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It seems to me that sort of attitude leads to spam and "Tragedy of the commons" scenarios. If everyone who thought they had "a better service" and were thus ju

It seems to me that sort of attitude leads to spam and "Tragedy of the commons" scenarios. If everyone who thought they had "a better service" and were thus justified to send "a few emails to Craigslist users" the utility of Craigslist would be negatively impacted. On that basis I would think the "rational person" might not find that sort of behaviour acceptable and would vote to preserve the resource.

netcan 15y ago
I think you're thinking about this wrong. It's not "right because its justified" it's excusable because it's minor in the scheme of things. Imagine everyone is working really long hours for a couple of weeks to get something important done. You don't make it to the gym, miss a yoga class, get less sleep etc., eat junk food and get irritable. You're unpleasant and insulting to some people for a few days. Is that good? No and it should and can be avoided even if you're working long hours. If everyone did it all the time work would suck. But.. we excuse a certain amount of this if it is minor enough, if it is out of character and if it is understandable in some way. BTW, I'm not trying to express an opinion here, just clarify what I think is a common position.
- palish 15y ago
  That's an interesting and objective viewpoint, and I understand completely where you're coming from. Personally, my sole objection is that they knowingly violated the law for personal gain. Is that excusable? Pragmatically, yes, but only because we tolerate it. I would hate to live in that kind of world (even though we do), so I speak out against this behavior.
  - netcan 15y ago
    Didn't I just say this isn't my viewpoint :) Interestingly, you can hold this position and still speak out against it. Stretching my analogy: If Joanne is being a bitch and you don't know her well you can talk about her behind her back. If you're usually cool you can tell her to get her cranky ass to yoga and watch the fucking lip. It's not that it isn't wrong or bad. It's just a question of thinking about it socially (the way people, though not necessarily the people of this site, are built to operate) rather than judicially/bureaucratically. Socially we take into account grey area, degrees, mitigating circumstances, and sometimes the voluptuousness of Joanne's buxom. We don't even have to be 100% consistent. We the people (HN readers, Airbnb sleepers, etc) are not Interpol, we are humans. We don't always have to be completely objective and consistent when deciding how to feel about something. People on this site are smart, but I do have a lot of forehead smack moments when being people becomes such a struggle for some.
Hisoka 15y ago
I think life is very much like a prisoner's dilemma. Yes, it would suck if everyone did it, but since not everyone does.. you might as well do it for your own personal gain.

netcan 15y ago

I think you're thinking about this wrong. It's not "right because its justified" it's excusable because it's minor in the scheme of things. Imagine everyone is working really long hours for a couple of weeks to get something important done. You don't make it to the gym, miss a yoga class, get less sleep etc., eat junk food and get irritable. You're unpleasant and insulting to some people for a few days. Is that good? No and it should and can be avoided even if you're working long hours. If everyone did it all the time work would suck. But.. we excuse a certain amount of this if it is minor enough, if it is out of character and if it is understandable in some way. BTW, I'm not trying to express an opinion here, just clarify what I think is a common position.

palish 15y ago
That's an interesting and objective viewpoint, and I understand completely where you're coming from. Personally, my sole objection is that they knowingly violated the law for personal gain. Is that excusable? Pragmatically, yes, but only because we tolerate it. I would hate to live in that kind of world (even though we do), so I speak out against this behavior.
- netcan 15y ago
  Didn't I just say this isn't my viewpoint :) Interestingly, you can hold this position and still speak out against it. Stretching my analogy: If Joanne is being a bitch and you don't know her well you can talk about her behind her back. If you're usually cool you can tell her to get her cranky ass to yoga and watch the fucking lip. It's not that it isn't wrong or bad. It's just a question of thinking about it socially (the way people, though not necessarily the people of this site, are built to operate) rather than judicially/bureaucratically. Socially we take into account grey area, degrees, mitigating circumstances, and sometimes the voluptuousness of Joanne's buxom. We don't even have to be 100% consistent. We the people (HN readers, Airbnb sleepers, etc) are not Interpol, we are humans. We don't always have to be completely objective and consistent when deciding how to feel about something. People on this site are smart, but I do have a lot of forehead smack moments when being people becomes such a struggle for some.

Hisoka 15y ago

I think life is very much like a prisoner's dilemma. Yes, it would suck if everyone did it, but since not everyone does.. you might as well do it for your own personal gain.