At the "Ask the expert" session, David Moore brought up the discussion regarding the thunderbird chip in question. The "expert," a most reputable person in the club, responded that as long as the seller did not falsify any statement, then he did nothing wrong. When further asked if omission of a fact was the same as lying, he said no.
It is the contention of both David and myself and a number of others (none of whom are attorneys) that ethically, and even though possibly not legally, the omission of recently acquired knowledge effecting the value of a chip should be available to all concerned. It is then up to the individual to bid whatever he wishes for the particular chip in question.
Only a select few--those attending the convention-- were aware of the Thunderbird find. I am concerned about the other members who were not able to attend and who bid on a chip thinking they were getting a Z3 rated chip.
I am not even going to address the ethic of the seller(s) as I don't know them. I am concerned about the "expert" who feels that the seller is ethically correct by not disclosing pertinent facts about the chip as he knows it.
I hope I heard the response by the expert incorrectly. And since neither of the other two experts who participated on the panel disagreed, then possibly David and I misinterpreted the answer. And if so, I apologize. If not, however, then I believe our ethics board take up this question.
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