The Consumerist

I've been meaning to rant about this consumer advocacy blog for a while, but never got around to it. There is a lot of good information on their site worth reading, but there is also a truckload of crap to sift through.

Let's take for instance the massive number of receipt checking complaints that get posted. Apparently, letting Wal-Mart employees harmlessly glance over our receipts will lead us into a dictatorship. I can understand complaining about being wrongfully detained or searched, but really those guys take a look at your receipt and you walk out (unless you're actually stealing). Why do people object to this practice so strongly? Do you want to show the person your receipt and be done in 2-5 seconds, or do you want to argue about your right for 10+ minutes? One guy even assaulted a receipt checker for Christ's sake. If there's one question that I would ask that guy, it would be "Was it worth it?" There's no consumer advocacy going on in these posts. Just stupidity. They advocate irrational behavior. Really, what's the harm in letting someone glance at your receipt? Are you buying tons of porn, illegal drugs, and other things that they probably don't sell at Wal-Mart? The only time I can really understand the need for privacy is when purchasing medications (I don't know if they print those names on the receipts anyhow). But all the receipt stories on the blog are for shower racks, or groceries. I mean, seriously, will it kill you if some stranger knows that you're having spaghetti for dinner?

Then there are the commenters. Oh man, don't even get me started on them. They're stupid. One recent commenter claimed he could prove merchandise exchange fraud by looking at a 494x369 pixel picture. Really? That iPod wouldn't fit in a different generation iPod's box without creating a bulge? It doesn't sit flush you say? It looks like it would be easy to squeeze in if it's not already in it's carrier there, though with such a low resolution picture it would be incredibly difficult to say.

Here's the picture I'm referring to:

The Consumerist was once my favorite information blog, but now I feel I've squeezed it of all its usefulness. The occasional new and useful posts are usually links to other sites anyhow.

/rant