While it could be argued whether I was being unkind, in re-reading I certainly wasn't being kind, and there was no small amount of snark. While I stand by the sentiment behind the comment, I don't think it is likely to change the mind of the poster I was replying to. There's a chance that it would avoid having the conversation turn into an extremely capitalist/libertarian echo chamber as commonly happens here, but that's about the extent of it.
Partly, the mindset that was evident in teeray's post was rather frustrating. Implicit in the post was a dismissal of the Raspberry Pi Foundation's goals of providing low-cost teaching hardware, an assumption that re-distribution to those who can pay more is a good thing, blame at Adafruit for not having priced out the primary target market in the first place, and praise for scalpers who are standing between a charity (RPF) and its intended recipients. None of those were explicitly stated, but those are the implications and results of the philosophy in that comment. It's a cruel, unkind, and mean-spirited philosophy, which is why I felt it appropriate to respond with snark.
Partly, the mindset that was evident in teeray's post was rather frustrating. Implicit in the post was a dismissal of the Raspberry Pi Foundation's goals of providing low-cost teaching hardware, an assumption that re-distribution to those who can pay more is a good thing, blame at Adafruit for not having priced out the primary target market in the first place, and praise for scalpers who are standing between a charity (RPF) and its intended recipients. None of those were explicitly stated, but those are the implications and results of the philosophy in that comment. It's a cruel, unkind, and mean-spirited philosophy, which is why I felt it appropriate to respond with snark.