Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT Strips 3656-3660 (15th to 19th January 2018)
SpanielBear:
--- Quote from: JoeCovenant on 19 Jan 2018, 06:44 ---
--- Quote from: SpanielBear on 18 Jan 2018, 09:51 ---
--- Quote from: JoeCovenant on 18 Jan 2018, 09:27 ---
--- Quote from: SpanielBear on 18 Jan 2018, 07:45 ---Her confused reaction to Melon offering $100 could be because she feels that's a lot, but she's gonna take it because a) small business and b) she did work for a customer.
That's supposition on my part, I accept, but it does seem to fit with what we're shown
--- End quote ---
Quite apart from the fact that Faye's reaction (I would not remotely call it "confusion") came from the fact that she KNEW being offered $100 for turning off a battery powered... 'massage device'... was utterly insane... (By the sounds of things she didn't even give her new batteries. ("It NEEDS new batteries", not, "It only needed new batteries")
$100 for a 30 second 'fix'? Nah, Faye was *wrong* to take it.
And the important part is not that the $100 was offered. It's that it was offered with the words "Is that a good amount to offer you?"
Faye, instead of saying "Whoa! Dude! That's like WAY too much!", saw the cash and answered in a literal sense that it "was" a "good amount" to give to her, because $100 is a good amount of money. That was what her reaction was.
But she knew she was exploiting Melon... that is undeniable.
And that's what is jarring when we look at Faye's character.
As has been mentioned above, if that little nugget got out, the business would collapse screaming.
And it really seems out-of-character for Faye to rip someone off like that... that's all.
--- End quote ---
If I take my laptop to a repair shop, they check it over and see it is just a broken battery, and tell me I need a new one, they would still charge me a consultation fee. It's them valuing their time and the fact that they provided a service I could not. And that's before I make them touch something of unknown provenance. I'd find $100 bucks expensive (and very weird as I live in the UK), but a flat £40 consultation fee (around $50 I think?) isn't unusual.
What's more, you keep saying exploited like Melon is a vulnerable adult without agency. We know she holds down a job (however creepy), can manage interpersonal relationships and decide whether something is of reasonable value to her (see her complaining about the $75 ass repair). She may not know what a sex toy is, but she isn't an absolute naif. Faye could have asked for Melon to give her less, but to say that she *had* to or else exploitation is essentially saying Melon is a child who needs protection, which is not something the strip has ever implied.
What's more more, Faye is utterly surrounded by wacky AI high-jinks(tm). In one week she may be expected to create a robo-dong, fix an ass, repair a fighting obsessed accountant's punching arm on daily basis and then diagnose an angry sex toy. Trying to impose logic was a lost cause about 3000 strips ago, now just rolling with the punches is how she gets through the day. She has learned that AI's are agents, but not necessarily human ones with human drives or decision making. So she doesn't question when they do things she finds weird, especially on the rare occasions it benefits her.
What's more more more... I got nothing. Rule of three.
--- End quote ---
Hmmm.. see, *I* think that what you just described to me above.. *is* exploitation...
(I don't see any correlation whatsoever in checking a laptop's battery with unscrewing the battery cap on a 'massage aid'.
And any business that charged a full hour's "consultation" fee for 10 seconds of work would soon lose a LOT of work.)
Don't get me wrong... there are always REALLY weird things in this strip about money.
(Remember the "consultation fee" that Clinton was basically menaced out of?)
But this one jarred, because Faye isn't like that...
Yes, it was a joke, but at detriment to character.
(Sorry, I'm all caught up in "story-telling" right now (you probably notice din the Star Wars thread... things like this are appearing like raw, open wounds to me just now!) :) )
--- End quote ---
Star Wars is a can of wyrms...
No need to apologise for defending your point of view, as long as we aren't de-railing the thread I've been enjoying the discussion. And it's not like I *know* what Jeph intends to do or how he wanted that interaction to be perceived- next week could easily prove me wrong.
That said, I am interested in what you mean by exploitation here, because that seems to be where our main disagreement lies. 'Cause even I think $100 is a lot of money. But to me, exploitation would be where an individual or organisation in a position of power takes advantage of a weaker entity, in an unbalanced relationship where the weaker entity feels or is actually unable to prevent the relationship occurring.
So why I don't think it applies in this case is two-fold: Firstly, the imbalance isn't there- Melon and Faye are operating in a regular client/customer relationship, and there is no indication that either is acting outside of those common roles. Secondly, even if we do assert that this relationship is unequal (say due to Faye's human privilege), it still remains that Melon was not in a position where she was forced to give Faye the money- she offered it freely. If that is problematic, we are back to arguing as to whether Melon has capacity, or should be seen as especially vulnerable, which I don't think she is.
tldr- Melon paid first #awfulStarWarsjoke.
fayelovesbubbles:
Does anyone remember when Raven compared Faye being mean to a kitty scratching someone? Faye's comparison isn't unique to AIs. I don't think Faye meant anything bad by it.
I can be abrasive and I know I've even made the comparison of myself to cats that nobody takes at the shelter because they aren't immediately sweet and friendly.
traroth:
--- Quote from: fayelovesbubbles on 19 Jan 2018, 08:03 ---Does anyone remember when Raven compared Faye being mean to a kitty scratching someone? Faye's comparison isn't unique to AIs. I don't think Faye meant anything bad by it.
I can be abrasive and I know I've even made the comparison of myself to cats that nobody takes at the shelter because they aren't immediately sweet and friendly.
--- End quote ---
One might argue that being compared to a cat is not nearly as insulting as being compared to a dog. Yeah, it's unfair for the dogs...
In several languages, "dog" is an insult. I don't know any where "cat" is.
Fun fact: Faye's comparison works exactly the same with a cat. Maybe she should have chosen a more purring animal...
JoeCovenant:
--- Quote from: SpanielBear on 19 Jan 2018, 07:11 ---
tldr- Melon paid first #awfulStarWarsjoke.
--- End quote ---
Excuse the snippage... (Page is becoming too "JoeCovenant Quote" heavy even for MY liking, so I can imagine others chagrin! :) )
I think your tldr actually sums up my problem.
Melon didn't *pay* - she asked if the money she offered was enough.
IE: Melon put herself into Faye's hands re: what this should cost (if ANYTHING).
Faye took it all = Exploitation.
(That's basically my entire argument in three sentences! Why can't I do that all the time!??!?)
("Yeah, Dude! Why CAN'T you!?" - Entire Forum Readership... :)
JoeCovenant:
--- Quote from: traroth on 19 Jan 2018, 08:12 ---
--- Quote from: fayelovesbubbles on 19 Jan 2018, 08:03 ---Does anyone remember when Raven compared Faye being mean to a kitty scratching someone? Faye's comparison isn't unique to AIs. I don't think Faye meant anything bad by it.
I can be abrasive and I know I've even made the comparison of myself to cats that nobody takes at the shelter because they aren't immediately sweet and friendly.
--- End quote ---
One might argue that being compared to a cat is not nearly as insulting as being compared to a dog. Yeah, it's unfair for the dogs...
In several languages, "dog" is an insult. I don't know any where "cat" is.
--- End quote ---
'Catty' can be seen as an insult.
'Pussy' certainly can!
But yeah.. Dogz ROOL! :) (or is that Dogs Drool??)
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