I swapped the "About" page on my freelancing website for a "Principles" one. A little high and mighty for a one-person software shop? Maybe! But in any case, here's what it says:
https://chobble.com/principles/
This business works to a set of straightforward principles:
- Transparency: No secrets are kept from customers. The tools they rely on are theirs to keep.
- Honesty: If you don't need my services or another provider would suit you better, I'll tell you.
- Own, not rent: My income should come from doing work, not from charging rent.
- Fair prices: My prices are flat for all jobs and are set at the market rate for an experienced freelance programmer with a 50% discount for charities, cooperatives, and artists.
- Freedom: Customers have full control of their data and can move it to any provider.
- No harmful industries: I will not participate in the exploitation of humans or animals.
The goal of these principles is to encourage customers to choose Chobble based on the quality of its work. This might sound like a strange thing to have to spell out, but it's actually quite different from what many tech companies do:
- Locking you in with contracts
- Hiding the inner workings from you
- Making it hard to move which holds your data hostage
- Ratcheting up the ongoing costs
- Taking a cut of your profits
- Providing the minimal level of service to not lose your custom
Chobble was founded to try and create a sustainable tech business that doesn't fall into any of these bad habits. And by writing these principles out in public, I make it easier for customers and potential customers to hold me to them.
For a deep dive into the -isms behind Chobble, you might want to read the Wikipedia pages for [Utilitarianism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilitarianism) and [Anarchism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism).
#webdev #foss #anarchism