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PaperclipPerfector  14d ago (text post)   2726 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for April 26, 2024

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I went into a shop to buy a blouse my girlfriend wanted. The cashier said "it's 10% off if you sign up to our mailing list". I said "sure" and she told me to scan the QR code. It brought me to a website in which I had to enter my email address. I quickly fired up temp-mail to generate a burner email address, entered that in the field, and showed the cashier that I'd signed up. 10% discount applied.

Have I done something morally wrong?

In my own ethical view, it depends on the store.

I don't generally view our obligations to corporations to be the same as our obligations to individuals. A small business I would not cheat. A corporation has already stated that it will act to maximize profit, screwing me in the process if necessary or just beneficial.

No, not at all.

I think it depends on the terms listed in the fine print of the coupon.

  • If this was your first time using this trick at this store, then I see no problem. Otherwise:

  • If the terms say that the offer is valid only once per person, then you have committed fraud. Otherwise:

  • If the terms have no such clause, or no terms were presented to you at all, then it is reasonable for you to consider the offer valid once per email subscription, and I see no problem (since you did subscribe with a valid email).

Wait doesn’t everyone do this?

Middle-class Americans have enough disposable income that it isn't worth the inconvenience to scoop up minor discounts like these. People with higher marginal utility for money and less marginal utility for time will differ of course.

I have more disposable income than most middle class americans and I would still do this. Not because of the small savings, but because of the principle. Even though it may be irrational from a cost benefit point of view my job (which in turn influences my view of the world) is basically about buying as cheaply as possible and selling for as much as possible and something deep down in me would be hurt if I didn't do this.

People give out their personal details at the drop of a hat without thinking. I see this every time I'm in a store. And nearly all stores have 'membership rebates' now. Clearly the info is worth a lot.

No.

To be a bit flippant, I feel that in order to consider this a stain on your character, you must have dysfunctionally low levels of Machiavellianism, way below the average and possibly to the point it constitutes a pathology.

You haven't done anything wrong.

Actually, I'd take this one step further - I'd argue that if you put your real email and phone number in during situations like this, you're actively harming your fellow people / society.

You're helping create and sustain an inadequate equilibria, and you're actively rewarding and incentivizing privacy invading and anti-customer practices from the store in question, and indeed from all stores and websites doing this.

It's actually your moral duty to use fake emails and phone numbers with info harvesters and privacy invading institutions, to fight against these things.

"dysfunctionally low levels of Machiavellianism" made me laugh out loud, thanks a lot.

You should consider making a permanent spam-only email so you don't have to go to the trouble of making a new burner each time.

As far as the moral implications... uh, this is basically a hostage negotiation. You should think of the employee as a puppet rather than a real human. The corporation may hurt the cashier in some of these situations but they hold the responsibility for that suffering, not you.

Absolutely not. Don't even bother thinking about it again. They were out to scam you and you just got them first.

A mailing list is not a scam, but I'd agree that there's nothing to worry about here.

Lots of places sell or "misplace" their mailing lists to other parties.

That's still not a scam.

If you sign up to a mailing list, and then the company distributes the contents of that mailing list to a third party without your consent, I think that would be in direct violation of GDPR.

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