Cool? Not Cool?

June 22, 2009 7:49 AM

Question regarding the use of AskMe: Is it appropriate/not appropriate to ask a question regarding the reputation of a specific company?

I'm thinking about using a considerably cheaper data recovery company but would like to ask if anyone has had experience with them. Cool? Not cool? I know there was a similar thread about this but can't seem to find it.

posted by KevinSkomsvold to Etiquette/Policy at 7:49 AM (13 comments total)

People do this pretty frequently, it's cool. That said, we'd prefer if people could stick to factual-ish comments about them [good or bad] and not use the thread as an excuse to Googlebomb people they don't like. This sort of thing comes up occasionally and I just figured I'd toss that out there while we're on the subject.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:51 AM on June 22, 2009

Why wouldn't it be?
posted by delmoi at 8:17 AM on June 22, 2009

Were you worried that it might seem promotional? If so you could ask if people know of any good alternatives, I guess.
posted by delmoi at 8:18 AM on June 22, 2009

delmoi: "Why wouldn't it be?"

I seem to remember the previous conversation going along the lines of "Don't ask if your intention is to be dick and tarnish the company's reputation."
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 8:30 AM on June 22, 2009

Well there's, "is Dell a good company?" and then there's

"Has Michael Dell stopped beating his wife yet?"
posted by drjimmy11 at 9:19 AM on June 22, 2009 [1 favorite]

Yeah, trying to get opinions after doing a bit of research is fine. Posting an AskMe question along the lines of "I hear these guys are assholes, do you think they're assholes too?" is less okay.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:26 AM on June 22, 2009

Has Michael Dell stopped beating his wife yet?

My sources point to No.
posted by educatedslacker at 10:00 AM on June 22, 2009

Yeah, as long as you're not using askme as an excuse to execute a hatchet job and you can avoid coming off sounding like a shill, it's pretty much A-OK.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:54 AM on June 22, 2009

Shilling hatchets? That's a paddling.
I recommend Rodina-mat brand paddles!
posted by boo_radley at 11:06 AM on June 22, 2009

I think as long as you avoid the whole 'I'm looking for a reputable backup/recovery company like Givewell and I swear I do not know Suzanne Somers' I think it's fine.
posted by 8dot3 at 11:23 AM on June 22, 2009

Well there's, "is Dell a good company?" and then there's
"Has Michael Dell stopped beating his wife yet?"

When did doing business with spousal abusers become OK with you?
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 11:47 AM on June 22, 2009 [1 favorite]

Dealbreaker.

Oh wait, what were we talking about?
posted by Salvor Hardin at 4:26 PM on June 22, 2009

Man, I just spent 10 minutes Googling around to see if Michael Dell actually beats his wife. Also, this thread is now in the top 10 for "Michael Dell beats his wife".
posted by disillusioned at 2:24 PM on June 23, 2009