Mission statement: Difference between revisions
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=== How we're taking action === | === How we're taking action === | ||
This | This Wiki exists to document and expose these practices, making visible what companies work hard to keep obscure. By creating a centralized knowledge base of modern consumer exploitation tactics, we aim to help consumers understand how their rights are being systematically violated through technology, psychology, deliberately complex legal mechanisms, as well as the ineffective governmental bodies that allow it to happen. | ||
'''Our goal is to bring clarity to these new practices that companies intentionally make opaque and to provide consumers with the information they need to recognize and fight back against new forms of exploitation.''' | '''Our goal is to bring clarity to these new practices that companies intentionally make opaque and to provide consumers with the information they need to recognize and fight back against new forms of exploitation.''' | ||
== How this | == How this Wiki will be used == | ||
It is expected that the | It is expected that the Wiki will be contributed to by a wide variety of people, both technical and non-technical, who share a desire to see consumers be treated more fairly. It will enable this by being quick and easy to contribute to, with a low barrier to entry for contributors. This barrier to entry should be maintained at the minimum level necessary to combat spam and bad actors. | ||
The base focus of the | The base focus of the Wiki is expected to be on issues frequently discussed on Louis Rossmann’s channel, and those adjacent to the right-to-repair movement, though this may grow to a more all-encompassing definition of consumer protection over time. The minimum desired goal is to have a site that records, in a helpful and searchable format, the specific issues and topics that have been discussed on Louis’ channel over the years, with factual citations. | ||
Ideally, it should aim to grow and act as a one-stop-shop, where a user can discover how the companies they buy products from are working against their interests behind the scenes, and what they can do about it. It should serve to highlight how consumer rights have been eroded over the years and give people the knowledge and tools to fight back against the tide. It will feature factual documentation relating to specific instances of consumer abuse, articles that track the consumer-protection-related activities of large companies and certain individuals, as well as articles and content which serve to educate users about the different forms of consumer abuse. | Ideally, it should aim to grow and act as a one-stop-shop, where a user can discover how the companies they buy products from are working against their interests behind the scenes, and what they can do about it. It should serve to highlight how consumer rights have been eroded over the years and give people the knowledge and tools to fight back against the tide. It will feature factual documentation relating to specific instances of consumer abuse, articles that track the consumer-protection-related activities of large companies and certain individuals, as well as articles and content which serve to educate users about the different forms of consumer abuse. | ||
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===== Hyper-local, run-of-the-mill issues do not belong here. ===== | ===== Hyper-local, run-of-the-mill issues do not belong here. ===== | ||
A plumber who repeatedly ghosts work, disappears & sets up a new company when people go looking for a refund is not worthy of report here. The story of [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50ByeqNgYjQ&list=PLkVbIsAWN2lucdpXqcM4qW6ev60OSXdw4&index=16 Eugene the contractor] belongs on a personal blog, Yelp, and Google. Reports on his behavior should be made to local, city, state, and federal authorities where they apply. A contractor who sets up a new company any time someone looks for a refund after being ripped off may be an anti-consumer scammer, and it may well be that knowing about him would prevent future people from getting scammed. However, ''this is simply too small and local to warrant inclusion in a | A plumber who repeatedly ghosts work, disappears & sets up a new company when people go looking for a refund is not worthy of report here. The story of [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50ByeqNgYjQ&list=PLkVbIsAWN2lucdpXqcM4qW6ev60OSXdw4&index=16 Eugene the contractor] belongs on a personal blog, Yelp, and Google. Reports on his behavior should be made to local, city, state, and federal authorities where they apply. A contractor who sets up a new company any time someone looks for a refund after being ripped off may be an anti-consumer scammer, and it may well be that knowing about him would prevent future people from getting scammed. However, ''this is simply too small and local to warrant inclusion in a Wiki whose purpose is'' ''specifically to inform consumers about the modern landscape of consumer protection issues''. | ||
For information on the types of articles the | For information on the types of articles the Wiki is expected to contain, please see our [[Article Types]] page. For a quick guide on what you can do to help, please see our [[How to help]] guide! | ||
== Editorial guidelines == | == Editorial guidelines == | ||
<p class="mwt-heading">Detailed below are the two main 'tones' that are acceptable within the | <p class="mwt-heading">Detailed below are the two main 'tones' that are acceptable within the Wiki, as well as examples of the article types in which they should be used.</p> | ||
=== Factual, non-accusatory, and legally safe<br>=== | === Factual, non-accusatory, and legally safe<br>=== | ||
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* Articles should not include language directly condemning specific companies or named individuals. Instead, this should be achieved by citing others – ‘it has been claimed that this practice amounts to x or y’, and by use of qualifiers ‘This shares characteristics with x’. | * Articles should not include language directly condemning specific companies or named individuals. Instead, this should be achieved by citing others – ‘it has been claimed that this practice amounts to x or y’, and by use of qualifiers ‘This shares characteristics with x’. | ||
No attribution of malice to the subjects of criticism, unless such malice has been established in a legal context or by a legitimate regulatory body. Even then, it should always be stated indirectly: 'The U.S. Supreme Court found that Company X...', rather than 'Company X did...'. Be sure to link the appropriate case or opinion using the | No attribution of malice to the subjects of criticism, unless such malice has been established in a legal context or by a legitimate regulatory body. Even then, it should always be stated indirectly: 'The U.S. Supreme Court found that Company X...', rather than 'Company X did...'. Be sure to link the appropriate case or opinion using the Wiki's <code><ref></code> and <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code> tags. | ||
* This will be the appropriate tone for all non-theme articles. | * This will be the appropriate tone for all non-theme articles. | ||
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* The tone and language Louis might use in a rant video | * The tone and language Louis might use in a rant video | ||
* Direct insults to specific individuals or companies, or direct attribution of malice to said individuals or companies | * Direct insults to specific individuals or companies, or direct attribution of malice to said individuals or companies | ||
* This | * This Wiki is not for "''Pissed off Louis"'' - that's for YouTube, and has no place here | ||
'''We will be especially vigilant against potentially harmful content, and take strong action against users who:''' | '''We will be especially vigilant against potentially harmful content, and take strong action against users who:''' | ||
* Advocate for direct action against malicious companies or individuals within articles themselves | * Advocate for direct action against malicious companies or individuals within articles themselves | ||
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===== Is it acceptable to, in an article detailing the faults with a particular product, direct users towards alternative products that do not share these issues? ===== | ===== Is it acceptable to, in an article detailing the faults with a particular product, direct users towards alternative products that do not share these issues? ===== | ||
This | This Wiki is not a place for product recommendations, and cannot be turned into a place for sneaky guerilla advertising, or the promotion of contributors' pet projects. | ||
'''The only acceptable reason to include a product in an article that is not focussed on said product, is to directly demonstrate that an anti-consumer practice is unnecessary'''. This exception is made in order to combat the way that unscrupulous companies will attempt to muddy the water, by claiming that their practices are necessary for the product to be viable. We do not want a company to be able to defend a practice as ''"necessary"'' on the basis of made-up justifications of economic viability or legal necessity, and as such it is acceptable to mention a competing product or business, ONLY for the purpose of comparing & contrasting how another business in the same space is able to provide the product or service without screwing the customer. | '''The only acceptable reason to include a product in an article that is not focussed on said product, is to directly demonstrate that an anti-consumer practice is unnecessary'''. This exception is made in order to combat the way that unscrupulous companies will attempt to muddy the water, by claiming that their practices are necessary for the product to be viable. We do not want a company to be able to defend a practice as ''"necessary"'' on the basis of made-up justifications of economic viability or legal necessity, and as such it is acceptable to mention a competing product or business, ONLY for the purpose of comparing & contrasting how another business in the same space is able to provide the product or service without screwing the customer. | ||