NOBLEWITNESS UPDATE - On Promises, Contracts, and Integrity

We called our witness Hive account@noblewitness because we believe that honesty and integrity are the best policy. That’s why our tagline is “the no bull witness.” A major part of integrity is following through on your promises and honoring contracts once they’re agreed upon.

This strikes most of you guys as painfully obvious, I’m sure. After all, you’re supposed to keep your promises. We all learn that as kids. If you promise to do something for someone--especially when they give you something in exchange for that promise--the right thing to do is to follow through. That’s the essence of contract. You offer something of value or a promise to perform a certain task to someone else, in exchange for that someone giving you something of value or performing something you want done.

Hive account@gmuxx was fortunate enough last week to score a discounted ticket to Steemfest. Aside from just how awesome it is to have a ticket to go at all, this was doubly crucial for the witness team because he’s the only one that can go. Hive account@anarcho-andrei is in school, Hive account@sircork went down to Steemfiesta, and Hive account@rhondak has put all of her money into TARC and rescuing puppies, leaving no funds to buy a ticket and accomodations.

Hive account@theuxyeti was the one that offered the ticket. You can see the terms they agreed to below, as well as the development of the situation that led to this post:

That last statement, made by Yeti, is him breaking a binding promise that he made to Gmuxx. He agreed/promised to give Gmuxx a ticket to Steemfest for a certain price, and Gmuxx agreed/promised to pay it. Further, he promised to hold the ticket while Gmuxx paid the total price of the ticket in installments. Folks, this is a contract.

A contract is an agreement between two or more parties creating obligations that are enforceable under the law. This agreement may include promises exchanged for each other, or promises exchanged for performance of an act. Once the terms are assented to by both parties, the contract binds both parties to their promises. This is especially true when there is valuable consideration--like money--given by one party in exchange for something the other party is offering.

A party breaches a contract by failing, or indicating that they will fail, to perform their previously agreed to promise. When a party has breached their contract in this manner (a total breach), the other party has a right to demand specific performance under the contract. In other words, the person who was expecting the other to do what they promised is within their rights to demand they follow through.

This is what people are sued for in court.

Make no mistake, the exchange between Yeti and Muxx was absolutely a contract. Yeti agreed to sell Muxx his ticket for a certain price, and Muxx agreed to pay the price. Further, they agreed on a scheme of payment in installment, where Yeti would hold the ticket until Muxx paid the full amount. Once they agreed, they created legally-binding obligations to each other. Muxx followed through with his as per their contract.

Yeti, on the other hand, did not. Not only did he refuse to honor his promise under the contract, he made it clear he was selling the ticket to someone else--a ticket which Muxx was legally entitled to under their contract.

Hive account@theuxyeti is, without a doubt, a stunning example of bad character. There was no excuse offered for Yeti breaking his promise and breaching the contract he had with Muxx. Circumstances hadn’t changed that made it impossible for him to offer Muxx the ticket. No misfortune had befallen him. Instead, he screwed over someone he’d entered into a contract with for nothing more than convenience.

We’re the No Bull Witness, and we’re not going to let that slide. If you have dealings with Hive account@theuxyeti, be wary and keep an eye on him. If he’s broken a promise this egregiously once, there is no doubt he’ll do it again.