A previous similar incident became a legendary in-joke over at MetaFilter 18 years ago:
Astounding. I can't take a moral argument seriously from any of you who jumped at the opportunity to take advantage of an honest mistake. I don't want to hear ever again about greedy corporations or crooked politicians. You people just showed that you're willing to turn a blind eye when it is to your benefit. How does that make you any different from those you rail against? –
posted by marknau at 6:45 PM on November 20, 2001 [4 favorites +] [!]
We have cameras. – posted by NortonDC at 6:48 PM on November 20, 2001 [164 favorites +] [!]
I was just thinking recently it's hard to believe Mefi turned 20 years old this summer, and then I realized MY site turns 20 years old this fall... I know people feel old when their kids get old, but damn, having a website turn twenty just makes me feel old.
Although the deal is amazing, it's even more amazing how quickly people seem to turn a blind eye to take advantage.
It reminds me a bit of the various insurance systems here in the Netherlands. People complain about the high insurance fees, yet they claim as much damage as possible and even commit fraud in order to get the most out of it. Which of course, in turn, increases insurance fees again.
Most people don't have a problem with bad behavior if it's justified.
A good portion of my income goes to pay taxes, yet Amazon hardly pays anything comparatively. If they actually paid proportionate taxes maybe my tax rate wouldn't be so high. Getting a good deal through an error is only stealing back some value that was already stolen from me.
It's not the best justification, but I could come up with a dozen more. The play field is so drastically tilted towards the big players that almost everyone at some point feels like they were cheated by the system, and so people don't feel bad cheating the system.
Astounding. I can't take a moral argument seriously from any of you who jumped at the opportunity to take advantage of an honest mistake. I don't want to hear ever again about greedy corporations or crooked politicians. You people just showed that you're willing to turn a blind eye when it is to your benefit. How does that make you any different from those you rail against? – posted by marknau at 6:45 PM on November 20, 2001 [4 favorites +] [!]
We have cameras. – posted by NortonDC at 6:48 PM on November 20, 2001 [164 favorites +] [!]
https://www.metafilter.com/12512/#178067