Integrity - Does it exist within the community? Should it exist in the Staff?

in·teg·ri·ty

: the quality of being honest and fair
: firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values
: the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.
Do you believe "integrity" exists among the membership here? Among the staff?

By our very presence here, as a group, we seem to have made a conscious decision to go against the moral compass of the society we live in. Most of our peers, family and/or friends would judge us harshly by standards we certainly do not adhere to if they knew the nature of our "hobby".

I've been pondering the concepts of integrity, honesty, trust worthiness and morality in regards to members, staff and situations that exist within the community.

Do you think that based on our wholesale decision to break rules and not conform to society's expect-able standards of behavior we have any right to expect "honesty" and "fairness" from staff?

Where do the standards come from, by which my behavior and practices are to be judged?

Read (or re-read) "Huckleberry Finn." Huck feared damnation to Hell because he was facilitating the escape of the slave Jim. He was violating the "moral compass" of his society. Hmmmm.

Do not confuse moral behavior with conformity. Sometimes the crowd is wrong. This is one of those times.

I believe we have a BIG REVEAL thread here. Can I guess?

Finally, you're going to reveal exactly how much you made off that bogus Xmas fundraiser? Will you be offering refunds to all that donated or have you already consumed all the donations?

Some say confession is good for the soul. I think you're soulless.

But what the hell, right?

One big question is, is this hobby against the moral compass of society? It is very easy to assume yes because there are laws against it. But those laws are not universal. This hobby is the oldest profession and should have some social standing for that durability.

I have one friend who does not hobby that I have opened this discussion with. It has not destroyed our friendship, but it has hurt. I am unmarried but attached and I have been unable to convince him my forays are an effort to get something physical I can't at home; my lady at home has qualities more spiritual for me. So he judges, while he is a divorced man that cheated and mentally abused his ex. This guy will spend weeks at a time trying to get laid 'free' on match.com yet spend hundreds of dollars going to see washed up rock bands from the 60's. We're miles apart on this.

But even outside the spectrum of this site, I am in the despondent place of not believing in integrity at any juncture. If I try to buy a house, a bike or a car this week, there will be a person hiding any blemishes and overvaluing any positives with intent of extracting money. If I go see a doctor, he may or may not treat me with patient concern, but involved in the process will be an invisible, pre-paid third party analyzing a way to deflect costs. If I go buy a computer, they will offer to increase the price 25-50% to guarantee it works for a year. If I turn on the TV, will I see Charlie Sheen, a Kardashian, or Jim Cramer?

This is capitalism. We are taught and expected to capitalize on any advantage. I don't consider the expectation of integrity reasonable. In here, forget about it.

As James pointed out, morality is relative to the societal group in which one chooses to participate. While the overall society in which we live would certainly find the "hobby" immoral, there does exist a code within the hobby by which one can judge the integrity of a member of the group. Some of that code comes over from the society at large, e.g., one should not steal from other members of the hobby, nor should one kill other members, etc.
Yet there are specific rules that apply just within the hobby. Examples include maintaining the secrecy of member identities that is necessary for members to function in the outside world, truthful sharing of information, etc.
As to ECCIE staff, integrity comes specifically in applying the site rules fairly to all members of the site and avoiding letting any personal animosity/affection effect how the perform the jobs that they perform for the site.

Well, that is a fairly profound question, Whispers.

While it is true that the hobby is not a sanctioned practice by society, that does ipso facto mean that it something reprehensible.

Remember too that this country went through the social experimentation of prohibition with noble intentions, but it proved to be an untenable position because you cannot legislate morality.

As for the staff here on the board, I think that for the most part they have done an excellent job in keeping the system operating smoothly.

. . . For a while at the start, my concern was that Eccie would devolve into the hellish chaos that aspd became, but that was because the mods became petty tyrants consumed with arrogance and running their little fiefdoms with extreme harshness. I remember how the imbecilic mods delighted in banning members for trivial reasons and often congratulating each other openly for doing so.

for trivial reasons Originally Posted by Fast Gunn

trend?

Will you be offering refunds to all that donated ..... Originally Posted by JohnnyYanks

Fat chance.

Just what this SHMB has always needed - a Whimpers-FaGu colloquy.

No honor among thieves (when you’re involved in illegal/immoral activities, you can’t even trust those you work with closest).

Sometimes, I wonder just what do you contribute to the board, cb besides putrid sarcasm.

In case you don't know, (and it appears that you don't) that endless negativity gets old pretty fast.

Frankly, I have not learned one fucking thing from the endless drivel you post except to conclude that you're just a crotchety old gizzard who likes to piss on the crowd.

. . . What happened to you in childhood? Were you molested by your evil uncle or just dropped down the stairs by your mother who had enough of your smart ass remarks?

Just what this SHMB needs - a Whimpers-FaGu colloquy. Originally Posted by chicagoboy

Integrity/honor in this community will always be slightly different than in another type of community. Whores and those who partake of their goods, are judged by the rest of society as " less than honorable". Those who judge often end up, not only partaking, but continuing to judge, none the less. Viscious cycles, bad habits. and societal, familial, or even religious ingrained beliefs are hard to imagine as not really reality, so many go along throughout their lives believing whole heartedly what they do in judging or assessing according to those beliefs, could be the only possible answer, and boy howdy if they don't spout it atcha as often as they can.

Do what you do, in whatever community you have an attachment to, in good conscience and without the purpose or intent of harm, and maybe you'll sleep a little better?

Integrity has nothing to do with right and wrong...almost none of you seem to understand that...

Integrity has nothing to do with right and wrong...almost none of you seem to understand that... Originally Posted by Wakeup

Yes but from the perspective supplied, yours, no one usually understands anything.

I would venture to guess that your perspective here has to do with integrity defined as whole and undivided, as in, that's 100% pure, high integrity, bullshit. In that sense, pure evil could have integrity. But the OP set different parameters.