At first glace I thought this was hilarious but after mentioning to other people who were appalled at the idea I thought it would be a decent point of debate that would not be politically charged.
As a member of the betting pool involved and knowing all the actors I will not take a stand either way, but as the site specifies the poster won said pool honestly and is correct that he is owed money. The person shamed knew it was for money and has since moved away from the region all other players live.
Since there has been no bounces from the email provider we have to assume it is not a logistics problem but an active decision not to pay his debt. So, is announcing it to the world in such public manner a reasonable or ethical thing to do? (Certainly cheaper than small claims court which would frown on our pool.)
p.s. In the big scheme of things no information other than the miscreants name was used, if you support the shaming, how much information could you justify releasing?
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Wednesday, March 19, 2008
The ethics of web based shaming
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4 comments:
$20? All that for $20?? LOL
IMO, if emails didn't work, then a blog dedicated to the guy really won't work. Clearly his reluctance to pay up demands something stronger than the written word.
Why not just approach the guy and give him a backhander? He'll cough it up.
I am the author of the blog, and the one owed the money.
Why were the people to whom you mentioned my tactics "appalled"? What possible objection could there be? I think social pressure is a fair way to address the situation.
Note that I did hold off on the blog for a long time. I gave him over 6 months and 7 email reminders. I didn't notify the world about his secret deadbeat identity until I gave him every chance to make good on his promise.
P.S. Does Mr. Raymond live in Alberta or B.C.?
P.P.S. I added another post to the blog: "Artist's conception of Sean Raymond".
Lord of Wealth,
Thank you for stating the situation objectively. Take that, postmodernists!
Steve
I think they were appalled in that so much effort is being taken for such a small sum. One used the word "petty" , one thought the concept of shaming was in fact making the debtor a victim.
While I can see the point of hounding him and shaming him, laws of diminishing returns would say the effort is not worth it. The amount of work to collect does not equal the return. Then again I'm just lazy that way.
I sure hope I don't owe you a beer or anything;)
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