I don't bother opting out of web sites, because quite frankly I
can't even count how many web sites that might be, and I can
count pretty high. Nor do I want to spend the rest of my life
filling out those forms. Nor is there any semblance of a guarantee
that any of these web sites honor these opt out requests. Can
you take them to court if they violate it? How would you even
know if they violated it?
What's needed is some intelligent laws, and some accountability.
If I could go to a government web site and register, much like I do
today for the do not call list, then I'd be there.
Given the direction of things (supreme court justices being very conservative, big money coming from businesses to leverage elections, the use of fear and hate, etc), I won't be the least bit surprised when the day comes when businesses have precisely the same rights as people, including the right to bear arms and to vote. You can be sure there are plenty of folks in big business already working on that.
This hurts you personally, but if I were in your shoes, and I was able, I would refuse the job offer. I
know it isn't an answer anyone wants to hear, but if everyone did this, it would be extremely effective at
stopping this kind of manipulation! The problem of course, is that few of us are able to do this, as most of
us live hand to mouth, with little savings. And lets face it, the IT industry isn't as fertile as it was even
recently.
Perhaps the next best thing to do would be to publicize the companies with these kinds of practices. That is
also very risky, since the company can then turn around and fire you without a reason, and I expect most would
do that. So perhaps you don't publicize this practice until you have procured another job.
Perhaps you can talk to a lawyer, but I expect there is little that can be done legally, unless you have a
contract which spelled out what you were actually promised...
At the very least you should consider looking for another job. Any company with these kinds of practices won't
stop at the relocation packages they promise. I would expect more of this kind of behaviour, and by staying
you are rewarding this kind of practice.
It's interesting to me that virtually no one has touched on the fact
that Satellite PVR requires NO monthly fees, unless you are renting
one. Tivo wants $12.95 every month!!! For what??? What warrents
paying a monthly fee to use a PVR??? I personally love my Satellite
PVR, and have no interest in paying another $155.40 per year. That's on top of your original purchase price.
Admitedly Tivo has a few advantages, but none that I'm willing to pay
for personally. And if I'm forced to pay monthly service fees, then
I damn well don't want them forcing me to watch commercials, while
I'm skipping commercials on my Tivo/PVR. I hate commercials, and
advertising in general as it has become so very pervasive. There are
plenty of magazines that charge a hefty cover price, and yet the
contents are nothing but paid advertising, much of it pretending to
be informative articles. I just don't understand why our society
accepts this... It doesn't save us money, it just makes the profit
margins higher for these companies. Don't buy into those lies.
I'll stick with the non-montly fee, non-commercial in your face, PVR
from Satellite service.
Amen, I too don't plan on buying anything from Sony for a very long
time! They have lost me as a customer, but I'm just one person. What
is going to hurt Sony in the long run, is that they have lost our
trust in their products. Who will trust any product they sell?
I understand that most web sites are making their money from the
advertising found on their web site, and since I don't want to pay
to view the content, I don't mind viewing some advertising. I could
easily block most of it out, but I chose not to, because I wish to
support the web sites I visit.
That being said, I DO BLOCK pop up advertising, Flashing, and
Animated advertising where I can, as in my view they go too far. Garish colors are okay:-) Sites which get on my nerves with too
much advertising, and pop ups I can't block, etc. are subject to
being ignored entirely.
I haven't read all of the responses so far, but I haven't come across
anyone commenting on advertising they DO accept, so I thought it
would be worth while for me to interject my comments...
I've noticed over the past year and more, that
Sun is always taking an on again, off again,
stance with Open Source and the GPL. They can't
seem to make up their mind, but I believe it's
simply that they want to get their name in the
headlines - free advertising!
Slashdot Mirror
I don't bother opting out of web sites, because quite frankly I can't even count how many web sites that might be, and I can count pretty high. Nor do I want to spend the rest of my life filling out those forms. Nor is there any semblance of a guarantee that any of these web sites honor these opt out requests. Can you take them to court if they violate it? How would you even know if they violated it? What's needed is some intelligent laws, and some accountability. If I could go to a government web site and register, much like I do today for the do not call list, then I'd be there.
Given the direction of things (supreme court justices being very conservative, big money coming from businesses to leverage elections, the use of fear and hate, etc), I won't be the least bit surprised when the day comes when businesses have precisely the same rights as people, including the right to bear arms and to vote. You can be sure there are plenty of folks in big business already working on that.
This hurts you personally, but if I were in your shoes, and I was able, I would refuse the job offer. I know it isn't an answer anyone wants to hear, but if everyone did this, it would be extremely effective at stopping this kind of manipulation! The problem of course, is that few of us are able to do this, as most of us live hand to mouth, with little savings. And lets face it, the IT industry isn't as fertile as it was even recently.
Perhaps the next best thing to do would be to publicize the companies with these kinds of practices. That is also very risky, since the company can then turn around and fire you without a reason, and I expect most would do that. So perhaps you don't publicize this practice until you have procured another job.
Perhaps you can talk to a lawyer, but I expect there is little that can be done legally, unless you have a contract which spelled out what you were actually promised...
At the very least you should consider looking for another job. Any company with these kinds of practices won't stop at the relocation packages they promise. I would expect more of this kind of behaviour, and by staying you are rewarding this kind of practice.
It's interesting to me that virtually no one has touched on the fact that Satellite PVR requires NO monthly fees, unless you are renting one. Tivo wants $12.95 every month!!! For what??? What warrents paying a monthly fee to use a PVR??? I personally love my Satellite PVR, and have no interest in paying another $155.40 per year. That's on top of your original purchase price. Admitedly Tivo has a few advantages, but none that I'm willing to pay for personally. And if I'm forced to pay monthly service fees, then I damn well don't want them forcing me to watch commercials, while I'm skipping commercials on my Tivo/PVR. I hate commercials, and advertising in general as it has become so very pervasive. There are plenty of magazines that charge a hefty cover price, and yet the contents are nothing but paid advertising, much of it pretending to be informative articles. I just don't understand why our society accepts this... It doesn't save us money, it just makes the profit margins higher for these companies. Don't buy into those lies. I'll stick with the non-montly fee, non-commercial in your face, PVR from Satellite service.
Amen, I too don't plan on buying anything from Sony for a very long time! They have lost me as a customer, but I'm just one person. What is going to hurt Sony in the long run, is that they have lost our trust in their products. Who will trust any product they sell?
I understand that most web sites are making their money from the advertising found on their web site, and since I don't want to pay to view the content, I don't mind viewing some advertising. I could easily block most of it out, but I chose not to, because I wish to support the web sites I visit. That being said, I DO BLOCK pop up advertising, Flashing, and Animated advertising where I can, as in my view they go too far. Garish colors are okay :-) Sites which get on my nerves with too
much advertising, and pop ups I can't block, etc. are subject to
being ignored entirely.
I haven't read all of the responses so far, but I haven't come across
anyone commenting on advertising they DO accept, so I thought it
would be worth while for me to interject my comments...
I've noticed over the past year and more, that Sun is always taking an on again, off again, stance with Open Source and the GPL. They can't seem to make up their mind, but I believe it's simply that they want to get their name in the headlines - free advertising!