Tell HN: Login to unsubscribe is against Federal Law
In the last few days, I have been imagining an ethics pledge for start-ups.<p>I think start-up culture tends to be a bit unethical - we favor expedience and results over rules and regulations, and that's generally correct, but also leads us into murky territory.<p>The most important guideline might be this - build a company where you'd want to have any of the jobs, and where you'd want to be a customer. But specifically:<p>1) never send someone an email without explicit opt-in (make them check a box, don't start spamming just because they registered).<p>2) make it easy for a user to delete themselves from your database, entirely<p>3) make it easy for a user to port data elsewhere<p>4) don't make up fake email personages, or otherwise overtly lie to your customers<p>5) don't use misleading numbers for marketing or fundraising<p>6) give employees warning and/or severance when you plan to fire them<p>7) don't discriminate based on gender or sexual preference, even though it may be legal for small companies to do so in your locality<p>8) if you store financial or sensitive data, make security a priority