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by layer88 hours ago |
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upvoteby tom_8 hours ago|
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The link is to the BingeEatingDisorder subreddit. From the link,

> I know that at least for me, the actual process of ordering food delivery is part of the addiction

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upvoteby sidewndr466 hours ago|
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I'm seeing a business opportunity for a gambling site where it is extremely cheap to play, but the payout is always 0 dollars.
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upvoteby pvillano1 hours ago|
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I once had the strange experience of playing such a game. It was an "instant game" on Facebook Messenger, that simulated a slot machine casino. It didn't have a cash-out, so it was really just a game.

It had an auto-play, so I watched the dials spin and lights flash until my money ran out, and it prompted me to buy more.

The game played entirely by itself, until it inevitably lost. It ran with no meaningful player action other than selecting which slot machine and buying coins.

And it had a leaderboard, with Facebook profile photos and names of big winners that I can only assume spent real money to be there.

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upvoteby MrDrMcCoy23 minutes ago|
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Progress Quest lives on in strange ways.
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upvoteby Bratmon5 hours ago|
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You've just invented the mobile games industry.
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upvoteby sandcat_5 hours ago|
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Hm, or even a gambling site that uses real money but where you always get your money back, eventually.
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upvoteby DeltaCoast5 hours ago|
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There were fintechs that did this, I think yotta and one other that was acquired by a big bank. I think it was (is?) popular but if I remember correctly they lost customer funds because of Synapses failure and the way the customer funds were organized they weren’t insured.
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upvoteby totallyhuman3 hours ago|
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That would be interesting. Probably works best as a non-profit with donations or grants. Be a normal gambling setup, but with the expected value of all the games zero instead of negative. Advertise to existing gambling addicts. You might also be able to invert some of the dark patterns to encourage less addictive behaviour.

I expect the main threat would be that it might be possible to extract money with the system with clever statistical tricks.

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upvoteby 3 hours ago|
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upvoteby 7 hours ago|
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upvoteby teraflop8 hours ago|
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Well the context is that it was posted to a subreddit for people who struggle with binge eating. So I guess you can think of it as the equivalent of sucking on a lollipop when you're craving a cigarette.
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upvoteby beaker525 hours ago|
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There’s a thing with dopamine where it’s not actually about receiving the reward, it’s about doing the things that lead to the reward.

As weird as it sounds, going through the ordering process is all you need.

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upvoteby charcircuit6 hours ago|
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Do you get anxious when you order at a restaurant? There is the same exact uncertainty there compared to ordering ahead by 10 minutes while you are on the way there.
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upvoteby harvey94 hours ago|
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There is a very different uncertainty with a far shorter loop to remedy any problems. I have never sat in a restaurant thinking that [any food delivery-specific failure mode] will arise.
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upvoteby charcircuit2 hours ago|
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>with a far shorter loop to remedy any problems.

It is the same length. The difference is whether you are waiting at the restaurant or "waiting" in your car driving over.

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upvoteby pengaru7 hours ago|
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think window shopping

which upon writing I realized may not even be something folks born after 2010 have even heard of...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_shopping

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