[jack9]

> The linked page doesn't say anything about what is and isn't a human subject.

Why you decided that was a claim is your own bias talking. I was pointing out the relevant section. You've tried to raise something that isn't the issue, nor is it a sensible question as you undoubtedly realized (But even so).

Every human in an experiment is a human subject. Glad we got that out of the way.

The issue is what an IRB is looking for in evaluating the ethical feasibility of an experiment.

> Experimenting on unwitting subjects is unethical

> I had hoped that by now that would be something that didn't need stating and restating.

That's because it's your opinion. Seriously, go tell your local Target or College Bookstore to stop playing with the wall colors because there is no disclosure AND they make money off of it.

[seoaeu]

To quote the department [0] as was linked elsewhere:

> An IRB evaluates “Human Subjects Research”, which has a precise technical definition according to US federal regulations (see 45 CFR 46.102), and this technical definition may not accord with intuitive understanding of concepts like “experiments” or even “experiments on people”.

[0]: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z3Nm2bfR4tH1nOGBpuOmLyoJVEi...