Ebay sends me a survey, but won’t let me finish without giving my age. LOL. NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!

[bktime]

I wonder if they really wanted my input or just gathering demographic info. Hey little ebay boys, you don’t ask a woman her age, much less require that she answer! Where y’all from? LOL. Sorry, but that just struck me funny. And of course I just exited out of it at that point. Do they never stop with the intrusions? Ebay: you are a vendor, not our employer. Requiring that answer is a crock.

[bktime]

Which 20 year old? Which 50 year old? Right there you’re saying they’re all the same, yes?

[mam98031]

---

@bktime wrote:
Which 20 year old? Which 50 year old? Right there you’re saying they’re all the same, yes?

---

You are reading more into what I said than I actually said.  No your assessment is NOT what I said.

Again, I respect your right to decline to answer the question.

[bktime]

No, I’m not reading more into what you said. Career journalist, very literal. You are overreaching in your assessment of me, which is exactly what happens when we pigeon hole people, we make assumptions about how they think. You said I was fooling myself to think that a 20 year old thinks like a 50 year old. And I asked, which 20 year old and which 50 year old. I know many people my age and my kids ages and none of us or them think alike by age group. In fact, my 50 year old republican friends are more like my kids 20 year old republican friends than they are like their democrat same-age peers. When “target” marketing moved from interest based demographics to age-based demographics, we were all removed from the interest based promotions. In the eyes of marketers, we went from 50-year-olds who ride motorcycles, dance on tables, start businesses, etc to assisted living facilities, funeral homes, and orthopedic shoes. I’m still dancing on tables in stilettos! (But boots for riding motorcycles). And way over 50.

[mr_lincoln]

@bktime    Good question for the Weekly Chat ... maybe request that they remove that question as it is too intrusive (none of their business) ...

[bktime]

I work on the days they do those chats or believe me, I’d be there!

[bktime]

Or leave the question, but make it optional to answer. Again, my beef is that is REQUIRED in order to complete. That’s the icky part for me.

[bktime]

They shouldn’t. Its not their job or privilege to know what people are thinking. They only need to know what people are buying or are interested in buying. They have no entitlement to what we think. Its like interviewing someone for a story: The interviewer can ask, but the subject is not required to answer. Except in court maybe, but then I think even there, they can plead the 5th or something.

[mr_lincoln]

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@bktime wrote:
I work on the days they do those chats or believe me, I’d be there!

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Ahhhhhh, and to think that I...  on MORE then one occasion ... suggested, requested, etc., that they accept "pre-registered" questions for the Weekly Chat so that people in all the other time zones who miss that one hour block of time can participate AND more importantly they could have the answer ready when the Chat starts ...

But then I realized why they don't want to accept pre-registered questions ... it would rob them of their favorite answer, "Thanks 'so and so' for the great suggestion, we will pass it on the appropriate department for further review" (ie: end of discussion).

[itsjustasprain]

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@bktime wrote:
Which 20 year old? Which 50 year old?

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That might be a valid question if he had written THE 20 year old or THE 50 year old but he didnt - and as a career journalist you know that. Now youre just playing word games. 

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@bktime wrote:
Right there you’re saying they’re all the same, yes?

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Oh come on. You know very well what he means. By getting the age of the participants then it enables them to see how answers vary by age group. If you are going to turn in an incomplete survey then you are just wasting your time by doing so & it will probably be discarded anyway. No one consciously cares what your age is. Its just for getting accurate results from the rest of your answers. If you dont want to participate then no one is forcing you to.

[bktime]

LOL. “Oh come on. You know very well what he means.” You don’t know what I know. You’re doing it now too. GOD must’ve skipped me when handing out mind-reading skills. I only get to go on my experience, education, and talents, which means I have to actually listen to what others are saying since I don’t have that assumption gene activated.

[mam98031]

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@bktime wrote:

No, I’m not reading more into what you said. Career journalist, very literal. You are overreaching in your assessment of me, which is exactly what happens when we pigeon hole people, we make assumptions about how they think. You said I was fooling myself to think that a 20 year old thinks like a 50 year old. And I asked, which 20 year old and which 50 year old. I know many people my age and my kids ages and none of us or them think alike by age group. In fact, my 50 year old republican friends are more like my kids 20 year old republican friends than they are like their democrat same-age peers. When “target” marketing moved from interest based demographics to age-based demographics, we were all removed from the interest based promotions. In the eyes of marketers, we went from 50-year-olds who ride motorcycles, dance on tables, start businesses, etc to assisted living facilities, funeral homes, and orthopedic shoes. I’m still dancing on tables in stilettos! (But boots for riding motorcycles). And way over 50.

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Because I can see value in the need to know the age of the person responding to a survey IF the questions may lend themselves to different answers by different age groups, is not in ANY way "overreaching".

Because my opinion differs than yours on that, does not mean my opinion is any less valid than yours, nor does it mean that yours is less valid than mine.  Which I've said several times that I respect your right to decline to answer the question.  As a career journalist I would think over the years you had learned not to look at any subject in such a myopic way.  

[bktime]

As a career journalist, looking at the details, getting to the root, is exactly what journalism used to be about; not just giving a cursery scan and guess. I will grant you that’s what most of the talking heads on media are doing now: regurgitating the shallow rather than taking time to look at the details and the roots and the specifics, because that’s where the answers, problems, and solutions are most often found.

[mam98031]

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@bktime wrote:
As a career journalist, looking at the details, getting to the root, is exactly what journalism used to be about; not just giving a cursery scan and guess. I will grant you that’s what most of the talking heads on media are doing now: regurgitating the shallow rather than taking time to look at the details and the roots and the specifics, because that’s where the answers, problems, and solutions are most often found.

---

Which changes nothing that I said before.  You are absolutely entitled to your opinion as is everyone else, whether they differ with yours or not.

[bktime]

You were giving an opinion. I was stating a fact. No two people of the same age are exactly alike; even twins have their differences. It is a fact that everyone is unique, with their own interests, their own thoughts, their own experiences. That is a fact. Target marketing is a way to influence and manipulate markets. Also a fact. Some of us don’t like to be targeted and manipulated. Some people do like it or don’t mind it. My beef was the REQUIREMENT of the answer, which I’ve said many times. You took the position of defending the question as relevant, but you have yet to support HOW it is relevant. The relevancy of the question was irrelevant to the REQUIREMENT of the question. Meaning, we’re talking about two different things: 1. The relevancy (which was not the point of my post), 2. The REQUIREMENT of the answer, which was the point of my post. In one response, you supported the relevancy of the question, but agreed the requirement was inappropriate. We agree on that. 🐵

[mam98031]

OK enough.  Your opinions are facts and mine are just opinions.  Got it.  I don't really think anything else needs to be said.