Redhook,

I suppose if he was intentionally trying to foul hook fish a using a FLOAT, that would certainly make him an idiot.
Snagging with a float would have to rank next to fishing without a hook as the least effective means possible.

But, if he is trying to fool the fish with an egg imitation without hooking it deep in the gullet by using a hang back hook, well that would be a fairly common ethical practice in many places, especially for trout or steelhead where there is very little current as in Great Lakes area.
Not as common a technique out here with our higher gradient streams, but that doesn't make it wrong or ineffective either.

FYI, beads with or without a float can be as, or more, effective than corkies or glo bugs at times. When the Cedar River was open, for years I was consistently out fished by a guy who used them exclusively. For quite awhile I thought he was an idiot too. Looking back I can see now who the real idiot was.