Amateur ethics 101 (wasRe: pdp8/f)

From: Mike Ford <mikeford_at_socal.rr.com>
Date: Thu Oct 14 02:07:43 1999

>> Yes, it's insane over there. I received good advice from this list about
>> the value of those two SGI hardware manuals I almost gave away for free...
>> the auction for one is at $121 this morning.
>
>Are you saying that you offered something for free here (or for the cost
>of shipping, or whatever), somebody told you it was worth real money on
>e-bay, so you decided to sell it there?

Nominally we are a "friendly" group of similar, yet diverse collectors and
admirers of old computers. We are not businesses. There is a difference in
what ethics are appropriate.

The ethics of taking advantage of mistakes people make is very questionable
to me. I give the money back if a person makes a mistake giving me change.
I also take the free pie when the grocery scanner rings up the wrong price.
Some transactions deserve conscious consideration of the ethics before
acting, but the situation above I think is pretty clear. I would not accept
an item with that much value without telling the person and giving them a
chance to reconsider. If I really wanted the item I would either make a
"fair" offer for it (cash or better a trade, like value for like value), or
bid on it with the rest of unwashed and extract some quid pro quo later on.
Received on Thu Oct 14 1999 - 02:07:43 BST