|
My take on it:
OP was naive about legalities of business, and had unrealistic expectations. Companies can indeed demand "you must have a credit card to do business with us, including getting access to our freebies."
However, Amazon downplays information they don't want widely known; their "must have credit card to use a much-advertised Kindle feature" policy is not easy to find on the website, and no explanation for it is given. (Nor is it required; companies are not required by law to explain their business decisions.)
Several other posters verbally attacked OP for being naive and not wanting to link a credit card to the Kindle. Whether OP has the resources to have a credit card is fairly irrelevant for that.
I can think of several very legit reasons for not being able to link a credit card to an account: student in non-US country where banks don't hand out ccards like party favors, bankruptcy problems, person is financially incompetent & not legally allowed to manage his/her money, person is a minor. (My daughter's in this category--I'm not getting a credit card for my 14-year-old, so she has no access to Amazon's books for the Kindle she received as a gift. So far, she's fine with that.)
The reasons are irrelevant. For a forum that's very tolerant of "I don't like PDF" and "I want a reader without wireless" and "I don't touch DRM," it was surprising to read "you should get a credit card! it's easy! If you can't get one, you shouldn't have a Kindle!" ... as if a lack of ability--or desire--to link a credit card to one's wireless reader invalidated any desire to use the device.
I normally like MR debates. I see a lot of "if you don't like/can't do [X], your options include A, B and C; D and E are only available with X, sorry." It was almost shocking to read "if you don't like/can't do [X], you're doing it wrong. Anyone can do [X] so quit complaining about not having access to D and E."
(I don't know that I'd say the thread was locked because of "discrimination." I think that's flamebait. But it was locked because of bickering, and a level of insults I'm not accustomed to at Mobileread.)
|