While the Premium button is immediately available and the other isn't, they have both the same size, and furthermore it's made very clear from the prominent comparison table that there was a Free version and the differences between the two. How exactly is this hidden?
Is the Premium version slightly more prominent? Sure. But calling it "tricking people" is misrepresenting it completely, in my opinion.
> While the Premium button is immediately available and the other isn't
Since we're talking about "the average user", the argument should probably stop here. Most people on the internet will click the first button that looks like it will get them what they want, usually without even reading the rest of the page. Hell, they may skim past the word "Premium" in their rush to hit "download".
Sorry, but while I'm a great supporter of consumer rights - even of things that many US citizens consider appalling, like our 2 year minimum warranty - I think there's a point at which the responsibility lies on the person; it's a gray area, but I believe MU had more than surpassed that. Otherwise, we should start suing knife makers for not including a label that says "Not to stab people", newspapers for link-baiting titles that scare readers, or even simple bad designs.
Besides, and even if they did maliciously cause people to overlook the free option, that still isn't tricking people into paying. They didn't exactly charge your CC when you clicked on the Premium button; people were willingly paying for access to the content by inserting their CC information and getting what they were looking for. Offering a service for a price that you can get otherwise for free is not tricking people.
The primary revenue/profit driver of MU was illegal content. You can spin it however you want. They knew it, I know it, and you know it.
> Otherwise, we should start suing knife makers for not including a label that says "Not to stab people",
Not that I'm going to take your bait, but if the primary function/use of the knife was to stab someone, then sure, we should. But instead we use it in mostly in other ways.
You're mixing apples and oranges. If you read my replies to your posts, I was disputing your claim that MU tricked people, not that it was use for copyright infringement.
The "premium" download button was prominent, and the other options were not, and sometimes hidden.
They made a science of maximizing the clicking into the premium download funnel, because that was their business model.