One of the foremost guiding factors at zentao.com is integrity. Our ethical standards are the highest, and we won't compromise those standards, regardless of how much we're offered in perks or monetary conpensation.Because of the nature of a webmaster's position, a client's information as well as that client's customer's information is freely available. Some webmasters will avail themselves of this information. We don't and won't. It is the nature of our lifeway that guides our spiritual decisions, and that lifeway dictates the walking of the high path.
"I've had other webmasters, and everyone of them snooped through my online business regularly. One of them even used a customer's credit card information illegally. You guys never snoop. In fact, I wish you'd snoop a little more. It would save my having to explain things so much and these constant emails back and forth. But I like that you don't, so ignore my last whining... ."
Excerpt from a client's email concerning a change she wished in her cart's settings.
We don't and won't snoop around your website. In the first place, we're too busy. Second, we're not interested. We don't get paid on percentages of gross. In fact, the only things we monitor are those things you pay us to monitor, if you choose those options in your contract.
"I want to thank you. You did it. I don't know how, but I am sincerely grateful. Doug was right when he said you guys were trustworthy and honest. I didn't know you from Adam, but you went to bat for us and got the job done. Here is your fee and a little bit extra for all your time and trouble."
We rescued a large corporation's domain being held for ransom by another web design company. We charged them what we charged anyone at that time despite the fact that they were desperate and had deep pockets.
Much as we do not enjoy jumping through hoops, battling domain registrars, and running interference around less than high scrupled web developers, we do it. Why? Because no-one deserves to have their names, their content, their lives, their domains or their websites held ransom. Most of the time, it is a simple misunderstanding. Sometimes it's just plain bad feelings and vindictiveness. But there are ways to curtail issues, and even more ways to force the hands of those who would do harm.
We don't believe in harm. In fact, even when we wind up getting the short end of the stick in a web client/webmaster relationship, we will not hold that domain or website for ransom.
It is a fact that there are some clients who use and abuse. There are others who we are just unable to please, no matter what. And when they decide to move on or we ask them to find a new service, we do our utmost to ease the domain and website transfer to the new webmaster. And we don't just shut the site down, even when the new webmaster hasn't met the transfer deadline. It is our belief that treating others as we ourselves wish to be treated has to be the guiding principle in life and business.
"I can't believe that you won't build our website. Pop-up advertising is proven to get attention!"
Angry IM on "Human Click" (early version) after initial submission of a web design request form by a visitor to zentao.
We will not build sites where, integral to the client's plan, is the use of spyware, persistent tracking cookies, malicious code, persistent pop-ups, DHTML/flash ad overlays, hostile scripts... . Unfortunately, sometimes we build innocent sites, only to have a client then go to another webmaster to have them embed the bad stuff. We screen our projects, but liars and miscreants do slip things over sometimes. Of course, in the end, they wind up trumped by their own misactions.
"All I want is for you to perk the site up. Dress it up and make it smooth and shiny. I like your sites. They're fast and easy. Tom [Surname deleted]'s got nothing but praise for the job you did on his. I'm willing to pay and pay well."
We refused this fellow outright, even though he came back twice more after our initial refusal. Reason? Sex site. Nope. We don't do them.
We won't work on some projects, regardless of how much compensation is offered. It's pretty simple. If it is something any of us here wouldn't be proud to show our mothers, we won't work on it. We don't work on sex sites, hate sites (bigotry, prejudice, violence, inhumanity to any form of life, et al.), sites promoting any form of something we consider immoral or unethical, warez sites, sites for clients who wish to scam, spam, bait and switch, MLM, or promote pyramid schemes. There's more, of course, but to list them all would be exhaustive. Let's just say that, if it derives itself from something perpetrated by the darker side of human nature, we will not work on it.
We will work on sites that other teams won't, though. We have no prejudice concerning belief, thoughtway, or premise, except when that way promotes harm, hate, or anything we previously mentioned as against our principles.
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2005 zentao.com, DLKeur and FW Lineberry. All
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