Does anyone else here feel that our freedom of speech is in great peril? Before all this VISA stuff came down the pipe I was already feeling like I should move overseas as an expatriot. Pretty sad since my whole life I never considered there could be someone more patriotic than myself.
It doesn't seem right that VISA gets to pick and choose it's own rules when in fact they are the defacto currency for uncountable trillions of dollars. It doesn't seem to me that they are accountable to anyone for anything. It's like they are their own soverign nation.
People say that VISA is protecting it's ass or it's bottom line - I don't believe it. There are no hoards of consumers banding together to sue VISA for the actions of merchants. I don't want to hear a bitch and moan session about VISA's financial woe's when in fact they conspired some 30 years ago to create a nation completely indebted. Yeah, I used the conspiracy word. By virtue of the fact that VISA affects everyone, everywhere, they should be subject to the same scrutiny and fairness of other such far-reaching things.
I'd HAPPILY contribute to an organized effort, a war chest perhaps, of legal defense and public awareness funds. Let's get a prominent law firm or perhaps the ACLU to find something here that sticks. We all agree that CP, animal stuff, teen 'modeling' is wrong and should be abolished. Can you believe we were all excited when that was the first thing that hit? Well, now the other shoe has dropped and it should be plain as day to each and every one of you that the undertones of this battle are religious (at best) and that nothing any of us does online is acceptable to them.
Take for example what we are hearing now about 'descriptors' on credit card statements. Are they going to start printing "13 inch dildo" on people's credit card statements when they buy from Adam and Eve too? What happened to privacy? What about the tens of millions of satisfied customers that we all have? What about all the fucking perverts, will there no longer be a safe outlet for them?
The irony about the impending descriptor changes is how pissed I was when I managed my own merchant account because I discovered that not all issuing banks even printed my number on their customer's statements. How was I supposed to avoid chargebacks and give good customer service without them even doing that? And NOW they want to print full website names? Fucked up.
Let's make some fucking noise. Let's get word out to journals, papers, tv stations. The media is liberal, let's see if there isn't something here that appeals to their better judgement. Let's appeal to the masses of people that will support us and call their congressperson. Theoretically, there are things we can do here to effect change.
How about some law firm steps up to the plate? Most of the people around here won't contribute anything but I know that enough of us with means absolutely would if there was a game plan. Where the hell are all the lawyers that we see at the shows? There's money here, I can't believe nobody is chasing it.
Let's organize a class action lawsuit against Visa. They can't simply apply these new rules to adult web sites and let PayPal, etc, get away with their processing. The numbers will show that online fraud is perpetrated crosses all mediums and that it is a systemic problem.
Our current problem is two-fold:
1) Customers know how to beat the system and get a free ride. There is a whole subculture of people that are either too irresponsible to have the luxury of a chargecard or are just simply thieves. Let's run some statistics on people with multiple chargebacks!! I'm 27 years old and I've run about $400,000 through my chargecards - more than most will in a lifetime. I have two chargebacks to date and both are for mail order shopping.
2) The system is antiquated. They're enacting rules that simply preclude honest business people from transacting. Systems are hypothetically supposed to protect the innocent. I want VISA to show me a feasibility study that the bulk of online subscription and information based businesses can maintain a less than 1:100 chargeback rate. The burden is on them to show that it is possible. It's discriminatory that only adult services are being targeted. Everybody fucks and the only country that doesn't like to admit that is the US.
I'm just ranting. Fuck!! Why hasn't this made the news? Doesn't anybody see the big picture? The system precludes a 1% chargeback ratio as there is simply NO way to prove a purchase without a signature which is NEVER received when a service is purchased instead of a deliverable.
Some lawyer or group of lawyers needs to come forward. There's enough money to pay their salaries and also get some good PR everywhere. Let's make this a bigger issue people, somebody has to fight the good fight. We all agree about taking CP and the bad stuff out by getting their wallets - but now they're trying to neuter sexuality altogether. What is happening is just dirty.
I've got money so I'll always have my websites, phone sex, other projects. I don't mind that these new challenges will thin out our numbers a little bit, I think it's healthy that the industry grows up some. I do, however, object to the fact that this goes beyond legislating morality (which is commonly done) and to the extent of using the international banking system as a tool to say that we can't sell access to sexual material online. We're all sexual beings and that view is narrow and discriminatory. Don't think that could happen here? Uh, look at Australia people...
Next thing you know we won't be able to sell access to gay sites because it's obscene. You know, being gay is against god right? As if! We have to stop them somewhere. It's pretty fucking lame that our government is full of such inadequate investigators and prosecutors that they have to try and put us all out of business instead of getting the people that are truly doing harm.
This is like taking everyone's cars away because there are simply too many accidents on the road and then saying well there are still other ways one can get to work (walking, biking)..... when the obvious solution is to just add more policemen to traffic patrol.
I'm never voting Republican again... or Democrat for a first time.
Brad