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Why does Robin Hood Software behave like this?

RHS probably stumbled upon their initial "scare" tactics by observing tactics in other industries. I've talked to the former president of a company which used similar tactics for many years (until he hired a new VP of Marketing who said "This is unprofessional" and put an end to it), and he said "hey, those ads kept us in business for ten years, they must have worked." Of course, the new VP of Marketing's advertising campaign tripled the size of the company within six years and resulted in a lucrative buyout by a larger company so it's obvious that "it works" doesn't mean "it's the best way", but a smaller company like RHS is probably afraid to mess with a formula that so far is proving lucrative for them. After all, there's a sucker born every day, and scare tactics work on enough of them to make a tidy living for at least today.

In addition, Jolly olde England has a long history of "tabloid" journalism similar to what you see in the National Enquirer here in the 'States. What these tabloids have discovered over the years is that scandal sells -- and it doesn't matter whether it's a real scandal or a manufactured scandal.

My original thought about RHS's appropriately-named DisInformation page was that it was an attempt to manufacture a scandal out of thin air in order to sell their product -- nothing more than tabloid-style yellow journalism, in other words. But recent additions to that page bring up a more chilling possibility: That the people in charge of Robin Hood Software have lost their grip on reality.

My take on their latest revision (as of March 8, 2002) of their DisInformation page is that Andy Churchill (who I presume is maintaining the web site) maintains that Robin Hood Software is the victim of a vast New World Order conspiracy consisting of Wired News, Motorola, the Department of Defense, Carnegie-Mellon University, TechTV, Vulcan Investments, Paul Allen, CIA, Internet.com, PC-Help, Radsoft, Eric Lee Green, and law enforcement officials and "anti-privacy" advocates everywhere.

The scope of this vast conspiracy would be frightening, if it wasn't so absurd. There are some rational questions that can be asked about this "vast conspiracy" -- such as why these "vast anti-privacy forces" are not focusing upon other privacy software. Like most paranoics they have a ready-made excuse -- "all our competitors are in the pay of the Conspiracy!". Uh huh. Ask a rational question, get a delusional answer. Time to fit Andy for an AFDB, I think. Obviously those mind control lasers are having the desired effect upon his conception of reality. Or maybe the UN/NWO/Amish conspiracy has managed to sneak some psychotropic drugs into his water supply? Or maybe he just keeps forgetting his meds?

Now, here's a question: Do you want software written by someone whose own website is full of paranoid delusional rantings? How in the world can you trust someone whose own website is so delusional?

Aluminum Foil Man Is this one of the staff at Robin Hood Software out for a stroll, clad in aluminum foil in order to defeat those nasty mind control lasers?

Last modified: Tue Jul 22 08:09:09 MST 2003