I read a meme yesterday about how you can just interject "it's all about finding that balance" into any meeting and people will just agree with you. I'm gonna say it here.
Sometimes a flexible tool fits the bill well. Sometimes a specialized tool does. It's all about finding that balance.
What's your argument here? That corrupt police who run protection rackets are worth it because they will, in the end, actually protect your family from gangs of 100+ people?
"on the job"? Most likely. But I spent a lot of time and money getting a degree from an accredited university, where I was bored the whole time and maxing out the number of credit hours they would let me take while also working as much as I could. Why? Because I could've aced the first 2 years of CS classes by the time I was 13. I would imagine that's not uncommon among people who grew up with a hacker mindset and had the resources to explore it. I surely had gaps in my knowledge - not saying I didn't learn anything from the college experience. But I would love to live in a world where I didn't feel like I would, at some point, be better off with an accredited 4-year degree just to get or keep a job in the first place.
Same as with an IRA, though, it's intended for retirement savings and there are penalties for early withdrawal. The issue here (right or wrong) is self-directed IRAs being effectively usable for things other than growth investments.
I think at this point we're reading too much into specific units to compare very distinct things. The point of the analogy either way is the compounding effect of seemingly small things repeated.
I think their analysis is mistaken. I think NYT lawyers could successfully argue that virtual chat complies, at least enough that they'd get a slap on the wrist at worst. From the law linked in your article:
(b) A business that makes automatic renewal or continuous service offers shall provide a toll-free telephone number, electronic mail address, a postal address if the seller directly bills the consumer, or another cost-effective, timely, and easy-to-use mechanism for cancellation that shall be described in the acknowledgment specified in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a).
Edit: I do see a later clause that says transactions that start online have to be endable online. But there's no stipulation that it be a simple "click". Even though I think this is scummy, I think they're within the letter of the law.
Sometimes a flexible tool fits the bill well. Sometimes a specialized tool does. It's all about finding that balance.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk.