M writes:

What gives you the right to ridicule someone else's hobby?

I didn't. I ridiculed the crusade for justice, which is indeed
ridiculous, being founded on an exquisite piece of colored glass with
less utility than an empty soda bottle. Hmmm, maybe that's sounds like
I am ridiculing this hobby. But all collectibles are ridiculous, aren't
they? Google "tulip craze".

And it looks perfect from certain angles! But oh, the flaw is still
there! The enjoyment and the value is not in how the thing itself
looks, as if it were some genuine beauty, it is in the precious
perfection of it, and lost it is, lost.

So this is nothing more than a kind of silly baseball card type of
collecting, where the values are all determined as a kind of zero-sum
game (or negative, if you count the dealers' premiums). Now if this
game appeals to you and entertains you, then fine, enjoy it. But these
artificial and illusory values do not deserve the enforcement and
protection of the sword of civil justice, which has enough genuine
issues to try. No sane judge would rule on a basis of collectible
values.

Do you know Harold's
wife? I do, and she was a very kind and gracious person when I met
her. Your comment about her hobby was boorish and ungentlemanly to say
the least.

Don't confuse social interactions in real life, versus abstract,
critical discussions in newsgroups. If somebody presents a case and
asks for advice, then you can't complain that the truth hurt somebody's
feelings.

And it's a bit unfair to appeal to the lady's honor, as honorable as she
no doubt is. It doesn't matter whether she was the victim, or some guy,
or some lowlife. The advice is the same.

I admit to being harsh. I remember stepping on a few toes during the
Beanie Baby craze, and again during the surf-the-Web-for-money craze. I
was vilified for pointing out how silly and ultimately worthless it
would be. I was so cruel to all those stay-at-home-moms who just knew
they would finally be able to earn some extra income. So boorish and
ungentlemanly of me to point that out to them. And so few appreciated
it, even when it eventually was borne out. Anyone remember
alladvantage.com? I was puncturing the hopes of those charming women
who were buying diapers and Christmas gifts for their kids, treating
their husbands to dates out, and hugely helping to pay the bills.

I also note that you have done precisely the same thing as Mr. Vordos
regarding your loss of $151 on ebay (re your first post on this
thread. It seems that Mr. Vordos is not the only one that gets
emotional over this sort of fraud. Clearly (from your link,
http://www.truetex.com/ebayfraud.htm ) you spent FAR more than $151
pursuing your particular crook... evidently your high minded
principles don't apply when it's your money at stake....

Precisely? I wrote an essay to inform people of the arcane eBay fraud
protection program, and to advise people of how to best diagnose and
prosecute fraudulent situations. I resolved my own case to my
satisfaction. My money recovery was a wash, but I discovered useful new
information about doing business on eBay, formerly unpublicized, which
value I freely share (via that Web page) with others. It currently gets
about 600 readers/month, and I receive plenty of fan mail on it.

I also note that my adversary was NARUed on eBay subsequent to my
prosecution. The alleged "criminal" of this thread somehow remains
active on eBay, and indeed, has a near-perfect well-aged feedback
rating, which is phenomenal for somebody dealing in antiques and
collectibles.

Your criticism of "you same" only extends to the eBay buyer protection
apparatus that we both invoked. Given that there was next to no public
information on the true costs of that novel process (before my Web page,
and a few others like it now), I indulged it as much as a research
project as an attempt at recovery. So while it wouldn't be worth
repeating, I don't regret having done it.

The "you same" does *not* extend to hiring lawyers, starting lawsuits,
Internet picketing, etc. that the aggrieved Mr V has been considering.
If you read my page, written quite a few months ago, you'll see that
everything I advocate there clearly sets forth the other-cheek calculus
I have been advocating in his case. I have written off several major
losses (anywhere from $2500 to $25000 each) from frauds and bad debts
over my career, as has just about anybody in enterprise for business or
hobbies. If you pursue precision justice at the expense of work or
pleasure, you will end up with none of the three.