The bounced-check shame campaign continues

All Joe Childs wants is a non-rubber check.

Last week we reported that a bounced $4,200 check, written to Childs by a now defunct dot-com, was up for grabs on eBay. Bidding was moving along at a nice clip, but then eBay pulled the auction.

Says eBay: "We realize that you may not be aware of this policy, but auction listings are not the appropriate forum for voicing personal opinions, or including contact information about other members. eBay provides discussion opportunities elsewhere on the site, but the content of auction listings is limited to describing the item being offered. Therefore, we have ended the auction, and all listing fees will be refunded to your account."

How does a personal check "voice a personal opinion"? Well, according to eBay, the offending material was the defunct dot-com's name, address and phone number, all of which were plainly visible on the original eBay photo. Having the checking account number there too probably didn't help.

So Childs has created a revised version of the check on his site, which obscures pretty much everything except for his name, the amount owned and a telltale ".com" in the top left corner. No word yet on whether the auction will continue. -- Amy Standen [2:45 p.m. PDT, Aug. 8, 2001]

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A recommendation for Amazon: Think before you spam

When I ordered a copy of Jeffrey Rosen's "The Unwanted Gaze: The Destruction of Privacy in America" from Amazon, I didn't know I'd get a lesson in privacy before I even opened the book.

The paperback arrived a few days ago, and I confess I haven't cracked the spine yet. But already today I've received an email from Amazon offering me a few "recommendations based on your recent order."

The books their database thought that I might be interested in, based on my recent order, include: "The End of Privacy," "None of Your Business," "Privacy in the Information Age" and "In Pursuit of Privacy." There's nothing like being spammed by a retailer trying to shill you books about privacy.

It was one of those delicious ironies that shows the painful difference between information and understanding. -- Katharine Mieszkowski [2:15 p.m. PDT, August 6, 2001]

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