Category Definition Control
Controlling how a thing is classified — 'contractor' not 'employee', 'platform' not 'publisher', 'supplement' not 'drug' — to escape the rules, comparisons and scrutiny that attach to the honest category.
An everyday example
A lending product branded as a 'membership' to sit outside credit regulation and comparison sites.
What it can cost you
Evaluating something by the rules of a category it was placed in to avoid the rules of the one it belongs to.
Warning signs
- The label avoids an obvious word.
- The rules for the obvious word would apply.
One thing to do
Ask what the thing does, then apply the standards of whatever category does that, regardless of the label.
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