It depends greatly on what your motives are. If you want to sleep well at night you're absolutely right. If you want to start a successful business it's not so

It depends greatly on what your motives are. If you want to sleep well at night you're absolutely right. If you want to start a successful business it's not so clear cut. I know that this is a sensitive point, particularly on HN where people tend to judge companies by the merits of their pproducts and not on their ability to market them, but cheating gets results. It's of course a fine line, but if you don't get caught and attract new customers then it's good for business. Sad as it may be, if you want to make serious money you often have to do things you wouldn't normally do, including black-hat SEO, promising more than you can deliver and squeezing your competitor by spreading FUD and rumors. I'm not saying that this is the only way to do business, and there are many examples of companies with an impeccable moral record that are doing well. But the bottom line is that shady tactics work if you don't get caught. And more often than not you don't.