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Does TWIT endorse Alex Lindsay’s comments regarding zero-rating developers who put their apps in 3rd party app stores?
@Leo has repeatedly told Alex that he does not like that advocacy expressed on the show, and Alex has continued to do it. So I am left believing that either TWIT really doesn’t care about this and is just paying lip-service, or that Alex feels he can continue to do this without any consequences.
I am asking because I’m reaching a point where I will be making my own decision regarding shows that give this man a platform for this point of view and whether I will continue to subscribe to them or support them. I don’t like this - I really do like TWIT and many of the shows on there. I’m a ClubTWIT subscriber as well. But I’m fed up with what even Andy Ihnatko calls “dirt bag” behavior -a term I consider to be among the politest ways I could reference what Alex is doing. Since Alex doesn’t seem to be willing to change his behavior - I have to evaluate whether or not to change my own in terms of how I support the platforms that give reach to him.
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One-Star Dirt-Bag Go to your neutral corners. So professional - gotta love it 
I don’t envy Jason having to wrangle Alex in that conversation. Alex should have done what @Leo asked him to do, which is not advocate that behavior on the shows. He did it anyway.
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As long as there are different views on the panel and he gets pushback, I’m OK with it. I’ve said before, given you have to have purchased an app to leave a review, he and his friends can’t do what they are threatening to do anyway.
Interestingly, Apple is very happy to do exactly what it doesn’t want people to do in its store when it puts its apps in other people’s stores.
I have a (freebie) Apple Music subscription on Android. The app sends you to Apple’s payment service, not Google’s. You can’t manage the subscription using the tool Google gives you to manage Play Store subscriptions 
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I like the diversity of opinion on TWiT shows and to be honest, I both agree and disagree with each of the panelists at any one time or another. I am personally not a fan of Alex’s view on this issue but appreciate his perspective on various issues. One of the reasons I like to watch MBW is to hear their different viewpoints and perspectives. Filling in for Leo, Jason has his hands full…kudos to him!
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Well to be fair I wan’t there to call him on it. I won’t let him do it again.
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Thank you, @Leo.
I really don’t mean to be a jerk about this, but I find his position so grossly offensive that I have to say something,
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Alex is, generally, a great guest and his knowledge makes him a pleasure to listen to, usually… But when it comes to chiding Apple for doing something wrong or talk about making things better for users (giving them more choice), he suddenly becomes very protective and often offensive.
If the apps in question still offer Apple Pay as an option, but also offer different payment methods and are available in other stores, why should it bother Alex, he can still download it in the Apple Store and he can still pay with Apple Pay, if that is what he wants…
I’d like the option to pay Amazon directly, for example, because I already have a payment relationship with them, so why would I want to pay Apple to pay Amazon for eBooks or audio books? But for most of the rest, where I either don’t know the developer or I have no existing relationship with them, I prefer to use Apple Pay.
Andy specifically and clearly pushed back on the zero-star rating idea. Alex should be free to express his opinion; it is not anti-developer hate speech. I don’t think TWiT needs to publish an official position, nor should Alex face censure. Panelists are free to push back, and listeners are free to ignore or to share their opinions about zero-star ratings here or in the Discord.
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I’m going to disagree here - I believe it is anti-developer speech. He’s advocating zero-rating anyone who puts apps he uses in a 3rd party store as a warning to all other developers what will happen to them. And he’s rallying other people to do the same thing. No change in app functionality or features. Just a different store. And it goes beyond expressing an opinion and becomes a call to action. He wants others to do what he’s threatening to do. He’s mentioned this too many times for it to be otherwise.
I find this behavior reprehensible. He’s threatening the livelihood of any developer who does not have the resources to weather the outcome if people follow his lead. He’s a man with resources and the means to give voice to his opinion in multiple venues that others may not have.
While I personally think he has no business being on a show with journalists, he is a subject matter expert par excellence when it comes to video and audio production. But that virtue - that expertise - does not counter the real damage he is advocating to be done to anyone who upends his apple cart (no pun intended).
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It boils down to Alex being a thought leader promoting bad thinking. I feel pretty sure that he’s not avoiding buying groceries simply because there is more than one type of grocery store. I get why he feels how he does, but he would be solving the wrong problem by taking the actions he proposes. He should not be given free air time to propose a destructive approach to keeping things the way he wants them to be. He already has his own business/podcast to do that, and I bet he doesn’t do it there because it would be bad for his business and/or his employer would not approve.
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I’m saying it isn’t hate speech that requires censure. Users have limited recourse in any of this. They can choose where to spend or not spend their money and attention. They can leave ratings in the App Store. They can advocate for themselves and try to rally support through social media or the media at large. If a user genuinely feels like a developer’s approach vis-a-vis the App Store (or payments, data collection, ads, or anything else) fully negates the core functionality of the app, then they should feel free to leave whatever rating they see as appropriate.
Anyway, this is all a lot of noise. Alex and his low ratings are not going to stay the barbarians at the gate (as he sees it). Developers will do what they’re going to do and users will either go along or they won’t. 
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I was thinking the same thing, I’m sure he wouldn’t sabotage the local fruit and veg stalls at his farmer’s market, if they were to also provide fruit and veg to the local supermarket’s local produce section.
Maybe I should have given Apple 1 star for forcing me to use their payment service in the Google Play Store 
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Leo called out Alex’s dirtbaggery a few weeks ago, so I’m pretty sure Twit doesn’t endorse it.
That said: Alex is entitled to his opinion, blah, blah, blah, but the fact is he’s pretty much openly threatening people who don’t do what he wants every few episodes on MacBreak Weekly. This has been going on for nearly, or at least, one year. It’s not a great look for the podcast or Twit.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this happened while Leo wasn’t hosting, either.
Me personally, if I had a podcast where one of the regulars was constantly making veiled threats of forming an online mob and going after people, Gamergate-style or 4chan-style, I’m not so sure that person would be a regular any more.
Also, thanks to Andy for calling out this garbage. Week after week, he brings a really humane perspective to many of the subjects on MBW. I’m sure that wasn’t easy for him, but it’s nice to know that people are recognizing Alex’s awful behavior and not letting it slide.
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