Live Fortune Telling

by GregJP on Oct 24, 2007 12:18 PM EDT Comment 29 comments

Let me just say that the ad on this site for "live fortune telling" with a fee quoted, very much offends me.

What's with that John? You're in favor of gullible people being scammed by such cretins?

You'd figure that the average person around here is above that, but based on the "Who'll Win the World Series" thread, I'm not so sure.

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it OFFENDS you?

i think you need to get thicker skin. and chill out.

besides, who cares if most people think the Red Sox are going to win?

by bleedjaxblue on Oct 24, 2007 12:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Chilling Out

I think I was referring to the discussion at the end of the thread, and not who was going to win the series.

And yes it does offend me. I don't think crap like that should be advertised on a site like this.

by GregJP on Oct 24, 2007 12:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

first of all, i know

it was trying to make light of the fact that you're WAY out of bounds right now.

and second of all.....??????

people shouldn't be allowed to sell fortune telling? it should be an illicit good? or else tightly regulated?

or you just believe in the censorship of all items that either offend your sensibilities, no matter if other people like them or not?

because that last one is what it sounds like. and you know what type of attitude that sounds similar to?

i'll assume you can answer that one for yourself.

by bleedjaxblue on Oct 24, 2007 12:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I guess people have a democratic right to be duped out of their money.
To me, this, astrology, and numerology are preying on gullible people in much the same way as phone scams and e-mailers from Africa.
Would you be in favor of an ad that asked people to send $300 to a bank account somewhere in Africa so that their inheritance could be released?

by GregJP on Oct 24, 2007 12:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

there's a difference....

....between buying a product and being scammed.

people get something out of seeing a fortune teller, whether what they get is pleasure/peace-of-mind or an actual accurate picture of the future.

after their gone, many are happy they did, and would do it again. thus, they received a product, and it was worth their money.

would a scammed person (who sent their $300 to a bank account in africa) feel the same way?

by bleedjaxblue on Oct 24, 2007 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Scammed

At least the person who sent the $300 might not be so stupid the next time.

As far as the person buying the "product", well.......

by GregJP on Oct 24, 2007 1:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

well, what?

didn't they find something that makes them happy?

or do you believe the perfect world is not one that revolves around people being happiest, but rather using their money most efficiently?

what theory of philosophy supports what you're saying?

what harm has been done?

as i see it, the person maximized utility, and, best i know, nothing morally questionable has been done.

by bleedjaxblue on Oct 24, 2007 1:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Morally Questionable

It is morally questionable, because after the "customer" hangs up the phone the "fortune teller" turns to his/her supervisor or co-worker and they laugh hysterically about how people can be so gullible.

by GregJP on Oct 24, 2007 1:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

first of all....

....I disagree with your assumption about the state of mind of the fortune tellers.

second of all, I'm still not sure what moral outrage has been committed.

you can't sell something you personally don't find valuable? so are, for example, Ford car dealers "outrageous" for selling a car they think doesn't drive well? or is it necessary for an Apple salesman to believe Apple products are a better value than PCs?

or you can't laugh at customers -- so that it would be "morally questionable" for a Haagen Daz employee if he sold ice cream to a bunch of overweight customers, and then laughed that these people kept coming back for more when, clearly, they need to go to the gym/eat less fattening food?

or is any exploitation of "gullibility" unacceptable? if so, shouldn't ALL advertising be banned?

by bleedjaxblue on Oct 24, 2007 2:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

State of Mind

So what is their state of mind?

Do you really think that anyone knows something about the future of another person?

Do you really think there are true psychics?

I can't remember the name, but there is a site that has a standing one million dollar offer to anyone who can prove they are "psychic" under controlled conditions.

Not one such "psychic" has even attempted to win the million dollars, because they know they are frauds.

What would they be doing other than laughing at the absurdity of the people phoning in?

by GregJP on Oct 24, 2007 2:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

a lot of things

they could be comforted to know they've provided a service others are happy to receive

they could be happy to have made another dollar and made it through another day while performing their daily job -- just like most other people, who make a salary off jobs they don't necessarily have any deep belief in

some of them may believe they have some level of insight -- you can't say tons of people believe irrationally in what psychics say, but no psychics believe irrationally that they have these abilities

and if their thought is "sucker," so what?

does it become morally reprehensible if i sell you a piece of art i made, just because i don't think the piece is very good? my judgment of its value shouldn't affect whether or not you're getting satisfaction out of the piece, which is all that you can ask for when you spend money.

by bleedjaxblue on Oct 24, 2007 3:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Getting Satisfaction

I dunno, to me it just seems like these types of "services" prey on the lonely and weak among us.

It's like people who blow most of their salaries on slot machines or bingo. I know it's a free country and people should be able to chose their sources of entertainment, but don't you have to draw the line somewhere?

These fortune telling places are raking in the cash, and I'm reasonably sure that the people frequenting them are not for the most part very wealthy.

by GregJP on Oct 24, 2007 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

slot machines....

....may be considered morally wrong because they prey on people in that they are addictive. people thus waste their money because they can't stop, not because they're necessarily getting satisfaction about how they're spending their money (in some cases).

there's nothing addictive about fortune telling. nothing. people go back on their own volition (as far as we understand the term) because they value the product.

if you think it's a bad product, fine. but it's a bad product in line with buying, for example, name-brand T-shirts -- many people would tell you it's a hoax, and you're wasting your money. other people are satisfied with the product, even if it's not clear objectively what they received for their cash.

also, on another point, i know a lot of quite wealthy people who spend exorbitant amounts on fortune tellers. not that the target audience isn't necessarily the less well off individuals (especially widely advertised ones), but it's hardly exclusively the case.

by bleedjaxblue on Oct 24, 2007 4:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You must be an interesting person to know

I agree with everything you just said. Like, that's freaking creepy dude. Get outta mah office.

And about those wealthy individuals....

by mroak89 on Oct 24, 2007 9:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Live Fortune Telling

Client: Can you please tell me who will win the world series?

Fortune Teller: Dude, if I knew that, do you think I'd be wasting my time running this crappy scam?

Client: What about my keeper list for next year? Can you help me with that?

Fortune Teller: Huh?

by GregJP on Oct 24, 2007 12:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

that WS thread was

just hysterical, my initial reaction after reading the 1st days posts was there is no hope for mankind ...

by dew on Oct 24, 2007 1:22 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Diversified Service

Also on Kasamba:
    Astrology
Let the stars guide you to happiness in your career, relationships and love.
    Dream Analysis
Let our experts unlock the mystery of your dreams!
    Numerology
Let the numbers guide you through important life decisions.
    Reaching Beyond
Connect with loved ones who have crossed over to the other side.

by GregJP on Oct 24, 2007 1:35 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Astrology

I need to find a video for this very cool experiment.

A group of 30 are taken into a room, and each are given their horoscope/personality analysis. After reading it they are asked how accurate it was.

Everybody rates it as very accurate. They are then told that every single person got the exact same thing.

by GregJP on Oct 24, 2007 1:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

WHO CARES!!!!

It's paying for your free ride on this site. If you don't like it, don't go there. When there aren't any hits from this site's link - they will take it down.

You realize that prospect lists have a time horizon of like 5-10 years, not 5-10 days, right?

by slurve on Oct 24, 2007 2:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Free Ride

I'd rather pay for the freaking site than have to see an ad for that crap every 30 seconds.

by GregJP on Oct 24, 2007 2:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's you

I'm not willing to pay just because you are obsessing over a silly banner ad. Probably the case for most of us here.

You realize that prospect lists have a time horizon of like 5-10 years, not 5-10 days, right?

by slurve on Oct 24, 2007 2:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1

by mroak89 on Oct 24, 2007 9:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Is it just me?

Has anyone else seen this ad? I have not. I see an ad for Skechers, Wilco, and a Blog conference. Are these "smart" ads - targeting you by your previous page viewed?

by cooper7d7 on Oct 24, 2007 3:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

nah

haven't seen any porn ads around here.

by wildthang on Oct 24, 2007 7:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

For what its worth...

that put a smile on my face ;)

by cooper7d7 on Oct 25, 2007 7:30 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

well

since Fortune Tellers are giving "Spiritual" advice are you advocating we take away the right to choose your religion?

I believe it's nonsense. But then again I believe many religions are nonsense.

BUT I also believe in those rights that allow each their faith. It sounds like you don't.

by pedrophile on Oct 24, 2007 7:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Fortune Telling

Altho I think its a complete waste, there's certainly worse ways to spend your money; just watch a half-hour of television commercials.
As far as I can tell, this is still a democracy. You vote by not clicking on the site (which apparently you may have screwed up already)

Curtis Granderson fan

by jrose643 on Oct 24, 2007 11:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs