Photo: Flexpeditions, Revelstoke, January 4 2021: The photo has nothing to do with this post's content, as is the case with most of my website entries. I connect philosophy and being philosophical with nature in an abstract sense.
Shill
• Shill: THE CONCISE OXFORD DICTIONARY (1995) ‘Shill’, Della Thompson (ed.), Oxford, Clarendon Press.
• Paraphrased from the text: Noun: North American English, a person employed to decoy or entice others into buying, gambling etcetera. (1277). Probably from earlier 'shillaber' which is, according to Oxford, of unknown origins. (1277).
• Non-exhaustive online examples cited
• Shill bidding is when someone bids on an item to artificially increase its price, desirability, or search standing.
• Shill bidding can happen regardless of whether the bidder knows the seller. However, when someone bidding on an item knows the seller, they might have information about the seller's item that other shoppers aren't aware of. This could create an unfair advantage, or cause another bidder to pay more than they should. We want to maintain a fair marketplace for all our users, and as such, shill bidding is prohibited on eBay. For more details on what constitutes shill bidding, please see our full policy guidelines below.
• Pokerterms.com
• A casino employee who plays on house money and helps start or fill games.
• Explained : Shills are employees of the casino who play solely when they are needed to help start a game or to keep an existing one going. These players play with house money and if they lose the house takes the loss.
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• Example of a shill: I am employed by X and do not publicly reveal that I am employed by X while I write a testimonial for X on a website visible to the public.
• Based on the examples noted, a shill is an employee that is hiding his/her employment, while promoting a product of the employer.
Attestant
• What about the technically self-employed individual that receives money from X, directly or indirectly, for services rendered, which could include promoting a product of X?
• The person could/should publicly, in honesty, explain his/her involvement with X as self-employed or an affiliate and/or business partner of X, for example.
• But this could still occur without necessarily explaining all the financial benefits to that self-employed individual by promoting X to others with a testimonial.
• I suppose such a person could provide an employee/affiliate testimonial, as long as it is made clear to the public that it is an employee/affiliate testimonial.
• Merriam-Webster: defines attestation as 'an act or instance of attesting something'. This would be to serve as an attestant.
• Synonyms for attestation: 'confirmation, corroboration, documentation, evidence, proof, substantiation, testament, testimonial, testimony, validation, voucher, witness'.
• But my deduction is that in many cases the differences between a shill and an attestant are blurred and unclear.
• A relative, or friend, could promote for X, Not necessarily receiving a financial benefit, but with various possible motives in each case.
• Note, that only the infinite God, with omniscience has the ability to fully judge the motives of a human being (Revelation 20-22, 2 Corinthians 5).
