I've provided free samples, with zero strings attached, of most my new products.
Hmnnnnnnnnnnn... You mean you weren't trying to corrupt the people you gave those samples to? Oh my. You're willing to justify your behavior, and yet, so ready to condemn those who market a bit differently than you.
Exactly how would such an action create a moral dilemma for anyone?
Unfortunately, you keep misrepresenting what I post. I never said it created a moral dilemma because I don't think it does. But then, I don't think referrals are immoral either. If you don't like referrals, then don't do referrals. It's as easy as that. However, one might ponder the ethics of condemning competitors for simply doing things a bit differently than you. You write "no strings attached", but it's still a bribe. Not a bad bribe. Not an unethical bribe. It's simply marketing. It's like giving away a sticker or a t-shirt. It's getting people to notice you, perhaps to patronize you. It's all good... within reason. Before you feign more outrage, I'm not the only one who feels you're being unreasonable here. Take the proverbial "chill pill" and think on this a bit.
Make no doubt about it. The SB team takes unethical behaviors seriously. We've identified and banned sock puppets coming in to bash their competitors. We've even merged their accounts at times, so people can see how unethical they are being. We've even had users try to hold businesses cyber hostages. "If you don't meet my demands, we're going to smear your name on ScubaBoard." Whoa! Now THAT'S unethical. We have various ways to deal with that sort of thing, and boy you should hear them howl about our censorship when we do. Oh wait, we don't take that sort of thing down, so you can read it on your own. For the record, we need the tribe's help in this. If you suspect someone is acting unethical, then please report the post. We'll definitely take a look and see if there's anything to your suspicions.
John isn't complaining about people promoting businesses. He's not against marketing at all. No, he's complaining about people not disclosing their financial or other ties. Now, that's deceitful and unethical. The easy way around that is to be up front. Put who you work for in your signature line. The tribe can forgive a lot of sins, but they have a hard time forgiving deceit. That and incompetence that leads to death. Who can blame them?
