I think both
Rodney and
final_identity are mostly on point here. And normally I think I wouldn't even agree!!
But regarding your friend, yes he is:
1) being lazy, by asking you all to find an "affluent" church for him, I guess
2) taking advantage of your friendship, which sometimes could be called "networking"...
3) is a "user" indeed
But I would also call that a form of
"Social Engineering", which can be used for both good and bad. It's a "hacker" term.
yes we "hackers" are the
BAD GUYS (sarcasm there)
I myself am good at social engineering, and I've never used it to harm anyone, either, but some people do.
lurkette -- I would say that you are a step ahead of him because you recognize his game. You know it, so try your best to protect yourself against it (and the others who may not recognize it). I would avoid helping him out as far as you can, but you don't gotta be rude either. He's only going by what he knows, which may/may not be the wrong way. Joining a church just to get connections & clients is the wrong way IMHO, but it works too. He'll probably get more business.
My outlook is that it's really up to the people he comes in contact with. They've got to learn to protect themselves against jackasses who try to take advantage of them.
Just by posting this thread, it seems you know this and you are protecting yourself from this nonsense too!
