[wp-forums] Ethical practices of consultants

[Austin Matzko]

On Wed, Jun 30, 2010 at 8:12 PM, Joni Mueller <joni at jonimueller.com> wrote:
> The key is to simply let everyone know what the rules are, especially the members who might not be aware that unsolicited offlist contact is grounds for reprimand at the least and banning at worst.

Several people in these discussions have labeled this behavior as
"unethical" without any explanation.  What you're calling "unethical"
is applauded by much of the business world as "making a cold sales
call."  I don't like sales much myself so I don't plan to do this, but
just because it's distasteful to us doesn't mean it's unethical.
Lying; defrauding; continuing to contact after having been asked not
to--I suspect most would agree that those are unethical.  But just
offering paid help to an adult?  I don't yet see it; please explain if
you can.

As a thought experiment, would you think it unethical if someone at a
prominent site that hosts WordPress MS cold-called or emailed a famous
blogger to offer their hosting services?

Nevertheless, if adults post their contact information in public
Internet forums they should be capable of handling the inevitable
solicitations.  And if someone is creating a problem that can't be
fixed by a click of the "delete" button--for example continual spam or
harassment, they're probably not going to be deterred by a list of
rules found on a forum.