Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

Yes, what considered evil is relative so why ibm even need to worry about it.



Look, I consider Ananas on Pizza evil. Can Pizza Hut not use JSlint on its website now? That would be furthering evil.

On a more serious take: I support causes that a lot of fundamental Christians could consider evil. Equality for queer people, for example. Marriage for all. Am I allowed to use JSlint for a website that supports those goals?

Why do lawyers worry about things like that? Because it’s their job. Unclear definitions worry them, which is good. Ambiguity ends you up in court.


Yes, likewise pizza hut could argue that they do not consider it evil


My point exactly. How would that get decided if things end up in court.


I wouldn't be be concerned, The other side too have to think twice before suing me.


Lawsuits are costly in terms of money and time invested. They’re a drag. Just the threat of suing often is enough. Incentives are not necessarily equal. You might have on one side a startup just trying to get a product out of the door, on the other side a zealot trying to push his agenda. The whole thing could end up sinking the startup. What’s a viable risk/payoff trade off?

Copyrights can be inherited, too. Who knows if the estate doesn’t have a particular view on good and evil and spends the entire inheritance suing small scale developers just to prove a point.

Now, in this case, it’s a fairly obviously benign case, but for good reasons, (corporate) lawyers stick to well-known licenses and risk avoidance.


Right, that's why I wouldn't concern much about it, if they trying to sue me then i wish them good luck with that.




Consider applying for YC's Spring batch! Applications are open till Feb 11.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: