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A harassment campaign on Goodreads

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270 points ilamont | 1 comments | 06 Jan 20 20:20 UTC | HN request time: 0.214s | source
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wyldfire ◴[06 Jan 20 21:06 UTC] No.21973326[source]▶
> Not all of these fake reviews are one stars – some give five star or other highly rated ratings. The catch with these highly rated reviews is many of them are created to give the false appearance that they were written by Tomlinson to raise his own Goodreads ratings, spoofing his name and photo and sometimes even using his own copyrighted writings.

Wow, that's devious. I wonder if any of the fake product reviews I've seen are obvious fake endorsements placed there by the competition.

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degenerate ◴[06 Jan 20 21:24 UTC] No.21973501[source]▶
This problem isn't one born with the internet. Think about all those "WE BUY HOUSES 4 CASH" signs you see at stop lights. Why can't the city simply look up the phone number on them and convict the business owner for breaking advertisement laws? Because there is no proof he put the sign there. It could be the competition trying to frame him! Thus, the signs are simply thrown out... and he can put new ones out tomorrow.
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baxtr ◴[06 Jan 20 22:35 UTC] No.21974243[source]▶
This reminds me of a related point: Almost always when I find of the "We will buy your car" cards on my car's windshield I wonder what to do with the card. I don't want to litter the streets, at the same time I never asked for the stupid card. To this day, I am still not clear what is -from a morale standpoint- the right thing to do.
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matheusmoreira ◴[07 Jan 20 00:21 UTC] No.21975226[source]▶
Whatever you choose to do with the card, know that they are the ones at fault. Advertisers just swoop in, leave their garbage on people's cars and then make them clean up the mess. Why should people have to go out of their way to clean up after an advertiser?

It is moral to clean up after yourself. Cleaning up after others is a job that demands payment. Cities must tax advertisers so they can employ people to clean up after them.

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SamBam ◴[07 Jan 20 14:51 UTC] No.21980388[source]▶
Unfortunately, being an adult means sometimes doing the right thing, whether or not it's "fair."

Throw the card in the trash, like a decent human being.

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1. matheusmoreira ◴[08 Jan 20 16:08 UTC] No.21992616[source]▶
Advertisers think it's okay to leave unwanted stuff on other people's property and force them sort out the mess. Roommates who did that would be told to knock it off by the people they live with. Why should people accept the same behavior from advertisers who are total strangers?

They are counting on people being decent human beings who do what they're supposed to do without complaint. That's exactly what enables them and lets them get away with their unacceptable behavior. If nobody did that, maybe the situation would become unmanageable and the city would be forced to deal with it.

The right thing to do is to put an end to all advertising. That's the true solution. Nobody's gonna do it because the money speaks much louder than right and wrong.