesher 2239 points2240 points2241 points  (317 children)
I'm pretty sure that sort of thing happens in Hollywood also. In Corey Feldman's autobiography he mentions that he was repeatedly molested when he was a child actor. And somebody (I think it was his agent) even told him "This is just the way things are done in Hollywood."
Why do you think Hollywood rallies behind Roman Polanski whenever there's an attempt to extradite him back to the United States? If the Hollywood establishment publicly condemned Polanski, he could expose other Hollywood pedos.
[–]JimmerUK 638 points639 points640 points  (105 children)
There were also the whole rumours going around that Haydn Panitierre's mother pimped her out as a high-class prostitute to Hollywood.
[–]SnowHesher 821 points822 points823 points  (94 children)
I seem to recall that, several years ago, Drew Barrymore discussed her experiences as a child actress in an interview. She told a story about how when she was 12-13 years old she attended a Hollywood party. She was given drugs and alcohol, and then she was passed around like a party favor to the men at the party.
Shirley Temple also has similar stories about being a child actress in Hollywood.
[–]basementfriend 191 points192 points193 points  (35 children)
What on earth? I loved Shirley Temple as a kid, and had no idea. Do you have any links to stories? I'm off to google to try and find out more.
[–]SnowHesher 268 points269 points270 points  (21 children)
The story that immediately pops into my mind is that when Shirley Temple was 12 years old she had a meeting with MGM producer Arthur Freed. During the meeting he unzipped his pants and exposed himself to her, she laughed, and he threw her out of his office.
There may be some more stories, but I'd have to try to find them.
[–]GIVES_SOLID_ADVICE 277 points278 points279 points  (15 children)
What the fuck did he expect?
"Nice cock, big boy. Lemme pull on that thing a lil while"
[–]mixiemixie 36 points37 points38 points  (5 children)
No you silly goose, he expected her to break out into a song and dance number.
[–]arikoglass 82 points83 points84 points  (8 children)
You should read Judy Garland's wikipedia page (she was a child actress for MGM Studio, she was also Dorothy from Wizard of Oz)
Here's an excerpt from the Early Career section: "To keep up with the frantic pace of making one film after another, Garland, Rooney, and other young performers were constantly given amphetamines to stay awake, as well as barbiturates to take before going to bed so they could sleep.[28] For Garland, this regular dose of drugs led to addiction and a lifelong struggle, and contributed to her eventual demise. She later resented the hectic schedule and felt that her youth had been stolen by MGM. Though Garland was of a healthy weight, the studio demanded that she diet constantly. They even went so far as to serve her only a bowl of soup and a plate of lettuce when she ordered a regular meal.[29] Despite successful film and recording careers, awards, critical praise, and her ability to fill concert halls worldwide, she was plagued throughout her life with self-doubt and required constant reassurance that she was talented and attractive."
[–]dorksai 19 points20 points21 points  (3 children)
Even belonging to a famous and established acting family didn't help her? Damn.
[–]bitwaba 19 points20 points21 points  (0 children)
There was a big front page Reddit story along the same lines for Judy Garland during the Wizard of Oz. They continually berated and abused her, and everything they dressed her up in was done to make her look younger (both on and off camera, like when she would have meeting with the producers or some such nonsense).
I think its easy for people to deflect the issue and say "Oh, that was a long time ago. It was just a different time. Its how things were done. There's no way anyone could get away with anything like that now."
And I think that's probably the biggest indicator that it still happens. You can't be racist today. There was a really big period in our history where we went through uncovering all the terrible ways people were treated just because of their race, and now racists are publicly condemned. There hasn't been any public cleaning house of Hollywood. Everyone pretends these sick fucks are just normal business guys. It takes a monumental outrage for things like that to change. There's been no outrage, so there's been no incentive for them to change the way they operate. There's no reason to assume they just changed out of the goodness of their hearts. Look at the shit they were doing in the first place. There is no goodness in their hearts. They won't change.
[–]Pharrun 841 points842 points843 points  (132 children)
So you're saying that your Hollywood is similar to our (British) Government?
[–]BaconatedGrapefruit 399 points400 points401 points  (19 children)
The idol scene is pretty scummy in Japan as well. You have your actual (insane) contract with your handlers which controls 75% of your life. And then you have your (more insane) social contract with your creepy, obsessive fans. Cross either one and they will destroy you both professionally and personally.
[–]Almostlongenough 98 points99 points100 points  (1 child)
I remember there being a few scandals involving Jpop idols being completely humiliated just for trying to live a normal life. Here is an example of one such case.
[–]schm0gg 701 points702 points703 points  (40 children)
IIRC, I also read that many, by contract, are not allowed to have relationships. I don't have a link right now and can't remember if it was about Korean or Japanese (maybe even both) stars/idols but they want to have this sense of "Ah, they are obtainable because they aren't in a relationship" to remain among the fanbase. If one of the stars were to announce their relationship, it would often lead to a lot of public outrage and a decrease in fame or something like that.
I mean, it's more or less the same with western celebs, the teen-outcry is insane when a someone announces a relationship, but I don't think (or at least I'm not aware of) such things being listed in contracts...
Edit: a word
[–]enfermedad 322 points323 points324 points  (5 children)
Here is an article about a Jpop star who shaved her head in remorse when she was found dating.
[–]kaliforniamike 234 points235 points236 points  (63 children)
Oh God that's horrible! Any sources or links on that?
[–]lokithepunishr 895 points896 points897 points  (60 children)
*For many young women in Korea, becoming a K-pop idol is a dream. But once they sign a contract with an entertainment company, they find there is a lot more to pay than just hard work and persistence. Female trainees are traded by brokers and are allegedly brought to bars and forced to engage in sexual work to get ahead, even if they are still minors. One ex-trainee claimed in an interview that the going rate for a “meeting” with a female trainee was $220, while very young trainees, or those signed with a prominent label, cost between $700-900.
In 2010, Taiwanese singer Estrella Lin claimed that when she was a member of girl group 3EP Beauties, her agency bartered her body to potential investors. She said this is an open secret throughout the Korean entertainment industry, and actresses and singers are expected or forced to give sexual services in order to get advancement opportunities. In 2002, Jang Seok-woo, CEO of Open World Entertainment, was arrested for not only sexually abusing female trainees, but encouraging male idols in his employ to do the same. Aphrodisiac substances were administered to trainees, some of whom were underage. Open World Entertainment would go on to issue a public apology for “causing disappoinment,” with a conspicuous absence of any reference to the victims of the abuse.
[–]ToPimpAButterface 1896 points1897 points1898 points  (292 children)
How has nobody said Hollywood yet? One of the biggest "open secrets" is the rampant pedophilia going on in Hollywood. Family Guy, to my surprise, recently called this problem out and singled out Brian Singer specifically.
E: For those interested, Corey Feldman has been very vocal about the issue over the years. An Open Letter is also a documentary about Hollywood's pedophile problem.
[–]Fallenangel152 630 points631 points632 points  (72 children)
I still remember the rumours about a 90's Nickelodeon teen star that got made pregnant by a 50s+ producer. Cue quick hush hush abortion, and big payoffs.
Not to mention the rent boys that frequent the sets of certain major Hollywood stars.
[–]micahshell 445 points446 points447 points  (17 children)
BRING IN THE DANCING LOBSTERS.
[–]theoneyoutrusted 373 points374 points375 points  (13 children)
Jamie Lynn Spears. It was more so the early 2000s I believe.
EDIT: Turns out it was around 2007 actually. The show being aired 2002-2007. Time flies. I remember it because my sister was obsessed with Zoey 101 and was devastated it got canceled. It became public that she had sex with the producer and impregnated, although when I google around it has mixed stories.
[–]ablino_rhino 46 points47 points48 points  (1 child)
I'm pretty sure she kept the baby and that's why the show got canceled.
[–]Nzash 63 points64 points65 points  (16 children)
Must've been Dan Schneider. That guy had em all.
[–]apple_kicks 288 points289 points290 points  (34 children)
Brian Singer
His wiki flags up the lawsuits over the years will note they seem to have fallen apart.
With amount of child stars that have gone off the rail in adulthood it wouldn't be surprising. Was only Last year Ashley Judd spoke out about producers 'casting' actresses in hotel rooms. Will note no names came out, but maybe to protect actresses connected to producers.
[–]ParameciaAntic 941 points942 points943 points  (146 children)
Internet advertising
[–]-eDgAR- 490 points491 points492 points  (78 children)
I had an internship with an dental marketing agency that did SEO and it was super shady. Writing fake reviews on Yelp, posting blog articles with a ton of links onto random websites, a lot of things I was not okay with doing.
[–]therock21 328 points329 points330 points  (37 children)
Teeth are really important
[–]toothofjustice 320 points321 points322 points  (11 children)
“I'm a testimonial. Click to edit me and add text that says something nice about you and your services.”
That's great.
[–]ishkabibbles84 109 points110 points111 points  (10 children)
The copyright at the bottom of that page says 2023... apparently that's a dentistry from the future
[–]MurphysLawn 33 points34 points35 points  (1 child)
I'm really sold by those testimonials!
[–]theclassicoversharer 38 points39 points40 points  (21 children)
The worst part is if you read the reviews, the fake ones are so easy to pick out. If a company has a lot of obviously fake reviews online, I don't use that company. They've got something to hide.
[–]NDoilworker 1654 points1655 points1656 points  (145 children)
Oil field supply companies. "Everyone is making millions, so this bolt is now $50" oil crashes "everyone is losing their ass, so this bolt is now 49.99."
The insane profit margins in the oil field supply chain industry pretty much nullifies the "pay for quality" argument.
[–]AtmosphericMusk 616 points617 points618 points  (45 children)
Same with medical supply companies. Basically works in any industry where insane profits are being made and it's not worth anyone's time to care about finding good pricing on materials.
[–]zackhankins74 650 points651 points652 points  (111 children)
We all know the music industry is already pretty shady but there are some things that even go beyond what they normally do. If you want to have an idea of what I'm talking about look into the situation with Ke$ha
[–]superkoop 98 points99 points100 points  (1 child)
“The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.”
  • Hunter S. Thompson
[–]QUEENROLLINS 259 points260 points261 points  (76 children)
Got any links to start off? 'The situation with Ke$ha' is kinda hard to google
[–]croix153 1222 points1223 points1224 points  (256 children)
Game Development.
Devs are extremely overworked. Expected to work 60-80 hour weeks (depending on the company, without additional pay) to meet unrealistic deadlines.
[–]ArmaViraginumCano 667 points668 points669 points  (106 children)
As an ordinary software dev, I cannot believe what the games industry gets away with. The only reason that any studio has staff is because everyone there loves video games and is putting their passion into it.
To read more, here's the seminal blog post by a wife whose husband worked for EA in the early 2000s.
My significant other works for Electronic Arts, and I'm what you might call a disgruntled spouse.
EA's bright and shiny new corporate trademark is "Challenge Everything." Where this applies is not exactly clear. Churning out one licensed football game after another doesn't sound like challenging much of anything to me; it sounds like a money farm. To any EA executive that happens to read this, I have a good challenge for you: how about safe and sane labor practices for the people on whose backs you walk for your millions?
I am retaining some anonymity here because I have no illusions about what the consequences would be for my family if I was explicit. However, I also feel no impetus to shy away from sharing our story, because I know that it is too common to stick out among those of the thousands of engineers, artists, and designers that EA employs.
Our adventures with Electronic Arts began less than a year ago. The small game studio that my partner worked for collapsed as a result of foul play on the part of a big publisher -- another common story. Electronic Arts offered a job, the salary was right and the benefits were good, so my SO took it. I remember that they asked him in one of the interviews: "how do you feel about working long hours?" It's just a part of the game industry -- few studios can avoid a crunch as deadlines loom, so we thought nothing of it. When asked for specifics about what "working long hours" meant, the interviewers coughed and glossed on to the next question; now we know why.
Within weeks production had accelerated into a 'mild' crunch: eight hours six days a week. Not bad. Months remained until any real crunch would start, and the team was told that this "pre-crunch" was to prevent a big crunch toward the end; at this point any other need for a crunch seemed unlikely, as the project was dead on schedule. I don't know how many of the developers bought EA's explanation for the extended hours; we were new and naive so we did. The producers even set a deadline; they gave a specific date for the end of the crunch, which was still months away from the title's shipping date, so it seemed safe. That date came and went. And went, and went. When the next news came it was not about a reprieve; it was another acceleration: twelve hours six days a week, 9am to 10pm.
Weeks passed. Again the producers had given a termination date on this crunch that again they failed. Throughout this period the project remained on schedule. The long hours started to take its toll on the team; people grew irritable and some started to get ill. People dropped out in droves for a couple of days at a time, but then the team seemed to reach equilibrium again and they plowed ahead. The managers stopped even talking about a day when the hours would go back to normal.
Now, it seems, is the "real" crunch, the one that the producers of this title so wisely prepared their team for by running them into the ground ahead of time. The current mandatory hours are 9am to 10pm -- seven days a week -- with the occasional Saturday evening off for good behavior (at 6:30pm). This averages out to an eighty-five hour work week.
Continued here (it gets worse!): http://ea-spouse.livejournal.com/274.html
[–]strega_genesis 57 points58 points59 points  (36 children)
Yeah as a non-game app dev, this is a problem that game devs have. I get crazy hours from time to time, but nothing like that.
That said I am working on MLK day.
[–]kodeman66 322 points323 points324 points  (42 children)
Can confirm - Used to make games.
The work hours aren't even the worst part. For me it was the constant looming threat of layoffs. Most places don't care much about you when it comes to the bottom line. There's always a steady stream of kids fresh out of game design college ready to fill those gaps with inexperience.
[–]cashmakessmiles 11 points12 points13 points  (5 children)
who did you work for?
I know more than one rockstar employee, none of which have had complaints, however I don't know about any other studios.
[–]kodeman66 12 points13 points14 points  (2 children)
I don't know that I'd want to say where exactly on this account. Really the studio was great, but the publishers were the worst. They can dictate a LOT of what goes into games, and that blows.
One of them ultimately pulled the plug on multiple projects we had with no warning because of "corporate restructuring" or some such nonsense. Just like that, 3/4 of the studio had to be laid off because that's where the money was coming from. People like to shit on yearly franchise games for lack of innovation, but at this point I think I'd be happy to work for a studio that cranks those out for the sake of having some modicum of job security.
[–]Droombus 8 points9 points10 points  (1 child)
Except yearly franchises are never made by the same studio so you wouldn't even have that security. You might get hired to make like two Asscreed spin offs, doesn't mean they're gonna use your studio for another.
Even if your game is successful what you are talking about still happens way too often. Look at Irrational games, shipped a huge success both financially and critically yet they were all laid off once they finished the DLC.
[–]kodeman66 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
Yeah. Perfect example of instability right there. At least at the larger places there's at least an assumption of money being there. I've only worked at small/mid size places, and in that scenario you're constantly flying by the seat of your pants when it comes to securing funding.
[–]TDeliriumP [score hidden]  (0 children)
I work for 2K games, Rockstars sister company and it's a pretty awesome environment to be in. They really try their best to make sure you're in good hands and comfortable doing what you're doing. I have friends working at other companies though who have said the work hours are insane.
[–]AqueousJam 11 points12 points13 points  (1 child)
Can also confirm - used to make games...
And yet I miss it. I got out because I wanted to be able to afford a life outside work, but all of the work I've done since has lacked that 'magic' that games have.
My goal is to become sufficiently financially sorted that I can either make my own games, or get a job, make a game, then take a 3 month break and not care if they won't hire me back after.
[–]Le_Feesh 3 points4 points5 points  (0 children)
I hope you can find the balance you seek. It is not often that you find work that has that magic. Hopefully, I will play one of your games some day!
[–]HoldMyWater 65 points66 points67 points  (11 children)
This is why we need unions. I hate how being pro-union is now a controversial opinion.
[–]bsenftner 8 points9 points10 points  (0 children)
I tried for years to get a union effort going at EA. Most game devs are smart shitheads working themselves into an early grave.
[–]EccentricFox 16 points17 points18 points  (2 children)
It's supply and demand; there's simply more people than jobs. Unions can protect workers in some ways, but they can't create more work. Those kids straight out of school will have a much harder time simply getting any game work if the industry unionized. My dad has been in one for over 20 years, so don't think I've got an axe to grind though. It could maybe payoff, but it's not a cure all.
[–]samcbar 10 points11 points12 points  (2 children)
Its controversial because a lot of people including myself have delt with unions and DO NOT WANT TO JOIN ONE UNDER ANY FUCKING CIRCUMSTANCES.
I am a network engineer in the US.
[–][deleted] 4 points5 points6 points  (5 children)
Is being a game developer that different from being a normal software engineer/programmer? From what I hear game development is fucking horrible. Long hours, bad pay. I'm just wondering why anybody would still be a game developer if they could just be a normal developer instead?
[–]kodeman66 4 points5 points6 points  (2 children)
Well, maybe for programmers it's more or less the same. Couldn't say myself. I'm a 3d artist, and for me game development offers a pretty unique experience for my trade. It's fun, rewarding, and something that's hard to find a parallel for outside of the industry. As much as I love making art, I wish I had studied CS so I could go find something more stable as a software developer.
[–][deleted] 1 point2 points3 points  (1 child)
Currently studying cs, so I know what you mean. I guess there are a lot of different groups involved in creating a game and the switch is a lot easier for some of them. Thanks for explaining it.
[–]Hartastic 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
Is being a game developer that different from being a normal software engineer/programmer?
Absolutely. There are exceptions, but in games, long hours are the norm and in non-game programming, long hours are more unusual.
Some of this is supply and demand; there are many more people who want to make games than can make a living doing it, so if you're a game programmer who doesn't want to work long hours it's trivial to replace you with someone who does. Conversely there are a lot more options for conventional developers and if your employer demands long hours and doesn't compensate you accordingly it's typically very easy to find a different job that doesn't.
But if what you really want to do is make games, what can you do?
Something else to think about is the typical different working conditions. The friends I've had in the games industry worked long hours regularly and death march hours a fair amount of the year, but... they also had super casual work places and would take breaks to play StarCraft with their coworkers or watch anime. You can't usually do things like that at a normal software job. If you're young and single and you like that kind of thing maybe it isn't such an awful trade to be at the office for 80 hours and get to screw around for 10 of them or whatever.
I maintain that if game development was done more like business app development (something you really cannot do with your mix of developers perpetually skewed towards junior devs relative to the rest of the world) they could get done in 40-50 hours what they take 70-90 to do now, but that's a separate topic.
[–]wormspeaker 3 points4 points5 points  (2 children)
There's always a steady stream of kids fresh out of game design college ready to fill those gaps with inexperience.
And people wonder why games are so buggy and delayed. As a regular software developer I can tell you experience really pays dividends in development time and quality.
[–]throwaway566678 [score hidden]  (1 child)
Most places don't care much about you when it comes to the bottom line.
Welcome to every job everywhere, USA.
[–]kodeman66 [score hidden]  (0 children)
Yeah, very true. Doesn't make it suck any less.
[–]HoldMyWater 7 points8 points9 points  (3 children)
This is why we need unions.
[–]BearWithVastCanyon [score hidden]  (0 children)
Jesus this sounds awful!
The pay in web is much better and devs are actually in demand so you can push your weight about.
[–]brandononrails 83 points84 points85 points  (15 children)
I wanted to get into Game Development. I met a few devs from Ubisoft and EA and it's still such a "bro" culture. I wouldn't want my worst enemy working in the mainstream game industry (indie game company are a different culture it seems like).
I have 2 kids, so I'm not going to work somewhere that guilt trips me for not working 80 hours/wk. I'm glad to stay right where I am. 32 hours a week, Mon-Thurs, Friday off (some Fridays we'll all get together and do a little hack-a-thon or something, but majority of our Fridays are off).
[–]d357r0y3r 50 points51 points52 points  (6 children)
Game development sounds fun, but when you get down to it, the day to day work is not going to be much different from general application development. Most engineers working on a big game or platform, e.g. Unreal Engine, are working at a level of abstraction so far removed from the actual game that they might as well not be working on a game at all.
It's not to say that software engineering as it relates to game development is not fun, just to say that it's about as fun as working on any kind of software (which is pretty fun, if you like that kind of thing). The difference is that it's easier to find a generic software gig that pays more and requires less work.
[–]brandononrails 7 points8 points9 points  (0 children)
Yeah, I honestly just enjoyed working with Unity and being "more creative" but like you said on a team, I would get put on one job pretty much which could be something like "tooling" which wouldn't be much different than what I'm doing now.
[–]WyMANderly 3 points4 points5 points  (0 children)
Yeah - I would think game design would be where you'd get to do the coolest stuff. It's what appeals to me most, at least.
That and art. But the day-to-day programming... I'd imagine that's not ridiculously different from any other software gig.
[–]RadicalDog 4 points5 points6 points  (2 children)
I would like to work where you work.
[–]biesterd1 10 points11 points12 points  (14 children)
Is this true across the board or more for the big corporate companies?
[–]DarknessTemple 16 points17 points18 points  (2 children)
Except lay offs in the game industry happen to you about once every 2 years on average, and not every city has game studios. So you'll end up having to move to find work in the field. Don't bother being in relationships, or having a house, or trying to raise a family. You won't see them when you have a job, and then you will be forced to move as a thanks for your hard work. It is an industry for young, gullible people without lives.
[–]croix153 4 points5 points6 points  (1 child)
I wouldn't say across the board. More the "big corporate" companies that spit out the same titles year after year, however there are definitely some exceptions.
[–]Mira113 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
Small companies tend to require a lot more time investment with even less pay because some of them, especially the start ups, don't have the money to have more employees or even pay them as much. I had a friend who went working for a start up game company(don't remember the name unfortunately), but he was working at LEAST 80 hours a week and having only half of those being paid at minimum wage. They were something like 10 people working there all in the same boat.
The game industry simply has very little room for newcomers due to all the work needed to make a game and how much ressources it requires. Start ups need to run on minimum ressources and often don't turn up a profit, the only hope they have is to get a good reputation so that their next games can earn them a profit.
[–]T-A-W_Byzantine 11 points12 points13 points  (1 child)
I'd rather go to prison than work for Konami.
[–]Ktbear23 7 points8 points9 points  (0 children)
Too true. Whenever my video game friends go on about how they can make much better video games, I'm just like...so you think that, do you?
[–]gruesome_gandhi 18 points19 points20 points  (0 children)
But it's okay because "this is what you love to do" or "we need people who are passionate about games". And if you quit or burn out, it's because obviously you don't care or couldn't hack it.
[–]wh1036 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
My college internship was for a small (less than 20 employees) game developer. They were well established, but those long work weeks and all nighters were expected of employees. Most offices had a couch and the conference room bathroom had a shower in it. One of the long-timers there told me he sometimes had to wait a couple of weeks extra for his paycheck when the company was having financial problems.
Game development got me interested in learning PC technical skills. However, I ended up going into healthcare IT and I don't regret it one bit. The work may not be as fun, but they're flexible, pay more, and I get to work a Mon-Fri 8-5 schedule.
[–]Bananawamajama 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
Pretty much most "Cool" jobs. I heat the same kind of thing from companies like Amazon(not cool, but a "good" job) and SpaceX. You're expected to put up with that bullshit because you get the privilege of working for a company as amazing as them.
[–]anto687 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
And in some cases are paid below the equivalent minimum wage for a 40-hour week, on the promise of a bonus upon release or after a certain sales figure, only to have the project pulled a few weeks before release. Sucky industry for devs.
[–]RiasGremorySenpai 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
If you watch "Drugs Inc.", they have an episode where they talk about drugs in Silicon Valley, game developers and app developers use a ton of cocaine to beat the quota. Also, I remember an AAA game developing team stating they used cocaine while producing.
It's sad that they need a drug just so they are able to do their job.
[–]I00PercentFresh 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
And if you won't stand for it, some other sucker will
[–]MsEtheldreda 1 point2 points3 points  (1 child)
Expected to work 60-80 hour weeks
Only 60-80 hours? I know some people doing gamedev on 100 hour weeks.
[–]X210690 [score hidden]  (0 children)
And this kind of attitude is why this happens.
[–]APiousCultist 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
While we may not see the games market crash, I think the game big-budget development industry might. Overworked, underpaid staff with no job reliability. A reliance on cash-cow franchises in order to keep giant companies profitable. There needs to be some kind of paradigm shift to keep things sustainable.
[–]v1ech 676 points677 points678 points  (74 children)
Medicine (Research).
I am not talking about it being a huge conspiracy trying to make us ill in order to earn more cash. I actually am a pro-medical-research person and I am also working in that field.
But there are a lot of publications coming up every year, which are a big pile of hogshit, as they either intend to "prove" what they want to prove and/or are driven by industrial demands, or they blow big headlines followed by terrible scientific methods, just to be recognized or publicated by prestigious journals.
Edit: I ain't native english.
[–]Etiennera 118 points119 points120 points  (3 children)
For a great deal of papers they are just trying to earn a salary.
[–]EnabledHorizon 16 points17 points18 points  (1 child)
Ding ding ding. People are employed based on research they produce. To keep jobs they have to pump out papers.
[–]aperfectmentlegen2 3 points4 points5 points  (0 children)
This is the result.
[–]semi-omnipotent [score hidden]  (0 children)
I can't tell you how many papers I have helped write that I can't believe were useful. We were just digging through educational data hoping to find some correlation and get some publications so we could get grant renewals. But that's in STEM education, not basic science.
[–]tiggidytom 14 points15 points16 points  (5 children)
As a student I've had my first exposure to clinical research only recently. It's amazing how frequently project discussions sound more like sales pitches than genuine scientific questions, which is clearly a result of the 'publish or perish' mentality. If only there was some established reward system for publishing quality work, regardless of a 'significant outcome.'
[–]carloscarllos 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
I think established reward systems are partly why we have this problem in the first place. If people didn't care about money or getting published then maybe we wouldn't have such a high influx of bullshit studies. But unfortunately that's the way it is these days. Without a means to obtain funding or get a heads up on your competition, there are increasingly fewer reasons left to legitimatize research.
[–]angeion 3 points4 points5 points  (1 child)
Scientific research in academia is about advancing narratives, not discovering truth.
Rigorous methodology is considered unproductive.
[–]L43 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
too damn right, really pisses me off.
[–]Once_I_Was_Darkness 1 point2 points3 points  (1 child)
I've done all different kinds of research in my career and clinical research is the one i quit the fastest- I was basically told to manipulate study data and throw out random patients from statistical analysis to make a drug look good. Not because my PI had any particular investment in the drug but because of the prestige of having a successful study that would have a paper in a good journal.
[–]semi-omnipotent [score hidden]  (0 children)
That really should be reported anonymously to the IRB. That is a huge violation.
[–]cookacola 10 points11 points12 points  (1 child)
"Publish or Perish"
[–]VaveWapor34 -1 points0 points1 point  (0 children)
My question is, there are so many existing recreational drugs that need studies done on them. Like marijuana could have 100 studies a year done on it and we still wouldn't know everything about it. Psychedelics as well.
I am waiting for publish or perish to make recreational drugs studied way more.
[–]Alltakenofff 10 points11 points12 points  (0 children)
Shit academics say : " It's interesting how much of academia is not solving problems but reinventing the wheel just enough to attend the next regional conference."
[–]wingedmurasaki 20 points21 points22 points  (0 children)
The number that turn out to be completely falsified because someone just needed desperately to publish is depressing. Especially because of the effect it has on actual patients.
[–]eatsleeplaugh 6 points7 points8 points  (3 children)
Publication bias is a huge problem in medical research. Ben Goldacre did an excellent TED talk on this.
[–]Neoxide 0 points1 point2 points  (2 children)
Not only publication bias but purposely fudging numbers to show progress in research is also rampant in academia. It's done to keep the government grants flowing, and you end up wasting a lot of money on dead-end research.
I have a friend that works in medical academia and was repeatedly pressured by their boss to skew the numbers in a publication but refused. Their co-worker tried to blow the whistle on the corruption and got fired.
[–]eatsleeplaugh 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
That's horrific :o
[–]L43 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
What happened after? I would have thought getting fired would have just made the whistleblowing that much sweeter.
[–]Hexatona 9 points10 points11 points  (2 children)
So many papers that are barely peer reviewed, or found to be un-repeatable.
[–]The_Last_Y 4 points5 points6 points  (1 child)
And often are never reported as being un-repeatable. There might be a paper saying it was investigated with differing results, but the original paper is still published. The faulty results stay in publication.
[–]hihoesilver 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
It's how the infrustructure is setup. The government agencies are so behind and under staffed, they don't have the man power to check everything. They don't want to admit that. These pharmacies and doctors know this and abuse the FDA system on the approval process of medication. Playing around with NDC#s. Corruption on multiple levels on both sides.
[–]sunlightjunkie 10 points11 points12 points  (8 children)
publicated
published
[–]catfingers64 3 points4 points5 points  (3 children)
Thank you. I saw that and thought, "You obviously aren't doing the research."
[–]sunlightjunkie 4 points5 points6 points  (1 child)
You'd be surprised, actually. My gf's dad is a very prominent researcher and full-time ob/gyn and routinely blunders day-to-day actions, spelling, sayings, etc. It might sound ignorant, but past a certain point of commitment they really do have more important things on their minds.
EDIT: Then again, publication is very pertinent to someone in the field of research, so for all we know this guy is full of shit.
[–]catfingers64 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
That's a good point. A researcher in my field that I hold a lot of respect for is a terrible writer/speller and she knows it. So she pays someone to check her work before she submits.
[–]Low_discrepancy 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
That person might not be a native English speaker. I heard barbarians do research too. In latin languages they still say "publicate"
Italian pubblicare
Spanish publicar
[–]autoposting_system 1 point2 points3 points  (1 child)
I mean ... what
[–]sunlightjunkie [score hidden]  (0 children)
Yes, I know publicate is a word; it's an archaic one.
[–]awesomexpossum 3 points4 points5 points  (0 children)
Npr planet money did a great podcast on scientific papers this week. How they keep on trying until they get the results they want.
[–]eskamobob1 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
If anyone has ever read the shit that the VMA puts out, it is amazing. Their published reserch is shit that a, doesnt need to be confired, or b, shit that vets have known for decades anyways. I am not even in the medical field (though I am in research), and it is all too easy to find where these studies fall the fuck appart.
Now dont get me wrong, they do have some good research as well, but some of it is horrid. One of my favorite was a year long study that confirmed a specific medicine had the side effects that the company was required to report it had.
[–]JayPizzl3 1 point2 points3 points  (2 children)
Wouldn't prestigious journals be able to notice that all their methods and data is skewed though and not publish them?
[–]pelargoni 0 points1 point2 points  (1 child)
Here's the scoop from someone in the field:
There's tremendous pressure in academics to be famous, or bring in lots of money in the form of grants, or both. Some of this is internal pressures (like achievement motivation), but some of this external pressures (keeping your job or salary). This leads to a focus on publishing attention-grabbing results over "truthfulness" for lack of a better way of putting it, and getting published even if the results aren't actually worth publishing.
Some of the things that have caused this to spiral out of control:
Universities encourage this because of what are known as "indirect costs" that are charged on grants. If you're a researcher, when you apply for a grant, you don't just ask for money to run your study, you ask for money to give to the university, ostensibly to pay for the cost of you just being there (e.g., heating your lab space, maintaining the building, etc.). Although this is sort of reasonable in theory, in practice, the money taken in by the university far exceeds the actual costs to them by the person doing the research (not to mention the fact that they are supposed to be supporting this themselves to some extent). So the research is seen as a profit generator in a literal sense, which leads to pressure to get grants regardless of their scientific merit.
Journals want to publish flashy, attention-grabbing results because it means more people will read them. So they sort of turn a blind eye at some level to certain issues. In theory, they should "notice their data is skewed and not publish them," but they're willing to overlook what's easy to overlook if it means more citations to their papers. I've seen some journals literally tell reviewers not to pay attention to the quality of the research design, only the attention-grabbing-ness of the papers, like "hey, we'll worry about that--you just tell us if it's faddish enough."
Faddishness is another problem. No one really knows what the right direction to go in is, so there are tons of fads, which are made worse by social dynamics. Research has actually shown that the biggest predictor of getting a grant is being socially connected to people on the grant review panels, and people on the grant review panels tend to be those who have had grants... you see where this is going. People lots of times evaluate research on whether it supports their viewpoint, or they like what it says, because they don't really know what else to do, because people don't really know what the right answer is.
Research results are random. That's why you have statistics. So you can keep trying over and over again, or tweaking things just so, until you get the story you want. Even if you're not doing it intentionally, you can wind up with it by chance, which just then reinforces what you're doing. This is reinforced by the focus on single study results rather than a body of literature.
Universities are increasingly under pressure to be run as a business, and under fiscal scrutiny, so they're replacing tenured professors with untenured research staff. The net result of this, though, is to amplify the pressure to produce flashy results, and bring in more money. Undermining tenure means money and fame becomes more of a driving factor in scientific research, because the researchers' salary depends on it.
Training has sort of become a pyramid scheme. Doctoral students are brought in to function as workers, not as students. This increases the numbers of persons competing for positions after graduation, and makes everything worse as a result. If one of the graduates is lucky enough to get a job, they are under pressure to do the same thing, which then perpetuates things further.
I could also mention the nature of credit, where we tend to want to attribute things to single individuals when it's more of a team effort. This leads to all sorts of problems where people deify and idolize certain researchers, and lots of taking credit for others' work, or not giving credit to people who deserve it (this is just as true of the consumers of the research as it is the producers).
Finally, in a lot of ways, overhead bs has gotten worse, in the form of increased federal regulation, ethical review boards that nitpick over useless details of no real ethical consequence whatsoever, etc. This increased bs increases the costs of the research, and creates greater incentive to get something out of what you've put effort into.
Also, I'm just talking about university research--industry involvement introduces a whole other set of problems.
It's a total mess.
[–]zer1223 [score hidden]  (0 children)
I dont even know what to say about this but its another blow to my worldview if I find more sources confirming all of this later today.
[–]minlove 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
I read an interesting article, and I am sure that I could probably find it again if anyone is interested, that discussed this same hogshit. It showed various studies proving that drug A was better than drug B, that drug B was better than drug C, that drug C was better than drug D, and that drug D was better than drug A. One big money-making circle of hogshit.
[–]el_monstruo 1237 points1238 points1239 points  (210 children)
Gem stones (ex. diamonds). Many people know they are overpriced but a lot of people don't realize how they end up on those rings, necklaces, etc. You can try to explain it to people but then they think you're being a cheap bastard by refusing to purchase something like diamonds.
Edit:
Some people were asking the story behind this so here you go:
Synopsis - Slave labor, child labor, barbic punishments for workers and slaves who don't meet quotas or steal, supporting war and conflict, supporting oppresive regimes, environmental hazards, creating artificial scarcity, and so on. Most people also think it is just diamonds but other gem stones support the things above. Rubies from Myanmar (formerly Burma) are a big one.
.... some links below
Blood Diamonds - This is the documentary not the film starring DiCaprio, Connelly, and Hounsou.
Blood diamond - Wikipedia article on conflict diamonds
[–]Michelanvalo 13 points14 points15 points  (0 children)
I always love how angry and irrational the music becomes the longer this goes on.
[–]Plazmaz1 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
ba ba ba bum, ba ba ba ba bum, ba babum, ba ba babum, bum bum!
[–]Cockdieselallthetime 3 points4 points5 points  (0 children)
I was 100% sure what this was before clicking it, was not disappointed.
[–]Hexatona -1 points0 points1 point  (0 children)
Hey, seems like a great job cycle!
[–]QWERTY-POIUYT1234 502 points503 points504 points  (107 children)
Corporate Dentistry. Aspen Dental in particular. They ONLY hire chicks with big tits, and they try to get EVERY FUCKING PATIENT on an antibiotic treatment because of deteriorating jawbones. They do this by screwing with the digital x-ray data, so instead of showing a greyscale, it show a black or white image. The result is, it shows a jagged line where the cutoff point for "black" or "white" would be. They show jagged line and let you believe that's your actual jawbone eroding away, so, of course you sign up for their $4,700.00 treatment plan. Lying motherfuckers. Run by a bunch of guys from India, too.
[–]Dirtpig 45 points46 points47 points  (5 children)
My dentist here in Alberta tried to do the same thing. He said my jaw bone had eroded away, and wanted to fix it for a fortune. No other dentist in my life has said that prior.
[–]earnedmystripes 36 points37 points38 points  (4 children)
Went to get a tooth pulled and was told I needed the root canal. I was then ushered into a finance office where they pushed all their convenient finance options on me. They wanted the max amount my dental insurance would pay plus $3000. I asked them again if they could just pull the tooth and they acted insulted that I would even ask such a thing. Left and went to a smaller locally owned practice. They pulled the tooth even though they weren't in my insurance network. They told me at the checkout my total was $40. I mumbled the word "SOLD!" though the gauze and swiped my card.
[–]Alltakenofff 32 points33 points34 points  (0 children)
Complain to the state , that's horrible .
[–]annaliv 92 points93 points94 points  (8 children)
This thread is so depressing.
[–]LifeIsOnTheWire 73 points74 points75 points  (14 children)
The Eyeglasses/Sunglasses industry is largely monopolized by one company, Luxottica. They own/manufacture over 70% of the eyewear brands worldwide, including Ray Ban, Oakley, Chanel, Prada, Giorgio Armani, Burberry, Versace, and Dolce and Gabbana.
Not only do they own/manufacture all these brands, but they also monopolize the eyewear retail industry. They own Lenscrafters, Sunglass Hut, Pearle Vision, Sears Optical, Target Optical, Eyemed vision care plan, and Glasses.com.
They have few competitors in Eyewear brands, the only big competitors they have in the retail world are Walmart and Costco (in the US).
[–]Zeoderos 291 points292 points293 points  (57 children)
The towing industry. Whether right or wrong when they get a call they have to tow. Police protect them because they make it so there's nothing needed to be done by the police. Oh and our normal business hours are Monday through Friday 8-5 so any time you would actually get towed is a $400 after hour fee. Plus it destroys your car to get pulled along while in a parked state.
End note: yes I am salty about being towed as there was no legitimate reason for me to be towed. But once it happened it unraveled how illegitimate that industry is for being considered completely legitimate haha.
[–]jackford3 46 points47 points48 points  (3 children)
The tow industry is one of the few industries in which the person who requires the service is never the person who pays for the service. Most local governments implement laws because tow companies would charge astronomical and unfair fees. That's why tow operators always charge "daily maximums" of, say, $225/tow + $35/storage. That doesn't reflect their costs; it's just the most that the government will allow them to swindle people. The tow industry is terrible.
[–]The_3rd_Heat 55 points56 points57 points  (7 children)
Jail Phone Calls. They are RIDICULOUSLY expensive. (I work in a similar industry, so don't judge).
[–]flynnsanity3 [score hidden]  (0 children)
The FCC (in the US) is trying to put a stop to that.
[–]fuckflyingpigs -1 points0 points1 point  (5 children)
Not quite an industry I think
[–]The_3rd_Heat 13 points14 points15 points  (4 children)
There are over 5000 correctional facilities in the United States. There are over 3 million inmates incarcerated in the United States. Every facility in the country has a contract with a company who handles their telephone calls and visitation, monitoring them and working with law enforcement and lawyers. I think you're vastly underestimating how much money there is in this industry.
[–]nounhud 1 point2 points3 points  (3 children)
Any time a company has a monopoly...
[–]The_3rd_Heat 2 points3 points4 points  (2 children)
Which company has a monopoly? A facility has a contract with a single company, but there are a lot of single companies. There is no monopoly in this industry.
Let's put it this way, the FCC has recently capped jail based phone calls at $0.31 per minute. In order to be able to initiate a phone call, you have to have someone outside of the jail deposit money on your account. In order to deposit money on your account, I have to pay between $7 and $9 just for the privilege of putting money on the account.
[–]nounhud [score hidden]  (1 child)
The prisoners, the ones who are impacted by and would have a reason to select based on price, don't have multiple competing options. That creates a monopoly supplier for a facility.
[–]The_3rd_Heat [score hidden]  (0 children)
Ah, I see. I misunderstood you because I thought you misunderstood me. That is correct, there is no option for competition as long as a facility is under contract. When a contract ends, the facility has the option to RFP for new contractors.
[–]Findanniin 1156 points1157 points1158 points  (100 children)
Private education. Especially for your kids.
We're a business first, school second. If your kids enrolled on extra courses through a school, try to talk to the teacher directly rather than through a "progress advisor" or w/e - these are sales people interested in keeping cash flow incoming.
Us teachers are told the same thing, but most of us do care more about your kid than the company's bottom line.
edit: I'm talking specifically about additional schooling & courses, evening classes etc - I wasn't referring to the accredited network of private primary/secondary schools - though I'm sure there's a decent bit of shadiness possible there as well.
[–]meltingacid 299 points300 points301 points  (28 children)
Anecdote: My sister in law got her daughter admitted into a pre-school thing. That is a hot trend in any developing nation now, I am talking about India.
After first year, she did some calculation and figured out that in one year, the pre-school has cost more money than her her entire 14 years of education. We can argue about inflation and public-private schooling, but the difference is mind boggling.
I have come to think that pretty much, chances of receiving good education is directly proportional to parent's income level. The situation is horrendous in villages and these pre school guys are marauding there. The owners/board of these schools are often influential persons who can tweak a minor policy in district/state level, with disastrous effect.
[–]mloos93 12 points13 points14 points  (8 children)
This is true in America too. The good schools are in affluent areas, and if you want to give your child a better education, it's one of three things: home school, private school, or move, sometimes hundreds of miles.
[–]ericvulgaris 2 points3 points4 points  (7 children)
On mobile so no link, but jump-start and early education programs have shown, demonstrably to be a defining factor in education goals.
Basically parents are looking for ways to "pay" to remove the fear their baby Jessica won't ever get into Carnegie Mellon.
[–]robdouth -1 points0 points1 point  (6 children)
Except that all studies show that early education affects are gone by about 1st or 2nd grade. Pre-school programs still have much less affect that people who push for them would like. Most of the gains from early education evaporate quickly.
Edit: pair this with year round schooling and it may be more effective. The studies I'm referring to are US specific with our non-year round curriculum.
[–]lowercaset [score hidden]  (3 children)
Except that all studies show that early education affects are gone by about 1st or 2nd grade. Pre-school programs still have much less affect that people who push for them would like. Most of the gains from early education evaporate quickly.
Isn't that more an issue because by 1st or 2nd grade the kids learning has been slowed down by the rate they teach in classes? I know in my case my math/reading wasn't learned in school really because they teach to the lowest common denominator. (Not that it's a bad thing, and my parents did have the option of jumping me ahead a couple grades but didn't want to screw up my socialization)
[–]robdouth [score hidden]  (2 children)
I think u/ericvulgaris has it with the non-year round issue being a problem. I would love to see more programs adopt the year round model (I'm lucky in that my kids will have it where we are.)
I believe that will be more effective.
[–]ZaberTooth [score hidden]  (1 child)
I believe that will be more effective.
I do, too. It's only natural to think that more time in school will result in more learning. I wish there were some studies on this that could cement this idea for me.
[–]robdouth [score hidden]  (0 children)
Schools are pushing the year round in some places. I'm lucky where I'm at that my kids will be doing a modified year round program. I think it's going to be fantastic for them.
[–]ericvulgaris [score hidden]  (1 child)
Except that all studies show that early education affects are gone by about 1st or 2nd grade. Pre-school programs still have much less affect that people who push for them would like. Most of the gains from early education evaporate quickly.
That so? Hmph! I've heard that's only true for non-year round schools (supposedly most education gains are lost in the summer breaks.)
[–]robdouth [score hidden]  (0 children)
I think you are right. I think early education paired with year round would be the way to go. I think the non-year round is what kills that headstart program.
[–]bison142857 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
My nephew's schooling costs more than I spent on my college just 10 years back. And he is only in the first grade. And this school would only take him into kindergarten if he had been in a pre-school before that.
[–]Dont____Panic 13 points14 points15 points  (6 children)
I have come to think that pretty much, chances of receiving good education is directly proportional to parent's income level.
This is the reason some countries are "developing", to be honest.
The difference between Sweden and India, in large measure, is due to comprehensive, free, quality public education throughout the last 70 years.
[–]seneca92 11 points12 points13 points  (1 child)
Really? Try to implement such a policy in a nation which has a different language every few miles, sects who think women shouldn't study and classes that think more children are extra help on the fields.
The traditional upper class does extremely well in India for the precise reason that our policies, for education, finances, health etc are good. But uplifting the masses takes time, yet, we are well on our path to accomplish this.
The difference between India and Sweden is 200 years of colonial rule, several hundred years of Islamic invaders raiding, over-population, an ingrained caste/class system and an essential distrust by the masses of the traditionally educated base of upper-caste gentry.
Sweden still has a king. The scholarly/educated class in India has been and still is seen as 'silly' and 'weak', despite contributing disproportionately higher numbers of scholars, leaders and reformers.
[–]gofiguree 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
Very well said.
[–]oldawesomeguy 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
I've been in a private school in Sweden, and I know that it was very hard for the school to start charging people, as it was against Swedish law. Eventually they were allowed, because otherwise they couldn't afford more expensive english speaking teachers (it was an international school). Even after charging the students was allowed, we still had to eat free state-provided lunch (bamba), and the school needed to have a free Swedish speaking sector. The school also needed to teach Swedish to us.
[–]xaxaxaxa4u 1 point2 points3 points  (1 child)
Also Sweden doesn't have Designated shitting streets.
[–]gangtokay 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
Sweden - 0
India - 1
[–]gordo65 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
We have that scam in the US as well. If you don't qualify for Head Start, you have to pay for preschool in many states.
The first one we sent my daughter to seemed like Nirvana. Amazing facilities and activities, etc. The cost for full time preschool was $220/wk, which I negotiated down to $140/wk.
When she started going there, we realized there were way too many kids for the number of teachers, and many of the teachers didn't have certifications.
They spent all of their time writing up reports about what the kids allegedly did, but when we asked my daughter she said they hadn't done any of it. They didn't have any activities that encouraged kids to play together, so introverted kids like my daughter didn't have any friends. They sent home inappropriate assignments that were useless for toddlers (Discovering the Laws of Levers!).
I found an Evangelical preschool through a friend that had a wonderful program for only $100/wk. By the time she was old enough to enter Kindergarten, she was way ahead of most other kids in most of her subjects.
The moral of the story is, find a school that's concerned primarily with education, not extracting money from parents. The most expensive schools will often be the ones that provide the least in terms of education (much like private colleges).
[–]LvS 1 point2 points3 points  (2 children)
I would hereby like to thank all the students that relentlessly protested their asses of to get university fees removed in Germany.
Because I like living in a country where everybody is educated.
[–]meltingacid 0 points1 point2 points  (1 child)
Dunno man, in a country of 1.2 billion, free education is tough.
[–]gofiguree -1 points0 points1 point  (0 children)
I don't think it should be free either, but when a lower middle class students want to go to college, they are currently selling their souls and their future to loans. Affordable is possible.
[–]malariasucks 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Same goes for China. IT's good if you're making money but my wife and I thought that if we stayed, to put our kid in school every year would cost more than a university education at a top school.
That wasn't the reason we left since there were 100 other reasons, but crazy none-the-less
[–]peatbull 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
I've heard stories of people camping overnight outside a school office to get admission forms, interviews for kindergarten or Montessori, and insane prices. Bangalore. It's totally an industry. The school I went to was founded by a guy who, according to stories, used to bicycle around the neighborhood asking people to put their kids in his school and offering a "buy one get one free" scheme. Now, he owns a bunch of schools, an international school, and a fleet of cars. It's crazy.
[–]wormspeaker 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
When it comes to education though about age 9 or so homeschooling is way better. Until you start coming to moderately advanced subjects the extra personal attention of just teaching one child greatly outweighs any benefit you might get from well trained teachers (which there are never enough of at schools anyway) and expensive facilities.
In many cases (even in the US, and certainly in "developing nations") the cost of the education is nearly the same price as the entire income of the lesser paid spouse. So there's little reason not to homeschool your young child as long as you're not illiterate.
Eventually you start getting to moderately advanced subjects and having someone with greater experience and training becomes better (not to mention the benefits of socialisation).
Unfortunately in the US homeschooling is tainted by the religious whackjobs who use it to isolate their children from facts and the real world. And in "developing countries" there is the stigma that you aren't doing the best for your child if you aren't sending them to an expensive school, even if your child will only be one of 15 to 50 children sharing the attention of a single teacher.
[–]FUCKYOUINYOURFACE [score hidden]  (0 children)
Schools that want you to pay whether college or private adolescent school takes advantage of the fact that you believe strongly you are doing the best thing and that it's a great investment and jacks up prices accordingly.
[–]seneca92 -1 points0 points1 point  (1 child)
To be quite frank, I don't understand this. I, and my cousins were essentially home-schooled. We went to school because our attendance needed to be kept up. The first lesson I learnt was that those who can do, and those who can't, teach. So don't go about expecting people to teach you.
And I resent the indication that the school boards control policy. Could you quote a few examples of policy decisions which were blatantly in favor of these gentlemen?
[–]CADM1UM [score hidden]  (0 children)
It's a pretty insulting generalization to say that people who teach are all simply failures in their field. And you don't believe the school boards control almost every policy that is in effect in their districts??
[–]Skippyfx 59 points60 points61 points  (4 children)
I went to private school all my life and I have no idea what a "progress advisor" is? We paid a flat rate for tuition, it wasn't on a per class basis - excluding extra curriculars which could cost extra for equipment.
[–]____yourcouch 23 points24 points25 points  (0 children)
yup, I went to a private high school with a huge endowment. profit was not their goal. Most of the students were on scholarship and the education was leaps and bounds above the rural public school options available.
[–]thefray777 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
It really depends on the school, same with US universities. There's the for-profit-schools which are totally price gouging, then there's good universities, which still have ridiculous prices, but aren't just offering you a completely worthless education.
[–]malariasucks 0 points1 point2 points  (1 child)
he's referring to after school programs such as tutoring and SAT/TOEFL/GMAT/ACT type schools. Think something like Kaplan
[–]Skippyfx [score hidden]  (0 children)
Oh gotcha. My parents actually did pay for me to do SAT prep but I was at a bad place mentally and never went so I don't know what they were really like.
[–]sudosandwich3 39 points40 points41 points  (0 children)
Calling out all private education is casting a large net. Yes, there are schools that act the way you describe. But don't discount the private schools with accepted accreditations and standards that offer more for their students in terms of student teacher ratio, ap classes and support then the local public school.
[–]VulcansGM 10 points11 points12 points  (0 children)
Also charter schools. I've been in some (some have since closed, some haven't) that were essentially day cares.
[–]Dr_Mottek 2 points3 points4 points  (12 children)
Having worked before for a small time cram school, we were held to document the pupil's progress, keeping track of their school grades etc., in an effort to provide transparency to the parents. Made me a bit sad that parents almost never seemed to care what went on - they dropped of their kids and seemed content that junior was busy for the next two hours.
My colleagues and I would've been happy to talk to the parents and discuss the pupil's case, but that rarely happened.
[–]MxM111 2 points3 points4 points  (8 children)
As I parent we DO care a lot. It is just when we pay such money we expect it from you, and this is why our feedback is limited. I mean, when you go to Whole Foods, and buy a piece of excellent meat, you do not run to the store manager and shouting, WOW! Look at this meat! So cool, so good looking! No, you vote with your dollar.
[–]Dr_Mottek 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Sure, but a little bit communication can make the difference from the start; What do the parents expect or wish? Where are the pupil's main problems? Also, just a little bit of info about what makes the pupil "tick". (Also, further problems like dyslexia etc. should be discussed beforehand, so the teacher can prepare for that.)
We're not selling chunks of meat, but provide a service. You wouldn't go to a barber and say: "Cut my hair! silence" Well, okay, you could do that, but the outcome might not be what you wanted.
Also, teaching styles may vary - some people expect you to do solely repetitions, or "chalk and talk". Sure, we can provide that, too, but it's not what we would do let alone recommend.
[–]1kn0wn0th1n9 0 points1 point2 points  (6 children)
What could go wrong to a kid who is shuffled around schools because their parents 'vote with their dollar'?
[–]MxM111 0 points1 point2 points  (2 children)
It is not the end of the world to go to a better school.
[–]discofreak 0 points1 point2 points  (1 child)
Socially, it can be. We focus too much on academic aspects of secondary school, as though the only thing that matters to a person's wellbeing is their academic performance. Children also need to learn how to socialize, to figure out their own interests, and to develop a sense of routine. Shuffling around between schools can inhibit these developmental processes. So there are good sides and bad sides.
[–]MxM111 [score hidden]  (0 children)
Seriously, children are not fragile glass vases that changing the school is the end of the world. They are quite robust beings, evolutionary so, and while there will be a period of adjustment, majority of children will be just fine. Of course in pathological cases, it could be dangerous, so, if you child has serious psychological anomalies, consult with specialists.
Also, it is not about academic aspects that should trigger the change of school, but social aspects. If a child is safe, and enjoys the school, then he can achieve a lot more. Bad schools are first and foremost are socially bad schools.
[–]MxM111 0 points1 point2 points  (2 children)
It is not the end of the world to go to a better school.
[–]1kn0wn0th1n9 -1 points0 points1 point  (1 child)
what percentage of kids, would you guess, are capable of successfully creating a new social life from scratch?
[–]Findanniin -1 points0 points1 point  (1 child)
I don't disagree - the place where I work is super expensive and our paperwork obligations reflect this.
For us, the "progress advisors" who sit in 1 class in 6 are the go-to contact point for the parents, and they're mostly trying to talk the parents into 'upgrading' from 3-1 to 1-1 classes with all the emotional 'it'd be better for little Jimie' they can muster...
[–]Dr_Mottek 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Oh, okay... we were understaffed most of the time, so 1:1 was rather rare and happened usually out of pedagogic necessity. But yeah, I can see that happen in bigger companies. By how much did the fees go up for 1:1? (Over here, it was 1,5 times the price of group sessions - a fair middle ground, I think.)
[–]campag 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
Maybe in the US, but I can't believe that about the UK.
I'm a Brit and went to a private school my whole life, and it was a pretty amazing school where success of every kid was definitely the top priority. And I've never heard of a "progress advisor" at all.
Our school was the best in the area, and they knew that their reputation (and therefore bottom line) was founded on the high exam results (which are published in national newspapers in the UK).
Many of my friends thought the school was too elitist - if a kid did well they were put on a pedestal and in school advertisements, while if you weren't doing well, they disciplined you. But in my opinion that just gave us the best education. Maybe other private schools are shadier (and our school had its fair share of controversies, many surrounding the inappropriate behaviour of certain teachers). But I definitely know how lucky I was to go to my school, and there were other private schools in the area that had reputations of being just as good.
[–]NoNadir 10 points11 points12 points  (14 children)
I've seen a serious discrepancy in types of public school too (yes, us Brits call private schools 'public schools', we're snowflakes), with the more old-fashioned sort offering a lot more bang for your buck. My dad went to traditional public school, where it was expensive but not outrageous, and students did consistently get better grades. On the other hand, my cousin sent her kids to a newer school - where the fact that it costs a lot seems to be the main selling point. Gone are the compulsory rugby and rowing lessons, replaced with tennis training and a fucking golf course. Your kids are 10 and 14. They don't need to play golf. Equally, the school's grades are nothing to write home about; and they don't teach any of the classics OR any more 'modern' language lessons. Call me old fashioned, but if you're gonna subject a child to five hours a week of language lessons either make it something they can use in further study (Latin, Greek...), something to get them by in the coming decades (Chinese, Japanese, German, Korean...), or something they can use locally (French is still a lingua franca), not fucking Spanish. Seriously, their language options are Spanish OR Italian. The first school I mentioned had French and Latin as compulsory! What happened, British public schools? We used to pay you to beat our children into learning dead languages, and now you make them play golf? That's no way to teach.
[–]ReallyNiceGuy 3 points4 points5 points  (2 children)
Spanish is the second most used language in the world, after Mandarin Chinese (yes, there are more Spanish native speakers than English native speakers). I don't see how that's not useful.
Plus, it's still a Latin language and it makes learning the other languages like French much easier to learn.
[–]NoNadir -3 points-2 points-1 points  (1 child)
But is that Spanish as spoken in Spain, or the very different versions spoken in South America? Neither of which are booming opportunities for British people.
[–]ReallyNiceGuy 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
They aren't that different. If you learn Spanish from Spain, you won't have too much problem speaking with people in South America. Yes, there's some forms that Latin America doesn't use (like the 2nd person plural) and some places will have strong accents and yes there will be some word differences, but most speakers, if not all, will have no problems communicating with you.
[–]Sol56 5 points6 points7 points  (2 children)
Spanish is definitely very useful. Maybe not so much here in England but if you planned on moving to either of the Americas it is going to be a myriad times more useful than German,Japanese and Korean. However I agree that private schools should at least offer Latin or Greek(tbh all schools should but that maybe too much to ask)
[–]MaximusLeonis 6 points7 points8 points  (1 child)
Yea, its not like there's a country that speaks Spanish close by to England...
[–]Sol56 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
Yeah but French and German are more important if we're only considering European countries as Spain is the only Spanish speaking country(and Andorra I guess) in Europe whereas there are multiple French and German speaking countries and France and Germany themselves tend to have a greater influence on the rest of Europe then Spain.
[–]xela88 12 points13 points14 points  (4 children)
Spanish is far more useful than French....
[–]NoNadir 8 points9 points10 points  (1 child)
But easier to learn from Latin - teach the kid Latin and French and they'll be able to learn new languages to order (this is what I was supposed to do, managed Latin, hated French, learned Portuguese for unforeseeable, practical, reasons.)
[–]SouthamptonLove 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
Speak French; Spanish and Italian are opaque to me. Sister knows Latin, Classical Greek, and Spanish; she can't hold a conversation in French. Alors figure-toi ça...
[–]Rosenstadt 8 points9 points10 points  (0 children)
If you are American, yes. But French is spoken in France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Luxembourg. After German, its tied for English with the most number of native speakers, and third most spoken overall
[–]gearsntears 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
I think that depends greatly upon one's location.
[–]MajorBogswallop [score hidden]  (0 children)
Well, I don't know- I think most public schools still follow the old model. Of course there are exceptions, but nobody pays for the good grades at the old guard, do they? Rather the experience and ethos.
[–]ZaberTooth [score hidden]  (0 children)
Gone are the compulsory rugby and rowing lessons, replaced with tennis training and a fucking golf course. Your kids are 10 and 14. They don't need to play golf.
Your kids are being taught to be upper crust Americans and not upper crust Brits and you have a problem with that? Take your hoity toity rowing and shove it, ya redcoat!
[–]CADM1UM [score hidden]  (0 children)
Do 10 and 14 year olds need to play rugby or row? No. In fact, golf is probably much more useful in life than either of those two sports as large amounts of business is handled on golf courses. Sounds like you're just nostalgic of your past and hate any changes that have been made.
[–]lostulysses 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
Yeah, I was about to say. I went to a private high school and it wasn't like this at all.
My wife used to work for a tutoring center though, so I know what you're talking about.
[–]slappy29 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
I went to private school all the way through kindergarten to high school. I'm not the dumbest guy ever, but I'm not the smartest at all, and the school knew I wasn't going to get into a top university. They poured resources into the kids who were going to go to Ivy schools, Stanford, MIT and all those schools. It looks much better for the high school to have a large portion of each graduating class go to those universities, so they do everything they can to get them in there. As for me, and the other students who weren't going to those schools, there was far less support and guidance when looking at colleges. And for the kids from wealthy families (and there were a lot of them at my high school), the school moved mountains to get those kids into the top universities. I was floored when I heard that some kids in my class got into Ivy league schools who had no business being there. I can only imagine what happens at those colleges if a family can provide unlimited resources to them.
[–]themrpink 5150 points5151 points5152 points  (159 children)
Umbrella manufacturing.
[–]leeways 546 points547 points548 points  (9 children)
well, they made T-virus, didn't they?
[–]themrpink 119 points120 points121 points  (6 children)
Absolutely. They did give us Alice as well. So, you know, pros and cons.
[–]Estarrol 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
Determining on what media we are talking about
Movies: world is fucked, except the White House
Video games: bio terrorism is a daily norm with crazy variants of zombies
[–]rugmunchkin 7 points8 points9 points  (0 children)
Eh. I'd put anything from the movies squarely in the "con" category.
[–]Anandya 1 point2 points3 points  (3 children)
Who the fuck is Alice?
[–]Catsinbowties [score hidden]  (1 child)
She's the dumb twat from the RE movies who thinks she can just punch the Nemesis.
[–]Anandya [score hidden]  (0 children)
I was going for another reference to some very old cheesy music but sure.
[–]stejlor [score hidden]  (0 children)
Well you've been living next door for 24 years and you still don't know?
[–]oh_no_aliens 2 points3 points4 points  (1 child)
That's Umbrella Corporation.
[–]The-Fox-Says 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
Duh, corporations control manufacturing it's part of the means of production.
[–]-eDgAR- 1892 points1893 points1894 points  (37 children)
Don't forget about those shady fuckers in the awning industry.
[–]gronkspike25 526 points527 points528 points  (18 children)
Or pop up tent people.
[–]3AlarmLampscooter 318 points319 points320 points  (13 children)
Underground mining is waaaaaaay shadier without the artifical lighting.
[–]OK_Compooper 17 points18 points19 points  (3 children)
Even the organic products from the rainforest are shady. You ever seen light under the canopy? Neither have I.
[–]Reddit_User_________ 6 points7 points8 points  (2 children)
I hear that Eminem guy is pretty Shady, as well.
[–]ThatManMustBeAnAlien 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Don't worry. He's just imitating.
[–]SgtDoakesLives 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
I don't know what could be shadier than the Mr. Burn's Sun Blocking Device
[–]NeilZod 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
They are definitely trying to keep people in the dark.
[–]Diablos_lawyer 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
That shit is just plain dark.
[–]alkizmo 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
I think you're wrong. There is no shade without light. Underground minin is more of an opaque industry without lighting, and shady with lighting.
[–]Barf-Bag 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Just ask those Chileans
[–]1979shakedown 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
None of the above are shadier than the window shading industry
[–]syntaxvorlon 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Yeah, the children in those mines stub their toes all the time.
[–]Cool_seagull 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
But I guess that answer is too underground.
[–]TheBigFrig 0 points1 point2 points  (1 child)
I mean, isn't all mining underground? Is there above ground mining?
[–]lower_ [score hidden]  (0 children)
Umm yes. Sunshine mining
[–]Absulute 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
I'm pitching a tent right now.
[–]whirlpool138 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
My friends dad ran a pop up tent company as a way of hiding his money from gambling at our local casinos.
[–]JEveryman 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Oh my god and parasols!
[–]balanced_view [score hidden]  (0 children)
Or even tent sellers with a more traditional, long term, business model.
[–]Rihsatra 171 points172 points173 points  (5 children)
Don't forget the sunglasses industry.
[–]asdfghjklqwertyuiolm 5 points6 points7 points  (1 child)
Are you referencing Luxottica's control of the eyewear industry and their continuing practice of bilking consumers, or just continuing the joke... I..can't....tell....
[–]Rihsatra 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
Yes.
[–]Turneroff [score hidden]  (0 children)
Should be (ray) banned.
[–]MrPoletski 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
Deal with it.
[–]James_Changa [score hidden]  (0 children)
Joke I know but that http://www.luxottica.com group own just about every brand going, they're all the same specs ! Shady fuckers
[–]baconandeggsandbacon 5 points6 points7 points  (0 children)
I see what you did there, and I like it. I like it a lot.
[–]CallMeDoc24 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
Seriously. Fuck them and everything they stand sit for under.
[–]naosuke 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
Mother fucking Louver manufacturers.
[–]Harasoluka 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
Seriously. It's awn inspiring how shady these people can be.
[–]ForumPointsRdumb 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
I haven't seen a retractable awning infomercial in years. Do they still play them? Was afraid the JG Wentworth bus commercial was gone till I happened to catch it the other day.
[–]rickdod3 2 points3 points4 points  (1 child)
Can confirm, work for a awning manufacturer.
[–]freecanopy 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Fellow awning bro here. Where do you work?
[–]Kallisti50253 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
At least the awning industry is open about it. With those umbrella guys you're just walking around thinking they'll be there for you on a rainy day and then bam! It's summertime and you realize just how shady they are
[–]NoGoodStory -4 points-3 points-2 points  (1 child)
or the YAWNING industry
[–]chefjono 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
..the awning industry?
[–]Poem_for_your_sprog 1169 points1170 points1171 points  (42 children)
When Little Timmy found the place
Where brollies come to be -
Umbrellas hung from every space
Inside the factory.
He clapped his hands, and shook his head
To see the splendid sight:
'It's pretty "shady" here,' he said,
And laughed with deep delight.
The workers grinned to hear his joke -
Then slowly, sadly sighed.
'But now you know the truth,' they spoke...
And Timmy fucking died.
[–]K_in_Oz 25 points26 points27 points  (7 children)
Fuck that was a dark ending Sprog!
[–]asphaltdragon 39 points40 points41 points  (6 children)
Have you not read any other Sprog poems? Timmy always dies in poems where he's mentioned.
[–]SoulFire6464 6 points7 points8 points  (1 child)
Not true! There was the time he fucked a bagel and didn't die.
[–]canadarm3 8 points9 points10 points  (1 child)
In Sprog's defence, Timmy could be a fucking psychopath. We don't know Timmy's life story
[–]whatisabaggins55 8 points9 points10 points  (0 children)
I get the feeling Timmy's life story isn't going to be very long.
[–]BladedSniiper [score hidden]  (0 children)
There was one though that Little Timmy didn't die.
[–]Computer_Toker 6 points7 points8 points  (2 children)
God dammit Timmy
[–]OpusPhil 1 point2 points3 points  (1 child)
Mom, Timmy fucking died again!
[–]tasteful_vulgarity [score hidden]  (0 children)
Mom, Aidan cut me in half again!
[–]A_Math_Debater 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
Classic Timmy.
[–]Zondatastic 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
Every good poem ends with Timmy fucking dying. I love these poems.
[–]Savesomeposts 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
I need a tattoo that says "and Timmy fucking died."
[–]TimeIsPower 0 points1 point2 points  (1 child)
The story in the poem seemed to be going alright until that last line. Why did he die???
[–]Future_Jared [score hidden]  (0 children)
They killed him because he found out the truth
[–]Haloninja744 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Wow, beautiful.
[–]_thisisadream_ 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Fucking Timmy. He should learn to mind his own damn business.
[–]r4bb17_ 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Goddamn, I was not expecting that last part. 10/10
[–]laidback88 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Damnit you've killed off Timmy?
[–]cerkies4lyf 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Timmy always fucking dies
[–]assmilk99 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Amazing. But what's a Brollie?
[–]HonkersTim 450 points451 points452 points  (19 children)
Every fucking industry is shadier than most people realise.
[–]MyParentsAre_Cousins 290 points291 points292 points  (21 children)
Coal. We inherited coal property from my Grampa who died of Alzheimer's a few years back. Those last few years before we put him in an assisted living facility, the company mining the facility tried to screw him at every turn.
[–]TigerlilySmith 38 points39 points40 points  (3 children)
It has a long history of being shady too. Cheating poor, uneducated locals out of land, company towns, environmental hazards and disasters that are easily preventable. Then they paint a picture of coal miners being heroes so people will rally behind them.
[–]IntentionalMisnomer 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Good ol grandpa, still pulling pussy!
[–]Definately_God 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
At least oil is up front and honest.
[–]fuckka [score hidden]  (0 children)
When I worked at a lead mine almost all our weekly fatalgrams were from coal mines. It got to a point one year where the night mill shifter just got up at the start of the safety meeting and went "buncha coal miners died this week - let's all bow our heads and be thankful we're in lead" without a single trace of sarcasm.
[–]hobbycollector [score hidden]  (0 children)
Coal+Username=West Virginia
[–]jobwilson82 0 points1 point2 points  (4 children)
Not sure where you are located, but I am in the Illinois Basin. For the most part, the coal companies here are pretty honest. There is always going to be the occasional shithead, but for the most part, they try not to piss off the public.
[–]MyParentsAre_Cousins 4 points5 points6 points  (3 children)
Then we must have been screwed. Our property is in Tennessee. And I guess the manager of the company who mines it was a scumbag. He managed to screw the neighbors who own the other side of the mountain out virtually all their profits. They tried to do the same to my family, luckily my great-grandchildren uncle, whom originally bought it, caught it. But when my Grampa had it they stopped sending payments and they tried to rework the contract that would screw us the same way.
[–]Shardic [score hidden]  (1 child)
can you give us some of the details of how exactly they tried to screw you?
[–]MyParentsAre_Cousins [score hidden]  (0 children)
I'll do my best to explain, I only have a grasp on the contract
Well to begin when my Great-Great Uncle bought the land and was leasing it out. They way it works is the company agrees to pay a certain amount each month just to sit on the land. The company doesn't mine it the entire time, they mine depending on the price of coal. Once they mine it we also receive a portion per ton. We make most of our money by them sitting on it. Once they start mining they do not have to pay our portion of the coal until they have evened out the balance of an agreeed amount of backpay. so if they pay $100 a month just to sit on the land and we agreed on a year for back pay, they wouldn't have to pay us any of the profits from the coal until they've made $1,200. What the company tried to write was 20 years worth of back pay. So with the example I used they didn't want to pay us until they had $240,000.
They tried to screw us out of paying entirely. A few years bag they tried to sublease to another company. The way they tried to write it was that the subleasing company would cover the sitting cost. Once the subleased company left the original company held no obligation to pay the sitting fee, so essentially they are mining for free.
And the last few years before my Grampa came to live with us, he became more and more forgetful. He didn't realize that the company had stopped paying him entirely.
there were a couple of other things they tried to do but I can't remember them, My dad spent several years fighting the company and working with a mineral rights lawyer to get everything worked back to how the contract was supposed to be.
[–]fuckka [score hidden]  (0 children)
I'm sure all this stuff is behind you, but I'd have called MSHA on the guy. Those dudes do not fuck around when it comes to hard metal mines. Not sure about coal but I assume they're equally hardass with them too.
[–]cdr1122334455 -4 points-3 points-2 points  (5 children)
User name checks out
[–]MyParentsAre_Cousins 6 points7 points8 points  (4 children)
Because we own coal property?
[–]Mountaineerhill 6 points7 points8 points  (3 children)
I mean really dude.
[–]MyParentsAre_Cousins 3 points4 points5 points  (2 children)
It's the inbreeding at work, sometimes I need a joke spelled out for me. I don't understand the connection between having coal property and my parents being cousins.
[–]kecos 6 points7 points8 points  (1 child)
The joke is that stereotypically coal miners tend to be from the same places that are stereotyped to have cousins marry.
[–]MyParentsAre_Cousins 3 points4 points5 points  (0 children)
Haha, Alright I'm tracking.
[–]scotty3281 -5 points-4 points-3 points  (3 children)
No, 99% of coal companies are good to their employees. A friend's dad owns a coal company in southern WV and they pay as much as market allows. Currently, not much but still better than McDonald's. You have outliers like the shady ass Don Blankenship but those are few and far between.
[–]MyParentsAre_Cousins 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
Damn I must have pulled the shortest end of the stick. It might have been the one manager. My dad said he retired and they have one who doesn't seem as bad.
[–]fuckka [score hidden]  (0 children)
Not much but better than McDonald's!? The fuck? You should be making a shitload for mining work - at our lead mine the minimum starting wage was $20/hr and that's before mandatory overtime and bonuses. Coal is objectively more dangerous, if they're not making at least as much as hard rock miners that's appalling.
[–]CTMGame 373 points374 points375 points  (81 children)
Internet porn. A company called MindGeek owns all or almost all of the popular porn sites. Their monopoly means they can fuck over both consumers and porn stars.
[–]ve2dmn 60 points61 points62 points  (3 children)
TIL that Brazzers and Pornhub along with a few others are from Montreal...
[–]UndisputedYachtRock 301 points302 points303 points  (10 children)
Yeah, nobody thinks porn is shady. /s
[–]Justin_Credible98 220 points221 points222 points  (18 children)
Hollywood. A lot of the child actors you see on screen may have been sexually abused by powerful Hollywood insiders. Apparently, there's even a whole cabal of high-profile pedophiles in Hollywood, which consists of studio execs, producers, and directors.
Also, Arnon Milchan, a producer on movies like Fight Club, Gone Girl, and most recently, The Revenant, allegedly used his connections to steal U.S. military secrets and send them to Israel a few years back. Not a conspiracy theory, it was on the mainstream news. For whatever reason, he faced no repercussions for what he did.
[–]Rackemup 19 points20 points21 points  (0 children)
The way you wrote it I pictured a movie producer cold-calling hollywood actors and asking if they have any nuclear stuff he can "borrow".
From his Wikipedia page it turns out he's likely an Israeli intelligence agent who owns multiple businesses and has funneled products and information on nuclear development back to Israel. It's like multiple clichees in one story.
[–]humanbynature 6 points7 points8 points  (0 children)
A guy from my high school is in a huge legal battle with producers of a documentary about sexual abuse of young actors in Hollywood. He shared his sensitive story on camera, but there was a "victim" amongst them telling flat out lies and once that was exposed, the movie makers decided to sue my classmate for defamation. Pretty shitty to turn on a young gay victim and take his money. He and I are only facebook friends, but he posts updates and legal letters online for us to see.
[–]jroades26 41 points42 points43 points  (9 children)
"Israel" and "Hollywood".
I think you have your answers.
[–]slash_dev_null 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
Damn Dirty Jews. ಠ_ಠ
[–]always_cavok comment score below threshold-12 points-11 points-10 points  (4 children)
And because Israel isn't really the enemy of the US. If he'd tried to sell them to Iran, that'd be a different story.
[–]MiaYYZ 8 points9 points10 points  (0 children)
Jonathan Pollard sat in jail for 28 years for exactly this.
[–]davesidious 33 points34 points35 points  (0 children)
You seem to have a very superficial understanding of international politics.
[–]Droombus 18 points19 points20 points  (1 child)
Selling inernational secrets is treason regardless.
[–]RedditRolledClimber 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
It's only treason if you're helping an actual enemy. It's espionage if you sell secrets to someone else, but even then he probably faced no repercussions because (I assume) he didn't have a security clearance. It's the same reason newspapers are allowed to blab top secret information: no obligation not to.
[–]defeatedbird comment score below threshold-7 points-6 points-5 points  (0 children)
Wait, what? This is Reddit and you didn't get downvoted to hell for pointing out that [ethnicity ] dominates [industry ]? But hurr durr stereotypes r bad mmk?
[–]JohnGillnitz 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
Possibility because the difference between the US military and Israeli military is paper thin.
[–]pab_guy [score hidden]  (0 children)
But how do the pedos find each other?
[–]CrapfestLicker 3 points4 points5 points  (0 children)
For whatever reason, he faced no repercussions for what he did.
Because he was a spy before he was a producer, rather than the other way around.
[–]surgeonffs 5 points6 points7 points  (0 children)
Because (((Our Greatest Ally))) and the (((Chosen People))) can do no wrong, goyim.
[–]malariasucks -2 points-1 points0 points  (0 children)
probably has a sex ring with a prominent politician. I mean look at Bill Clinton's connections. Can you tell me that he spent so much time with a pedophile and didnt participate? I think it will come out sooner or later about the Clintons being into some weird shit
[–]lockedinaroom 168 points169 points170 points  (33 children)
Will probably be buried but....
Adjunct teaching in colleges seems pretty shady. I should know because I am one.
The original idea behind adjunct instructors was to bring in people that had real world experience to teach classes. Since the instructor wasn't hard up for funds, the classes didn't pay very much.
Anymore, it's become a place for new graduates who can't find a job.
Where I live, a full-time college instructor at a community college makes about $36,000 a year teaching 12 credit hours or more a semester. Or about $1500 a credit hour (36,000/24). They also get full benefits such as medical and life insurance. At a university, they can make about $45,000 a year or about $1875 per credit hour with benefits.
Adjuncts only get paid about $400 per credit hour at a community college and about $700 per credit hour at a university. And adjuncts are lucky to get 6 credit hours per semester.
At the schools that I've worked for, you're paid over four months and you can expect to wait up to two months before getting paid each semester. No insurance or any other benefits. And absolutely no job security. If enrollment drops or you get bad evaluations, you can expect to be unemployed next semester. And you might not know for sure whether you are still employed until a week before school starts.
We also don't get offices or our own computer. Even grad assistants get offices and computers! Making copies, grading, holding "office" hours are always a challenge.
At one point, I was working for three different schools at once for 13 credit hours and only brought home $14,000 that year for my trouble. That's less than half the full-time salary. My effective hourly rate (40 hours a week for the general school year) was about $11/hour. For contrast, I made $10/hour working for Walmart.
At the school I was just hired at, they told me that 75% of their credit hours are taught by adjuncts. To me, that's just insane. A lot of these hours are for developmental education. Developmental education classes are for those who didn't learn the basics in high school. They may have dropped out or been out of school for a long time. They are the classes one would take before taking general education classes. Not ready for English 101 and College Algebra? Here, take English Fundamentals and Elementary Algebra! But we're going to give you an instructor who has almost no experience and barely gets paid above min. wage. who has no office or computer to help you one on one. Oh, and his/her future employment at this school depends on enrollment numbers and evaluations so don't worry if he/she makes it super easy to pass.*
*I don't make my classes too easy. It's just rumors that I've heard among peers.
It's also damn near impossible to advance from adjunct to full-time. A lot of times, when there is an opening, it is filled on a temporary basis of one or two semesters. If you work for multiple schools, it may not be worth applying for the temporary position because if it doesn't work out, you've lost your spots in your other schools. Not to mention, the only times these open up are when a) an instructor moves away (rare), b) an instructor retires, c) an instructor gets sick and/or dies. Very, very rarely does the budget allow for additional full time faculty.
And minimum wage laws don't apply to educators because a lot of our work is done at home or away from the office. So, if a school wanted to only pay $200 per credit hour, they could. And they could probably find some sap willing to work for that. And I don't know of any industry where it is acceptable to pay part time workers at less than half the rate of full time employees who have the same qualifications.
I don't think it's malicious intent from colleges in general. It was just a slippery slope. They saw a way to save money and they took it. Now, we have an army of college instructors who work for peanuts and receive no benefits.
[–]Bigred2989 66 points67 points68 points  (12 children)
The prison industry. They make sure lawmakers keep their prisons overflowing with people by passing or maintaining laws or systems that make it easy to put the poor in jail.
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