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An Open Letter to Warby Parker

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Re: An Open Letter to Warby Parker

#21

Post by rdl »

abbotao wrote: post #17
masonhensley wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, while this kind of stuff doesn't help either party much in the long run, you do have to admit to chuckling a little at the end when Andrew confessed to sending WP's co-founder's wife an empty box instead of her order. edit: Yep, sorry, I was not clear, the kind of chuckling one does when a business freely publicizes an act of stupidity that could cost them customers.

If by chuckling you mean, "Ensuring I never do business with this company in the future." The open letter makes them come across as jerks. The P.S. makes them look like assholes.

Assholes and a vendor which doesn't care about the privacy of customers.

Re: An Open Letter to Warby Parker

#22

Post by ISeemToBeAVerb »

abyssknight wrote: post #3

Why do startups do this? I've seen this a few times over the past few years, and every time I find it loathsome. Dirty laundry isn't something you just go around airing because someone sent you a C&D letter. It could have been a mistake, it could have been a rogue legal team member, it could have been anything. Does it matter to the general public? No. Should it? No. This is between two businesses, and should have st…

I agree with you to a point (especially in this instance). On the other hand, I think there are certain circumstances where the laundry should be aired.

While it could be said that nothing is fair in love, war and business, I, personally, find unethical business practices to be quite loathsome. Sometimes a company that tries to win through intimidation and questionable legal threats deserves to have the world know what they're up to.

My grandmother once gave me a piece of advice that's stuck with me- "Integrity is doing the right thing, even if nobody is watching." Years later, I think about that and I wonder, how many people are running their businesses with a smile on their face and a knife behind their back.

So yeah, there are plenty of times where airing dirty laundry is a shallow thing to do, but there are also times where you can finally see the true colors of a company and what they really stand for.

Re: An Open Letter to Warby Parker

#23

Post by dfc »

nirvana wrote: post #8

What's fascinating to me is comparing the impression you get from the lawyers letter (wow, they really ripped off the warby parker website!) with the response (we're using off the shelf privacy policy, and industry terms.) It shows just how deceptive selective phrasing can be. "Substantially identical" implies that the text was a copy of copyrighted material, but the selectivity is the bias- they never show that the…

From what I can see it says "substantially similar" not "substantially identical."[1] I am not a lawyer but it is my understanding that the relevant issue is "substantially similar."[2]

What do you mean "they never show that the text was copyrighted"? Do you know what is required to copyright content? There is no office where you file a copyright application. Using a (c) and/or other types of copyright notices is optional in a post-Berne American court.

[1] Is there a way to download the pdf of an embedded scribd asset? Reading the document is painful...

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substantial_similarity

Re: An Open Letter to Warby Parker

#26

Post by dkrich »

Until Classic Specs gets a prominently-featured set of advertisements with a faux-intellectual, salt-and-pepper haired douchebag, Warby Parker can't cry foul.

I know this is going to get down-voted, but seriously, it is 2012. Who buys a monocle? I want to buy one and wear it around as a joke.

Re: An Open Letter to Warby Parker

#27

Post by RockyMcNuts »

rdl wrote: post #16

This whole thing makes me so glad I got LASIK a few years ago.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/20...

Ray Tsai (蔡瑞芳), one of Taiwan's pioneers in laser eye surgery, said yesterday that he will no longer perform the procedure because it violates his medical ethics. ... He has observed situations in which visual acuity worsens suddenly and rapidly long after the LASIK procedure itself.

Re: An Open Letter to Warby Parker

#29

Post by ggchappell »

To me, one paragraph in this post stands out far above the others in importance. I find it interesting that it is getting so few comments here. It is the "P.S.".

If one business sends a C&D to another, then they can't expect it to be kept private. You can argue about the wisdom of posting it, or what this says about the poster's attitude; however, Classic Specs is certainly within both legal and ethical standards in doing so.

But posting a customer's personal information without permission is unacceptable.

If anyone from Classic Specs is reading this: You need to remove that P.S., and you need to remove it now.

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