Lack of Ethics Comes From the Top

This is a little off topic for this newsfeed, but I do click through and read other listings while I'm here. This seemed pertinent to the recent Ameriquest scandal, and how less than ethical behavior is rationalized by those engaging in it. This is a post I saw on another blog;


How to rise to the top of Memeorandum 101
Alex and I discussed, at length, strategy on getting our posts to rise to the top of Memeorandum. You see, it's a well-known fact that appearing on the pages of Memeorandum means you have 'arrived'. Getting to the top makes you a total rockstar.

However, it is actually trivially simple. I've put together a wee step-by-step (There may or may not be a screencast in the future) 'how to':

Get quoted saying something quite controversial

Squawk about the quote

Get a whole bunch of attention for squawking about that quote

Watch your Memeorandum star rise

Wish you had just shut up in the first place 'cause nobody but youwould have probably even noticed it
See? Simple. ;)

[alternatively, you can take the fasttrack and just 1. say something incredibly controversial, 2. have others squawk about it, 3. watch your star rise...but it's gotta be good...like an article on blogging lynch mobs or something]

File under: suprcilious
posted by http://www.horsepigcow.com/2005/11/how-to-rise-to-top-of-memeorandum-101.html
at 8:22:00 PM


If you go to the link for Alex, he actually does have a podcast on how to do this. Alex then states that "It's better that we find out how this works and do it before the spammers do (the same thing)". In other words, he doesn't feel it's wrong for his friends and him to hack Memorandum's code, just anyone else who has a different reason to do it. Now this may have some merit, (killing someone who is threatening your life is much more justified than killing someone in order to rob them, for instance), but then proceeding to make a podcast instructing anyone who sees it on how to do it seems a bit like the pot calling the kettle black. It seems to me the whole reason Alex and the rest of his group did it was for attention (or publicity), much the same reason as the worst of the so called "spammers" out there.
My point here is simple. I don't have a problem with Alex or his friends hacking into Memorandum, or teaching others how to do it. Really, it's a small thing in a very big world. But the lack of ethical consideration is a big thing in a big world, in a lot of other cases. The recent Ameriquest indictment that I commented on before is one example. Although Ameriquest agreed to a huge settlement of 295 million dollars, they "refused to admit any wrong-doing". Home Finance Corp had an even higher settlement back in 2002, with the same failure to admit any guilt. Now I know this is simply a legal, corporate ploy to avoid further losses through lawsuits, and no one believes that either company was blameless, but should they be protected by their lack of admission?
There are plenty of small, ethical, well intentioned Mortgage Brokerages out there that were penalized by Ameriquest's lack of ethics (by losing business to them because these small companies wouldn't lie to prospective clients to "rope them in"). Then they are further penalized by the bad rap the whole industry suffers from the large corporations unethical behavior. I've mentioned before that they are usually your best bet for getting a great deal on your mortgage, because they won't con you or scam you to get your business.
I guess what I'm saying here is that ethics is a "slippery slope indeed", and one false step can lead to a big slide. Hopefully Alex and his friends simply pointed out a problem that will soon be fixed, and their reasons for doing it were well intentioned. I don't think I can say the same for most other ethical slips.

FMI