[ SECRET POST #2916 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2916 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.


__________________________________________________



02.


__________________________________________________



03.


__________________________________________________



04.


__________________________________________________



05.


__________________________________________________



06.


__________________________________________________



07.


__________________________________________________



08.



__________________________________________________



09.











Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 050 secrets from Secret Submission Post #417.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 (second time) - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 - posted twice ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

If someone sells me a car and assures me it is reliable and in good condition and then later the wheels fall off, is that a fair business transaction? I don't know OP's friend, but if they're as poor at editing as OP thinks, then I for one would be rather displeased if I hired them to do an editing job and wasn't satisfied with the results. I think that's a very valid concern.

[dreemyweird]

If you bought the car, signed no contract, and received no legal guarantees, well, I can only say it would be very stupid of you?

Besides, the two types of transactions are hardly comparable, at least as long as we are talking middle-class people. The amount of money you lose if you buy a bad car is just so much more than the amount you lose if you hire an ineffective editor.

It is not an invalid concern. If the OP's friend were in a good financial situation and were simply seeking to sell their services because they wanted more money, I'd understand OP's worries perfectly well. But the friend in question needs the money to pay their medical bills. I think there may be something wrong with the OP's priorities.

[(Anonymous)]

But the question wasn't whether or not it's a smart idea, it was whether or not it was (in your own words) "an entirely fair business transaction".

It's also worth noting that the concept of fairness is not attached to a specific dollar amount. If I buy a candy bar and it turns out to be a piece of chocolate coated plywood, that's still not a fair transaction. It doesn't matter that I'm out a dollar vs. out thousands of dollars.

[dreemyweird]

Oh, I'm sorry, I misworded it. I didn't mean "fair" in any sort of philosophical sense, just in that there couldn't be any legal repercussions.

For what it's worth, though, I think that the law covers the majority of the truly unacceptable cases and that the OP's friend's activities aren't anything that could be said to be horribly wrong (morality-wise). But that is, of course, subjective.

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, I see. I'm not really familiar with that usage of "fair", to be honest. I agree that it's not illegal, not a transaction that involved poorly executed service in exchange for cash doesn't sound very ethical, unless the clients are aware that it's going to be poorly executed... which I doubt.

[dreemyweird]

I think it's just a case of sorting one's priorities out. It IS not nice to offer ineffectual fanfic editing for purchase. It is also not nice to be unable to pay your medical bills. Neither is nice, but one is less nice than the other, and I do think the OP should get some perspective here, especially as their friend is perfectly unaware they're doing anything wrong. They aren't even trying to deceive people on purpose.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't disagree with you in this particular situation, though it'd be nicer if the OP's friend offered a service they could perform well. But this reasoning:

"...but one is less nice than the other..."

Nah. You can't really use that as a justification because any number of rotten things are better than not having the money to pay your medical bills, including robbing senior citizens or check fraud. If I have to have saltines and mayonnaise for dinner because I have no money for food, that's not nice... but it doesn't justify sneaking into someone else's house and taking their flatscreen TV so I can pawn it for grocery money.

"They aren't even trying to deceive people on purpose."

I agree. It's too bad that having good intentions doesn't really make the end result (a poorly edited fic someone paid for) any less bad, though.

[(Anonymous)]

It doesn't make the end result bad, but it also doesn't make it an unfair business transaction.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't think those two things are comparable because of the nature of services like editing and because OP's friend isn't aware that she's a bad editor. OP's friend isn't seeking to defraud anyone, she thinks she's good at doing something and wants to make money off of it.

On top of that, when you buy this kind of service, you're always risking that you're not gonna be pleased with the results. If you buy a commission, for example, you might wind up not liking the piece that you receive. But it would still be a fair transaction, in the sense that the person you purchased the commission from rendered a service to you in good faith.

[(Anonymous)]

Anon, this is why you do research before buying something. If I'm buying a car, I'm getting it looked at by my mechanic before I buy it. If I want to buy a blender, I'll read up online & get reviews of the one I'm planning to get. It's the buyer's job to and choice to pick the goods and service for which they'll be paying money - it's the same reason people and companies have recommendations, testimonials, portfolios, etc. It doesn't sound like the OP's friend is intentionally defrauding people (although it wouldn't necessarily be illegal if she did), so customer disatisfaction means she won't have a good reputation. You can ask for your money back, but the person isn't under any requirement to give you that refund if she provided a service to the best of her ability.