Quote from: theymos on June 21, 2013, 09:51:31 AM

Quote from: coinsquirrel on June 21, 2013, 09:27:19 AM

forcing StarSoccer to bid BTC63

Did Gar255 put a gun to his head? No one forced the bidders to do anything.

Having an alt that artificially raises the bid price is similar to a secret reserve price in an auction. There's nothing inherently wrong with it except that Garr255 should have warned bidders that he might do it. I rank his actions there as "a bit shady," though he handled the fallout badly (due to inexperience, I suppose).

In any case, alts aren't against forum rules, and scammer tags are typically only given when an explicit agreement is broken. Garr255 never promised not to bid on his own auctions. He never even promised to honor the results of the auctions. Without contracts that say otherwise, auctions are only devices to assist in price negotiations.

Would you find it acceptable for yourself to bid up forum ad slots with socks? I now can't help but notice you've never explicitly stated you won't. Should it raise a red flag for me that you have not explicitly stated you won't bid up ad slots with socks, or would it be reasonable to assume you would not, considering your reputation? You've never explicitly stated (AFAIK) you will not sell our PMs to Google. Should I now assume it would be acceptable for you and Hearn to negotiate a deal where our "private information" is for sale to them?

Are you turning into a robot, theymos, where a binary answer is required for substantial moral judgment? How could you possibly reconcile your creativity with belief in binary morality? Have you become an adherent to iron-fisted order, seeking to ascend to the level of a robot slave? Or what - does calling an action "a bit shady" qualify as really pushing the limits of moral judgment on your part?

Are you really that cynical?