Am I a Terrible Person?

[YoungAD]

Corndog,

 

Don't you worry that all you might have accomplished is creating a more savvy scammer?

[corndog]

Don't you worry that all you might have accomplished is creating a more savvy scammer?

Yes, I think that's a completely legitimate concern. I avoided revealing the methods I used to cast doubt. For example, I didn't say "When I use Google Image Search, I find your photos all over the internet." I just said "Your photos look like different people." I also didn't tell him that he texts all have the sketchy "-Sent free from TextNow.com." That can be easily turned off within the app.

 

On the plus side, he may try harder to vet potential clients, and scare them off in the process. For example, he might now ask for a room number and last name before he visits hotels, and that'll be a no-go for some lucky clients.

[+ Charlie]

Corndog, I'm going to file this one under: AND WHO AM I TO JUDGE?

 

This crowd can get very judgmental and testy with a confessional post. That's happened to me. I was pretty well ripped a new asshole on here once -- and not in a good way.

 

So I will watch the pile-on from afar. No bouquets nor brickbats from me.

Corndog did explain, with obvious relish, what he had done, and he asked for members' opinions. If the request was sincere, then he should expect honest replies and not just sustained applause. It is clear from the number and substance of the responses that there is a wide spread of opinions, from positive through neutral to negative, about what he did. I think he actually did us a service by causing us to seriously ponder what we felt was an appropriate way to deal with a situation which many of us have experienced or may experience at some point.

[robberbaron4u]

Yes, you are a terrible. Go to your room. . .

[+ sam.fitzpatrick]

Corndog - - If this guy was a scammer, I'm in the vote that this was unethical.

 

If this guy was real, then I think what you did was on par with the "clients" we hear escorts write about that do 10 back and forth emails hoping to get picks to jerk off to.

[rvwnsd]

Are you a terrible person, Corndog? I don't know. Recognizing that one's online presence, particularly when posting on discussion forums, is often the opposite of their true character you could be the most benevolent, charitable, kind-hearted, and sweet-natured person on the planet in real life. However, the sequence of events you described depicts quite the opposite.

 

Not wanting to rehash the many fine comments that have been made previously, I will offer the following:

1. Do unto others: I don't buy into "scam the scammer" because a) we don't know the guy is a scammer and b) two wrongs don't make a right. Would you like an escort (or any other service provider) who suspects you are being dishonest to do something similar to what you just did? Would you like to be the one traipsing around a hotel trying to find a non-existent room? I'm guessing not.
   
2. Try to refrain from judging: This one is hard, I know, and I struggle with it all the time. That being said, you deemed this guy to be a scammer. Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. We don't know. Based on the description of your "game," one could judge you to be a dishonest person who is not a real "client" and just wants to be a time-waster. Is that what you want?
   
3. Think about the consequences of your actions: Put yourself in the position of a guest at the Courtyard for a moment. You are walking into your room and a young man is traipsing around the halls looking at room numbers. Maybe you are a single woman traveling alone or a dad with a couple of small children. Would that make you feel comfortable about staying there? Maybe you are the hotel guest in room 482 who gets a knock on the door. What would you think about that?
   
4. Karma is a bigger bitch than a karload of Kardashians: I've lost count of the number of members who repeatedly find themselves on the receiving end of bad escort behavior. Coincidentally, many (not all) of these individuals speak with vitriol toward escorts, employ all manner of methods to determine an escort's true identity while being VERY concerned that their own identities could be revealed, and take a "guilty until proven innocent" stance against all escorts. On the other hand, there are many members whose experiences have been overwhelmingly positive (or at least neutral) and have not experienced bad behavior. Interestingly, they do NOT speak with vitriol, etc. Do you see where I am going with this?
   

Lastly, this is the best reply in the entire thread:

 

Yes, you are a terrible. Go to your room. . .

[corndog]

Ironically, this thread seems to have earned me a "Seriously Likeable!" trophy from the forum. lol.

 

I really appreciate all of the opinions that have been offered here, and I think that this kind of discussion is exactly what I come to this forum for. I knew when I posted this that some members were going to "throw me some shade."

 

The comments that I've most taken to heart have revolved around the premise that he might not actually be a scammer. I started my contact with him hoping that he was for real, giving him the benefit of the doubt, and intending to hire him if he could address my concerns. It was only after he dug himself deeper into a hole and convinced me with total certainty that he was a fraud that I started playing games. I'm not going to convince all y'all with total certainty that he was a scammer, but I know this part to be true.

 

Accepting the premise that he was a fraud, some of y'all still assert that it was unethical. Fair enough. I am, indeed, a terrible person.

[Guest]

we don't know the guy is a scammer

 

If it were true that we can't be convinced the guy was a scammer, this would be an important point. However, I think one would have to be pretty dense to think the guy wasn't.

http://image.naldzgraphics.net/2013/01/qtemo-19.jpg

(Not that I'm completely condoning this caper)

[+ Charlie]

Ironically, this thread seems to have earned me a "Seriously Likeable!" trophy from the forum. lol.

 

I really appreciate all of the opinions that have been offered here, and I think that this kind of discussion is exactly what I come to this forum for. I knew when I posted this that some members were going to "throw me some shade."

 

The comments that I've most taken to heart have revolved around the premise that he might not actually be a scammer. I started my contact with him hoping that he was for real, giving him the benefit of the doubt, and intending to hire him if he could address my concerns. It was only after he dug himself deeper into a hole and convinced me with total certainty that he was a fraud that I started playing games. I'm not going to convince all y'all with total certainty that he was a scammer, but I know this part to be true.

 

Accepting the premise that he was a fraud, some of y'all still assert that it was unethical. Fair enough. I am, indeed, a terrible person.

Corndog, as I said before, I don't think you are a "bad person," but you have succumbed to a very human impulse: the desire to play a game which you are sure you will win, against an opponent who, you think, deserves to be beaten. You designed the game, controlled the playing conditions, and the opponent didn't realize until it was over that he was a player. Most of us have found ourselves in the latter position at times in our lives, and wished we could reverse the roles. If one wonders if it is ethical to do so, the question to ask would be: if I didn't have a hidden advantage, and freedom to withdraw without consequences, but instead faced a level playing field and an opponent who had an equal chance of beating me, would I still play the game? If not, then there is an ethical issue here. The seriousness of the issue, of course, is another matter, which depends on the circumstances and the stakes involved. I sense that after this discussion you are not as pleased with yourself as you appeared to be at first, but I don't think you need to be flagellated (especially not if you enjoy that!).

[+ SundayZip]

It's easy to be all moralistic and preachy in this forum and I'm tempted to respond the same way. But I suspect that if I was across table from Corndog, hearing his story over lunch, the last thing I'd do is lecture a friend on ethics and morality. I'd probably say, "Yeah, two wrongs don't make a right. But way to go man! You scammed the scammer!"

[+ VeryHappyCustomer]

No. Terrible people do not solicit moral guidance, do not welcome insight, do not ever wonder whether they're terrible people. QED.

[+ purplekow]

It's easy to be all moralistic and preachy in this forum and I'm tempted to respond the same way. But I suspect that if I was across table from Corndog, hearing his story over lunch, the last thing I'd do is lecture a friend on ethics and morality. I'd probably say, "Yeah, two wrongs don't make a right. But way to go man! You scammed the scammer!"

 

He did ask if what he did was unethical and if he was a terrible person. He did not ask the question, what do you think. My guess, he was pretty satisfied with what he did and was expecting support. He did get some. He then admitted as much in a later post. That left us with the moral question and subsequent preachy answers.