[publicfig]

I never argued the effectiveness of misleading business practices towards generating revenue or conversions. I feel that design can be misleading and user-antagonistic while still being the most effective solution for monetization. It is up to the creator/organization to make that decision, and that decision can be both financially effective and amoral/"scummy" at the same time. I cannot make that decision for the creator/organization, but I also feel no need to default to defending user-antagonistic practices just because "they work".