I know a lot of etsy sellers (some are men), and their passion for selling their produce is their hobby - what they make, what they craft, that is what they enjoy doing. They certainly don't see it as slavery.
> It just seems silly to me to work on a carpet for days, if a machine can produce the same thing in minutes.
For the same reason that a HNer might work on a startup for days/months/years even though something similar might already exist. I don't see it as my place to judge whether or not they're wasting their time (nor do I see it as slavery).
"what they make, what they craft, that is what they enjoy doing."
OK, but they don't do it for a living? Also I think there is a misundertanding. I can understand art and creativity, and from the article I take it that etsy encourages individual items. What I don't like about the "handmade" label is the production of repetitive things that should better be left to machines.
Maybe some people enjoy creating 100 baskets that look the same, or 100 cups (do you know such people/men?). But how high can their pay realistically be? If it is not slavery, maybe it is extremely low paid work.
"For the same reason that a HNer might work on a startup for days/months/years even though something similar might already exist."
I would think a startup is by definition to try to create something new.
"I don't see it as my place to judge whether or not they're wasting their time (nor do I see it as slavery)."
But you do have a problem with me considering certain things to be a waste of time?
At least one off the top of my head uses it as her sole income.
> Maybe some people enjoy creating 100 baskets that look the same, or 100 cups
I'm sorry, I didn't see in the article where it was saying that? Perhaps I misread somewhere. My experience with etsy, even with sellers who make and sell a lot of goods, is that each piece is different in some way.
> I would think a startup is by definition to try to create something new.
Really? I see plenty of "please review my startup" posts here that seem to offer a regurgitated version of someone else's idea.
> But you do have a problem with me considering certain things to be a waste of time?
It's your prerogative to view whatever you like as a waste of time (I know that having this pointless debate is wasting my time, and yet I go on...) I just don't see the need to compare it to slavery.
> It just seems silly to me to work on a carpet for days, if a machine can produce the same thing in minutes.
For the same reason that a HNer might work on a startup for days/months/years even though something similar might already exist. I don't see it as my place to judge whether or not they're wasting their time (nor do I see it as slavery).