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ElevenLatheyesterday at 8:40 PM2 repliesview on HN

Your morality is pretty strange if it equates ignoring some of the more odious terms in a hundred-page click-through EULA to knowingly engaging in wage theft. I would honestly like to hear you explain that further.


Replies

Aarostotleyesterday at 9:48 PM

The moral principle here is just property rights.

One case is more complex than the other, but that does not change the fundamental.

Two cases: 1) Two parties agree to a trade under certain terms, one party decides he does not like the terms, and decides he wants to take the benefit without complying with the agreement. 2) One party decides he does not like the offered terms, does not accept the agreement, but takes the benefit anyway.

With that said, I think you have a point that the current way EULAs work are questionable under contract law. They're specifically designed to be unreadable and to encourage people not to read them, not to keep up with updates, and generally to be unaware of terms they've agreed to. I'd be interested in some smart legislative reform here and I'm hoping you can point me to some people doing good work in this area.

There's a live issue here, but the fact that contract law has flaws does not give anyone the right to defraud or steal.

saaaaaamyesterday at 8:43 PM

Authors’ wages are paid by people buying their books.