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> If you tell people where my windows aren't locked, sure, you might be
> liable. If you tell people that Yale locks have a serious flaw and tell
> people how to take advantage of it, and I'm stupid enough to depend on
> Yale locks after that, are you liable when they break into my house?
> Nope.
Wrong, Mike. You're providing the knowledge and the methods for a
criminal to commit a criminal act with at least some prior knowledge that
people will very likely use those methods for illegal acts. We're not
talking about you telling us that Ford put defective tires on a car.
The mere act of exposing flaws is not illegal - its the exposing of how to
use those flaws to commit illegal acts that is illegal.
SCENARIO A: A guy walks into my gun shop one day pleasantly orders a
Desert Eagle .50 and ammo. He's a normal chap who says nothing too
interesting and checks out okay. The guy takes his gun and walks out the
door and kills his wife. Should Chief Wiggum arrest me? NO.
SCENARIO B: The same guy walks into my gun shop and says he is considering
killing his wife. He asks for a Desert Eagle .50. I present him the gun,
ammo, and a detailed plan on how to kill his wife. He walks out the door
and kills his wife using my plans. Should Chief Wiggum arrest me?
YES!!!!!
Now come on, please tell me you can see the glaring difference here. Apart
from the fact that I have been playing way to much Counter-Strike.
> If there's a legal use for a technology, it's evil to punish people for
> making it. Instead, a just society punishes those who make illegal use
of
> the technology. Period.
You just proved my point.
Technology is neither evil nor good. It just is. If people use technology
to commit illegal acts (aiding and abetting criminals is illegal), then
those people must be punished. If you manipulate a technology in such a
way that it can freely allow people to violate copyright laws, then you
are aiding and abetting criminals.
Andrew Plato
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A landmark hotel, one of America's most beautiful cities, and
three and a half days of immersion in the state of the art:
IPCC 01, Oct. 24-27 in Santa Fe. http://ieeepcs.org/2001/
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