> I vehemently disagree with your claim that it is simple to stop this policy if it is clear a person is abusing it. Ok, I'll give you that, having been in sit

> I vehemently disagree with your claim that it is simple to stop this policy if it is clear a person is abusing it. Ok, I'll give you that, having been in situations like that myself. Remove the word easily from my above statement. So it's not always easy to stop applying the policy, but I believe (at least in my life experience) that the benefits of intelligent application of the platinum rule outweigh the costs imposed by those who abuse it. > Because the test depends on the desires of another person, and that cannot be measured, it is not easy to know if they are being sincere or manipulative. Only after a many experiences could one make that assessment and by then you have lost so much or worse, married them. The test only depends on you. Applying the platinum rule depends on the desires of the other person. But deciding when to stop applying it does not. I firmly believe that you cannot effectively help other people unless you yourself are healthy (not in just the medical sense, but the whole life sense). So it's your job to decide on the application of the platinum rule based on the dynamics of each relationship in question.