Yeah, I mean at the end of the day there is clearly a spectrum of conversion rate optimizing stuff you can do, some of which is fine and some of which is unethi

Yeah, I mean at the end of the day there is clearly a spectrum of conversion rate optimizing stuff you can do, some of which is fine and some of which is unethical. A/B testing the color of your add to cart button and using the one that converts best? I think it'd be a little crazy to argue that's unethical manipulation. Lying to customers about the product to get them to buy? Obviously bad. Silly obnoxious social proof popup is clearly on the ethical side in my view (my issue was never ethics, just that I personally find them very annoying). I'm not misleading anyone (it does in fact show real purchases) or forcing anyone to do anything. If that's the difference between you buying or not, I still feel perfectly comfortable that you made the choice of your own free will.