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S.F. threatens parking app 'MonkeyParking' with lawsuit

By the way, if you're going to continue to claim that this is just selling information, can you explain what selling access to the spot would be (in contrast to merely selling information)?

Let me ask you something. If I sold only information (I'm leaving a space on the 1100 block of Blah Blah St. in five minutes) and I charged someone for that insight, would that be a problem? How about if I call my neighbor and tell him I'm going to work so he can have my spot now in order to avoid a ticket? I remember my brother-in-law cooperating with his neighbors in this regard when he lived near Dupont Circle in Nortwest D.C. Is that a problem? Or am I breaking the law for talking to my neighbor because we're colluding to expropriate a public resource? Or is it only a problem if I hold the spot for money? "Hey, Clyde, if you buy a few toys for Junior I'll let you know when I'm leaving the house." :confused:
 
Anyone? No takers ?
 
This is hilarious. The progressives in San Francisco can either stifle free speech or permit the capitalists to hold public parking spots hostage for private gain:

Should be illegal. This is no different from ticket scalping at a sporting event, or an airline ticket, or something of that sort.
 
Anyone? No takers ?

Ethics...

That's what it boils down to me. Regardless of the legality, how can anyone with good moral standards rationalize the ethics of it?
 
Should be illegal. This is no different from ticket scalping at a sporting event, or an airline ticket, or something of that sort.

I never understood the issue of "scalping," either. Let the market determine the worth of a sporting event or concert. If demand for a particular venue or act is such that the tickets are worth more than face value then let the people who are willing to pay more buy them. If that means Little Johnnie can't see the Red Sox beat the Yankees because Daddy works at Wal-Mart and can't afford to pay a market price then that's the way the cookie crumbles. I just went to Ticketmaster's resale website, where I read this:


Hmm. What this really comes down to is scalping is OK if it's done by the "official" reseller and the sports leagues get their cut. The problem only comes into play if they under-price their tickets and someone else provides the haircut.
 
Ethics...

That's what it boils down to me. Regardless of the legality, how can anyone with good moral standards rationalize the ethics of it?

Well, if you had attempted to answer my queries in Post #251 then you might have gotten an answer. Anyway, when you use a public parking spot, do you make an effort to finish up with your business ASAP so you don't deprive others of a scarce resource? If you go into town to a museum, say, do you rush through the galleries as fast as you can, or do you take your time to soak it up? Do you feel regret for taking your sweet time? If so, how is that ethical?
 
Well, if you had attempted to answer my queries in Post #251 then you might have gotten an answer. Anyway, when you use a public parking spot, do you make an effort to finish up with your business ASAP so you don't deprive others of a scarce resource? If you go into town to a museum, say, do you rush through the galleries as fast as you can, or do you take your time to soak it up? Do you feel regret for taking your sweet time? If so, how is that ethical?

I don't rush, but I don't hold my parking space hostage either.
 
Let me ask you something. If I sold only information (I'm leaving a space on the 1100 block of Blah Blah St. in five minutes) and I charged someone for that insight, would that be a problem?

Not really (as that would be a worthless commodity), but that's not what this is. The information that's really being sold is that the seller will leave when and only when the buyer gets there, meaning that the spot is what's being exchanged.
 
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