I remember years ago when installing RealPlayer, the current streaming media standard at the time, the installer would sign you up for all kinds of mailing lists if you didn't scroll down on the "Offers List". All of the offers that were beyond the fold were selected.
Not to mention that back then, say 1999, every company would freely sell your email address to spammers.
i'll be the third person to say it: editorializing in titles is frowned on here. "You can make up a new title if you want, but if you put gratuitous editorial spin on it, the editors may rewrite it."
While this is certainly a behavior that should be frowned upon I'm not sure it should be completely castigated in the way that it is. I've met quite a few entrepreneurs and many of them have told me that early on they either bent or broke many rules including doing things that are unethical.
I'm not sure if this is just from poor sample size, but it seems to be somewhat necessary to succeed as an entrepreneur. For what it's worth, many of the entrepreneurs I know became increasingly more legitimate as they got out of startup mode. I think to some degree it's just a part of the game, the odds are against you so you need to do everything in your power to increase your chances of success.
I would really like to hear what other founders think. Is this commonplace or are the people that I've talked to borderline criminals?
It's commonplace in my experience. I wouldn't call it borderline criminal, but many startups cross moral lines. I find it absolutely despicable, that people can rationalize their ethics away. "I know what I'm doing is wrong, but when we have revenue we can afford to do the right thing.", and other the-end-justifies-the-means rubbish.
It's easy (and perhaps even tempting) to cut corners but what good are ethics when you throw them out the moment they become inconvenient?
So yes, the behavior is to be castigated, and I have no respect for people who're willing to fuck their customers/users/suppliers in order to make it as an entrepreneur.
Wait, I clicked on this link and moved all the way to the right time to hear exactly what the title says? That could mean tons of things, but kudos for having nothing better to do then dig through old footage to find one sentence that could now mean something more sinister.
At least prostitutes engage in a mutually beneficial and consensual arrangements. Pincus' tactics were (are?) neither mutually beneficial nor consensual.
Not to mention that back then, say 1999, every company would freely sell your email address to spammers.
I'm glad we stopped putting up with that.