At Barnes & Noble, the coffee shop is next to the magazines for sale. Many coffee drinkers grab multiple magazines and take them to their table with their coffee and read them. Then most, but not all, put the magazines back in the racks without paying for them. They’re “stealing” content that’s meant to be purchased. Is this a form of shoplifting? —name withheld
Maybe the real question is: What does the store think? Bookstores allow some consumption of unpurchased content, like flipping through a book before you buy. And a Barnes & Noble with a coffee shop is going for a certain vibe; there are business benefits in being welcoming. That’s why the company encourages you to sit in the coffee shop, use its Wi-Fi, and read e-books free on your Nook. Managers could crack down on the behavior, but they generally don’t. And, of course, the store has put magazines near the seating area. In sum, it isn’t just coffee drinkers who are acting as if what they’re doing is OK. Barnes & Noble is too.
—Adapted from “The Ethicist” in The New York Times Magazine