Where We Draw the Line – Clearly and Publicly
In a world of shady “hacks” and questionable advice, we believe radical transparency about our limits is our greatest strength.
OUR NON-NEGOTIABLE RULES
1. LEGALITY IS THE FLOOR, NOT THE CEILING
Just because something is legal doesn’t mean we’ll teach it. We apply three additional filters:
Ethical impact – Does this harm others or the system’s legitimate functions?
Sustainability – Will this work long-term or just create backlash?
Accessibility – Can ordinary people implement this without special resources?
2. WE DON’T EXPLOIT TECHNICALITIES THAT HARM OTHERS
Finding a bug in a company’s billing system that lets you get services for free? That’s theft. Finding a published policy that allows fee waivers under specific conditions? That’s using the system as designed.
3. WE REJECT “VIGILANTE JUSTICE”
We don’t advocate:
Harassing customer service representatives
Filing frivolous lawsuits or complaints
Organizing mass abuse of systems
Any form of retaliation against individuals
4. WE PROTECT PRIVACY AND DATA
We never teach:
Social engineering or pretexting
Unauthorized access to systems or data
Data scraping that violates terms of service
Any method that compromises personal information
SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF WHAT WE WON’T TEACH
✅ WHAT WE DO TEACH:
Using regulatory required grace periods to your advantage
Understanding how algorithms work to improve your outcomes
Leveraging consumer protection laws they hope you don’t know
Finding legitimate deductions and credits in tax code
❌ WHAT WE NEVER TEACH:
How to commit fraud or deception
How to exploit system bugs or errors
How to harass or threaten employees
How to manipulate systems for illegal profit
How to avoid legitimate financial obligations
WHEN WE SAY NO
We regularly investigate strategies that ultimately fail our ethics test. Recent examples:
A billing system flaw that could provide free services (theft)
A regulatory gap that could be exploited to harm competitors (anti-competitive)
A legal technicality that would burden public systems (social cost)
OUR ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISMS
Public challenge process – Anyone can question our ethics on any guide
Independent review board – External experts audit our methodologies
Transparency reports – Quarterly publication of what we investigated but rejected
Guide retirement – Removing guides when systems change or new ethical concerns emerge
WHY THIS MATTERS
The most dangerous rebel is an ethical one. We’re not trying to break systems – we’re trying to make them work as advertised. We believe in accountability, transparency, and playing the game better than those who designed it.
The revolution we’re building isn’t against rules – it’s for understanding. And understanding requires boundaries.
The bottom line: If we wouldn’t teach it to our grandmothers, we won’t teach it to you.