What would you do?

[Tobus]

I started to read all the responses here, but I don't have time to go through it all, and it wouldn't change what I'm about to say anyway.

In short, I think ethics are perhaps the single most important thing that makes or breaks a company/business, a website/forum like this one, or a community. There are many things that can cause the downfall of an otherwise successful entity, but an unethical practice is a guarantee of failure. And it's because ethics = character.

Let's not confuse patent laws with ethics. There are many things which are legal but unethical. And, for that matter, there are many things which are illegal but perfectly ethical. We would all like to think that laws and ethics go hand-in-hand, but that is not always the case. So IMHO the topic of patent laws here is irrelevant. Even if a company is operating within the boundaries of the law where they live, if they are operating unethically, they do not deserve the respect or business of anyone who cherishes ethics (as I would hope all of our members do). We are not a government entity, and are free to choose our own standards independently of the law.

With that said, I think all of the questions posed come down to this single issue: if we allow unethical practices, or reward them, then we don't really have any ethics of our own.

So my answer is pretty straightforward. No, we should not allow businesses to advertise here who are engaged in unethical practices of any sort. And yes, we should expect businesses who do advertise here to be unquestioningly ethical, moral, honest, and of the highest calibre. I know of at least one former XMTS advertiser who was shown the door due to unethical/questionable practices, and we are better off for it.

If we don't hold ourselves, our members, and our advertisers to an ethical standard, then we have nothing of value.