There are many (perhaps dubious) things I've learned from friends about how to grow/bootstrap users. If I decide to ever use any of those tactics then I'll know I'm doing something dodgy and work to mitigate any risks. I'd bet that the successful companies you're referring to also knew that they were on shaky ground and acted accordingly.
However, problems arise when startups begin to think that behaving this way is 'normal'. During the previous furore over Path grabbing address books, the CEO claimed it was "industry best practice". Just because (nearly) everyone does it, doesn't make it "best practice". It actually belongs on the 'list-of-dodgy-things' and therefore should be treated with the appropriate caution.
This is one reason I have a gripe with the "Move fast and break things" bandwagon. It's not really appropriate if you're stumbling around in a minefield.
yep - agreed that just because nearly everyone does the same thing doesn't mean its a good thing to do: nearly everyone used to own slaves (except the slaves).
However, problems arise when startups begin to think that behaving this way is 'normal'. During the previous furore over Path grabbing address books, the CEO claimed it was "industry best practice". Just because (nearly) everyone does it, doesn't make it "best practice". It actually belongs on the 'list-of-dodgy-things' and therefore should be treated with the appropriate caution.
This is one reason I have a gripe with the "Move fast and break things" bandwagon. It's not really appropriate if you're stumbling around in a minefield.