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eBay pays $3M fine in blogger harassment case

bbc.com

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Re: eBay pays $3M fine in blogger harassment case

#11

Post by dylan604 »

thebruce87m wrote: post #5

> The acts of intimidation included sending live insects, a foetal pig and a funeral wreath to the Steiners' home in Natick, Massachusetts. If someone I knew claimed that eBay execs were sending them things like this I wouldn’t believe them. It’s like something from a TV show.

I wonder what the rules on sending live specimens through the post are. Knowingly not using the right markings on the package can cause issues. When they ask you if you have any of "these" things in the package and you then say no would be a federal crime. Messing with the postal inspectors tends to be wildly underappreciated at the repercussions they can inflict.

Re: eBay pays $3M fine in blogger harassment case

#13

Post by o11c »

dylan604 wrote: post #11
thebruce87m wrote: post #5

> The acts of intimidation included sending live insects, a foetal pig and a funeral wreath to the Steiners' home in Natick, Massachusetts. If someone I knew claimed that eBay execs were sending them things like this I wouldn’t believe them. It’s like something from a TV show.

I wonder what the rules on sending live specimens through the post are. Knowingly not using the right markings on the package can cause issues. When they ask you if you have any of "these" things in the package and you then say no would be a federal crime. Messing with the postal inspectors tends to be wildly underappreciated at the repercussions they can inflict.

The rules: https://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c5_008.htm

Re: eBay pays $3M fine in blogger harassment case

#14

Post by recursive »

heads wrote: post #9
ethbr1 wrote: post #2

Apologies for titling from deeper in article, but to do otherwise would be burying the lede. Also, life mirrors fiction: https://xkcd.com/325/

To this day I cannot accept that A+ is better than A-. Clearly the ordering is increasing in value with each letter and so a smaller value is better, and “-“ / minus gives you a slightly smaller value. We accept that “A” comes before “B” so therefore “A” is better. “A-“ is smaller than “A” therefore “A-“ must be better! rank = [A- A A+ B- B B+ C- …]

> Clearly the ordering is increasing in value

Here's your mistake. Alphabet ordering is decreasing in value.

Re: eBay pays $3M fine in blogger harassment case

#15

Post by smcin »

Previous mentions:

2020: eBay execs sent roaches and “bloody pig mask” to harass journalists, feds say (arstechnica.com) favorite https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23532888

2022: Former eBay exec who ran scheme to harass Natick couple sentenced to 57 months https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33021937

Re: eBay pays $3M fine in blogger harassment case

#16

Post by Scoundreller »

dylan604 wrote: post #11
thebruce87m wrote: post #5

> The acts of intimidation included sending live insects, a foetal pig and a funeral wreath to the Steiners' home in Natick, Massachusetts. If someone I knew claimed that eBay execs were sending them things like this I wouldn’t believe them. It’s like something from a TV show.

I wonder what the rules on sending live specimens through the post are. Knowingly not using the right markings on the package can cause issues. When they ask you if you have any of "these" things in the package and you then say no would be a federal crime. Messing with the postal inspectors tends to be wildly underappreciated at the repercussions they can inflict.

That's what couriers are for. I'm sure eBay knows which ones are the most reliable. And lying to them is just a breach of contract (but they can open more stuff willy nilly).

Re: eBay pays $3M fine in blogger harassment case

#19

Post by cpeterso »

heads wrote: post #9
ethbr1 wrote: post #2

Apologies for titling from deeper in article, but to do otherwise would be burying the lede. Also, life mirrors fiction: https://xkcd.com/325/

To this day I cannot accept that A+ is better than A-. Clearly the ordering is increasing in value with each letter and so a smaller value is better, and “-“ / minus gives you a slightly smaller value. We accept that “A” comes before “B” so therefore “A” is better. “A-“ is smaller than “A” therefore “A-“ must be better! rank = [A- A A+ B- B B+ C- …]

I remember reading a funny eBay user feedback (of a seller, not of me :) that said something like: "F+++++++++ This seller is a scammer." Like you, the user felt that the many plus signs would make the F stronger, i.e. more negative.

Re: eBay pays $3M fine in blogger harassment case

#20

Post by Scoundreller »

kulahan wrote: post #7
arcastroe wrote: post #6

Curious, how were the executives caught? How was it proven that the harassment came from the executives?

eBay cooperated fully with the investigation and had no interest in protecting the ones who were caught. Maybe none of them, iunno the eBay office culture at all.

"Baugh's lawyers said he faced pressure from former eBay CEO Devin Wenig to reign in the Steiners over their coverage of the company."

If true, I wonder what else eBay's CEO was hoping for.

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