Facebook dilemma

Ger Roe

This morning on a 'Buy,swap - no rules' facebook page, I noticed a dangerous electrical appliance being offered for sale and an interested purchaser responding.

The item was a hair straightener. The strain relief device on the handle end was broken and the mains cable was exposed. The seller had indicated the damage but said that the item 'worked perfectly'.

I put up a comment explaining the obvious (to me) dangers of operating the device where the mains cable exposure now becomes the source of strain, the first potential point of failure and the subsequent high risk of electrical shock. I suggested that the item should not be used in it's photographed condition. Very shortly afterwards, the post was removed.

My concern now is -

Has the seller simply removed the post and continued with the sale of a dangerous device?

As an aside - where does responsibility lie in this case? Is the person who set up the page ultimately responsible for the activity that take place on it - be it dangerous, illegal, stupid ... or whatever.

If it is generally accepted that there are 'no rules' - should people be simply left to their own devices regardless of the potential consequences?

In this particular case, my conscience would not allow me to ignore the potential danger - I dread to think of harm coming to anyone from using the device, but now I am not sure if my concern has just been ignored and hidden.

Thoughts ???

whiskeyman

Caveat emptor!


or something...

Kevin McCloud

Was it a ghd one?

LDN_Irish

Kevin McCloud wrote: »

Was it a ghd one?

Maybe a GBH one given the issues with it.

anncoates

Ger Roe wrote: »

Thoughts ?

Always believe in your soul.

You've got the power to score.

You're indestructible

stimpson

Why are you trying to apply rules to a forum that states "No Rules" in the title?

Edit: actually screw that. If they deleted your post then how is it "No rules". Report them to Facebook for enforcing rules in contravention of their "No rules" rule.

Ger Roe

Why are you trying to apply rules to a forum that states "No Rules" in the title?

That's kind of the point - who decides that 'No Rules' means that people can be exposed to danger through using the service?

I wasn't trying to apply rules - merely questioning the concept.

I would suspect that even if people accepted the concept of 'no rules' they would still look for recourse, if there were any serious consequences - such as someone being electrocuted (as is a possibility in this case).

The fact that the post was quickly removed, means that the potential purchaser may well have gone ahead with the deal, without having the benefit of seeing a genuine warning. Others who saw the original post may now consider that it is legitimate to sell or purchase obviously dangerous items, without accepting any responsibility - because it happens on the web and there are 'no rules'.

KeithTS

In all fairness, if this wasn't on facebook and one person lent or gave a dodgey electrical appliance to a friend of a friend is that any of your concern?

It may be bad but if somebody electrocutes themselves out of the sheer stupidity of using something like this then that's on them. Just because it's on facebook and in the public domain for you to see doesn't mean you have a moral duty to intervene.

kippy

KeithTS wrote: »

In all fairness, if this wasn't on facebook and one person lent or gave a dodgey electrical appliance to a friend of a friend is that any of your concern?

It may be bad but if somebody electrocutes themselves out of the sheer stupidity of using something like this then that's on them. Just because it's on facebook and in the public domain for you to see doesn't mean you have a moral duty to intervene.

If you see a hair straightener in somebodies house which displayed the same characteristics as one in the add would you feel a duty to let that person know that the hair straightener was dangerous?

It should become your concern if you know about it. Posting an add on Facebook that is public SHOULD illicit a response if the add is for an item that is very obviously in an unsafe state.

endacl

Facebook.

:rolleyes:

PARlance

Whatever about it being no rules or not, the seller has indicated the damage. It may work perfectly even though it is damaged.

Let Darwin look after it. You would be very busy if you spent your life making people aware of all the potential dangers in this world.

kneemos

Unlikely to kill her anyway.It hurts a bit but 240v is unlikely to kill anyone.

kippy

PARlance wrote: »

Whatever about it being no rules or not, the seller has indicated the damage. It may work perfectly even though it is damaged.

Let Darwin look after it. You would be very busy if you spent your life making people aware of all the potential dangers in this world.

True,
but if people neglected this side of life over the millenia the human race would have been wiped out hundreds of years ago.

PARlance

kippy wrote: »

True,
but if people neglected this side of life over the millenia the human race would have been wiped out hundreds of years ago.

I think the human race would have survived, the smarter ones hanging around. People that would buy this and fix it immediately.

Facebook traffic would probably be down though.

KeithTS

kippy wrote: »

True,
but if people neglected this side of life over the millenia the human race would have been wiped out hundreds of years ago.

Also true but if people concerned themselves over such things in the scale that is possible today using facebook etc. society wouldn't have moved forward to the point that things like facebook existed at all as we'd all be too busy throwing our oars into other peoples business rather than inventing cool things like wheels.

eamonnq

kneemos wrote: »

Unlikely to kill her anyway.It hurts a bit but 240v is unlikely to kill anyone.

Would there be a greater risk of fire if this was left plugged in but not turned on ?

Mint Aero

Oh god such a dilemma I just recommended on facebook, my American friend to go see the Cliffs of Moher, I didn't tell him there's no guard rail on the cliff edge! Do I need to tell him now before it's too late?! Oh god my facebook dilemma!

wendell borton

What's the problem, the seller has identified the defect.

Adamantium

Tell them that it made you go bald overnight.












Somehow.

RossD12

I'm not a Facebook user but if it's possible you could PM the person who wants to buy it telling them the dangers

househero

Idiots gotta die somehow. Stops them reproducing and making more idiots.

You can't protect the world. #forgetaboutit

Ger Roe

RossD12 wrote: »

I'm not a Facebook user but if it's possible you could PM the person who wants to buy it telling them the dangers

I am not actually a Facebook user either and don't know who the potential purchaser was. I saw what I thought was a danger that should be brought to the attention of any potential purchaser and I attempted to do so.

Contrary to some of the posts received here - a shock of 240v AC is more than capable of killing and is a significant risk in this case where the device is handled in the specific area where the mains supply insulation is most likely to be damaged through absence of effective strain relief.

Anyway, the specifics of the actual case was not the main point for consideration. The 'dilemma' concerns the idea of responsibility - legal and moral.

The question was more to do with the 'No Rules' declaration and the associated lack of responsibility all round - in terms of the person who set up the page and so facilitated the action, and a seller who passes on potentially dangerous goods - on a public forum. Why does it seem to be acceptable on the web, but not in the real word where we rely on safety regulations to protect society generally - idiots or not?

There are rules, regulations and laws above Facebook and social media concepts of how the world should work, that aim to prevent people being put in potential danger - whether they deserve it, or not.

On consideration of some of the responses received here, it would seem that the concept of 'no rules' really does apply - anything and everything is fair game, regardless of potential consequences. At least until something serious happens. Then we can debate why it was allowed to happen in the first place.

Personally, I am glad I raised a concern and hope that no harm comes to anyone - even idiots. Who would we post about without them?

Wacker The Attacker

Don't stick this hair straightener up your hole while ****.