Positive practices: Difference between revisions

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~~{{ToneWarning}}~~

Positive practices are pro-consumer business approaches that prioritize the interests, rights, and well-being of customers. They are designed to empower consumers and offer fairness, transparency, and value:

Positive practices are pro-consumer business approaches that prioritize the interests, rights, and well-being of customers. They are designed to empower consumers, offer fairness, transparency, and value:

*;Transparency

::Clearly disclosing pricing, terms, conditions, and product information upfront.

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*;Consumer control and choice

::Giving customers ~~genuine~~ options, ~~easy~~ cancellation, ownership rights, and repair ability.

::Giving customers options, simple cancellation, ownership rights, and repair ability.

*;Longevity and durability

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*;Respectful support

::Providing accessible, helpful, and fair customer service to resolve issues.

::Providing accessible, helpful, and fair customer service to identify and resolve issues.

==Examples==

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|-

|One-Time Purchase

|Offering a product or service for a single payment with no recurring fees for core functionality

|Offering a product or service for a single payment with no recurring fees for core functionality.

|-

|Right to Repair

|Designing products to be repairable, and making parts, tools, manuals and software accessible

|Designing products to be repairable by the consumer, and making parts, tools, manuals, and software accessible to the public.

|-

|Transparent Pricing

|Clearly displaying the full price (including all mandatory fees/taxes) upfront in advertising or early during checkout

|Clearly displaying the full price (including all mandatory fees/taxes) upfront in advertising or early during checkout.

|-

|Fair Return Policy

|Offering ~~easy~~ returns, exchanges, or refunds within a reasonable ~~timeframe~~

|Offering returns, exchanges, or refunds within a reasonable time frame.

|-

|Clear Cancellation Policy

|~~Making it~~ simple and straightforward for ~~consumers to cancel~~ subscriptions without ~~hoops~~

|Maintaining a simple and straightforward process for cancelling subscriptions without unnecessary steps.

|-

|Ownership Model

|Ensuring consumers own what they purchase, including the ability to use, modify, resell, or transfer the product freely

|Ensuring consumers own what they purchase, including the ability to use, modify, resell, or transfer the product freely.

|-

|Honest Marketing

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|Proactive Customer Support

|Offering readily available support to identify and resolve issues efficiently.

|-

|Privacy By Design

|A product or service is designed in a way that collecting metadata and accessing users' information is technically impossible even for the manufacturer or the entity running the service.

|}

----

===Subscription or single purchase===

Subscriptions prioritize continuous access and updates, while one-time purchases emphasize ~~upfront~~ ownership.

Subscriptions prioritize continuous access and updates, while one-time purchases emphasize ownership.

====One-time====

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::Negatives<ref name=":SubOne"></ref><ref name=":SubTwo"></ref>

::*Higher initial cost may deter budget-conscious buyers.

::*Limited updates and future improvements may require additional purchases.

::*Businesses rely on new sales for sustained income.

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====Considerations for subscription plans====

*Does this service update frequently or at least within the subscription ~~timeframe~~?

*Does this service update frequently or at least within the subscription time frame?

*How long will I be needing this service, and will it be compatible with me for that amount of time?

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===Offline product vs. online services for digital goods===

Services that run exclusively online innately allow the company to ~~have more~~ control over how their ~~product operates~~ and are received. This form of control can lead to changes in the product that can improve it, but can otherwise also introduce a myriad of issues such as incompatibility and the removal of functionality. Digital goods that are completely operational offline allow the consumer to decide how long those goods will be used. As long as the downloaded product can be stored and correctly rendered, it has no expiration.

Services that run exclusively online innately allow the company to maintain greater control over how their products operate and are received. This form of control can lead to changes in the product that can improve it, but can otherwise also introduce a myriad of issues such as incompatibility and the removal of functionality. Digital goods that are completely operational offline allow the consumer to decide how long those goods will be used. As long as the downloaded product can be stored and correctly rendered, it has no expiration.

====Considerations for online services====

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**Example: Online social games such as ''World of Warcraft''

*Is this product more secure online?

*Is required online connectivity an artificial constraint or is it legitimately necessary for the product's functionality?

*How likely am I to maintain an internet connection to this service?

*Can this service alter itself into an incompatible state? Can this service remove functionality that I need?

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*Will I be able to effectively download and store this?

*Does the product contain DRM protections?

*Does it have any dependencies, and can those dependencies become redundant?

**Example: Products designed for a limited set of operating systems that may become outdated

===Source availability===

Oftentimes companies will ~~not provide or~~ [[security through obscurity|actively obscure]] details about ~~how~~ a product ~~works~~. This exacerbates the potential pitfalls mentioned above, but when information is provided it can eliminate many of them.

Oftentimes, companies will [[security through obscurity|actively obscure]], or simply not provide, details about a product's functionality. This exacerbates the potential pitfalls mentioned above, but when information is provided it can eliminate many of them.

====Considerations for physical goods====

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-{{ToneWarning}}
+Positive practices are pro-consumer business approaches that prioritize the interests, rights, and well-being of customers. They are designed to empower consumers and offer fairness, transparency, and value:
-Positive practices are pro-consumer business approaches that prioritize the interests, rights, and well-being of customers. They are designed to empower consumers, offer fairness, transparency, and value:
 *;Transparency
 ::Clearly disclosing pricing, terms, conditions, and product information upfront.
@@ Line 8: / Line 7: @@
 *;Consumer control and choice
-::Giving customers genuine options, easy cancellation, ownership rights, and repair ability.
+::Giving customers options, simple cancellation, ownership rights, and repair ability.
 *;Longevity and durability
@@ Line 14: / Line 13: @@
 *;Respectful support
-::Providing accessible, helpful, and fair customer service to resolve issues.
+::Providing accessible, helpful, and fair customer service to identify and resolve issues.
 ==Examples==
@@ Line 23: / Line 22: @@
 |-
 |One-Time Purchase
-|Offering a product or service for a single payment with no recurring fees for core functionality
+|Offering a product or service for a single payment with no recurring fees for core functionality.
 |-
 |Right to Repair
-|Designing products to be repairable, and making parts, tools, manuals and software accessible
+|Designing products to be repairable by the consumer, and making parts, tools, manuals, and software accessible to the public.
 |-
 |Transparent Pricing
-|Clearly displaying the full price (including all mandatory fees/taxes) upfront in advertising or early during checkout
+|Clearly displaying the full price (including all mandatory fees/taxes) upfront in advertising or early during checkout.
 |-
 |Fair Return Policy
-|Offering easy returns, exchanges, or refunds within a reasonable timeframe
+|Offering returns, exchanges, or refunds within a reasonable time frame.
 |-
 |Clear Cancellation Policy
-|Making it simple and straightforward for consumers to cancel subscriptions without hoops
+|Maintaining a simple and straightforward process for cancelling subscriptions without unnecessary steps.
 |-
 |Ownership Model
-|Ensuring consumers own what they purchase, including the ability to use, modify, resell, or transfer the product freely
+|Ensuring consumers own what they purchase, including the ability to use, modify, resell, or transfer the product freely.
 |-
 |Honest Marketing
@@ Line 45: / Line 44: @@
 |Proactive Customer Support
 |Offering readily available support to identify and resolve issues efficiently.
+|-
+|Privacy By Design
+|A product or service is designed in a way that collecting metadata and accessing users' information is technically impossible even for the manufacturer or the entity running the service.
 |}
 ----
 ===Subscription or single purchase===
-Subscriptions prioritize continuous access and updates, while one-time purchases emphasize upfront ownership.
+Subscriptions prioritize continuous access and updates, while one-time purchases emphasize ownership.
 ====One-time====
@@ Line 59: / Line 61: @@
 ::Negatives<ref name=":SubOne"></ref><ref name=":SubTwo"></ref>
 ::*Higher initial cost may deter budget-conscious buyers.
-::*Limited updates  and future improvements may require additional purchases.
+::*Limited updates and future improvements may require additional purchases.
 ::*Businesses rely on new sales for sustained income.
@@ Line 75: / Line 77: @@
 ====Considerations for subscription plans====
-*Does this service update frequently or at least within the subscription timeframe?
+*Does this service update frequently or at least within the subscription time frame?
 *How long will I be needing this service, and will it be compatible with me for that amount of time?
@@ Line 84: / Line 86: @@
 ===Offline product vs. online services for digital goods===
-Services that run exclusively online innately allow the company to have more control over how their product operates and are received. This form of control can lead to changes in the product that can improve it, but can otherwise also introduce a myriad of issues such as incompatibility and the removal of functionality. Digital goods that are completely operational offline allow the consumer to decide how long those goods will be used. As long as the downloaded product can be stored and correctly rendered, it has no expiration.
+Services that run exclusively online innately allow the company to maintain greater control over how their products operate and are received. This form of control can lead to changes in the product that can improve it, but can otherwise also introduce a myriad of issues such as incompatibility and the removal of functionality. Digital goods that are completely operational offline allow the consumer to decide how long those goods will be used. As long as the downloaded product can be stored and correctly rendered, it has no expiration.
 ====Considerations for online services====
@@ Line 91: / Line 93: @@
 **Example: Online social games such as ''World of Warcraft''
 *Is this product more secure online?
+*Is required online connectivity an artificial constraint or is it legitimately necessary for the product's functionality?
 *How likely am I to maintain an internet connection to this service?
 *Can this service alter itself into an incompatible state? Can this service remove functionality that I need?
@@ Line 99: / Line 102: @@
 *Will I be able to effectively download and store this?
+*Does the product contain DRM protections?
 *Does it have any dependencies, and can those dependencies become redundant?
 **Example: Products designed for a limited set of operating systems that may become outdated
 ===Source availability===
-Oftentimes companies will not provide or [[security through obscurity|actively obscure]] details about how a product works. This exacerbates the potential pitfalls mentioned above, but when information is provided it can eliminate many of them.
+Oftentimes, companies will [[security through obscurity|actively obscure]], or simply not provide, details about a product's functionality. This exacerbates the potential pitfalls mentioned above, but when information is provided it can eliminate many of them.
 ====Considerations for physical goods====