Rumors and Moral Hazard

From: Captain Jake (johnjac76[nospam)
Date: 03/25/04 

Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 15:36:57 -0600

I wonder if anyone else is worried about the following when it comes to these
persistent rumors about Borland personnel being lured into jobs at MSFT:

IF the subjects of the rumors are quick to dispel them when the rumors are
false, THEN this creates an expectation that any false rumor will be quickly
dispelled. THEREFORE, if a rumor arises and the subject does not quickly
dispel it, THEN this makes it even more likely to appear as valid to many
people.

This is an interesting catch-22. The rumors get fed by anything less than
omnipresence on the part of the subject of the rumor. Like all good
conspiracy theories the rumors become nearly self-validating.

[follow up to bpot] 

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