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Ask HN: When did Stack Overflow become Attorney Overflow?

I recently asked a question on Stack Overflow about pulling a page from one website to another and how to work around cross-site-scripting limitations etc. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2645114/embed-external-website-inside-a-page The first two (almost immediate) responses were to point out that what I wanted to do might be illegal, phishing or otherwise naughty. Now I understand that we all want to help each other out by pointing out legal pitfalls that might derail some large endeavor however at this stage of my project I am simply experimenting and seeking technical programming guidance or ideas from a community of programmers; when the time comes to take this "out of the lab" I'll be seeking legal consult (and probably from lawyers, not programmers). This is reflects a larger trend in general science where the law (and at times, morality) interfere with progress and I found it discouraging to see that this has trickled down all the way to computer science. Is there anywhere to discuss programming in the context of programming without being interrupted by these sermons?

tmorton 17y ago
"How do I pick a deadbolt lock, disable an alarm system, and arrange transportation for a big TV? I'm just wondering! This is theoretical! Stop lawyering!" In other words - you might be doing something legitimate, but it sounds fishy. You can't expect people to help you without further explanation.
- jasongullickson 17y ago
  Apparently you are spot-on. The severe irony here is that the reason I'm even attempting this is in response to having recently had my idea oppressed by an equally tyrannical entity (Apple), so I had the thought of taking the concept, re-implementing it using open standards and making it cross-platform and open source...but first I need to build a proof-of-concept. So garnering this response from the very community I aim to serve and who has been critical of Apple's actions is just...depressing.
rcfox 17y ago
Down-vote those answers and carry on. Maybe add a bit about not wanting legal advice.
nudge 17y ago
Yeah, those answers weren't incredibly helpful in technical terms. The problem for you is that what you want is actually very, very difficult to achieve, if indeed it is possible, and this is exactly because, for the most part, the only reason to do this kind of thing is for sinister reasons (e.g. phishing). For this reason, and also because website owners just don't tend to like it when you surround their stuff with your stuff (for a number of reasons), whatever solution you come up with will probably be worked around. As I understand things, you've got two ways to do this. Either client-side or server-side. Client side would be an iframe, for example. I use this on my website, http://minutes.at http://minutes.at, which just sticks a timer bar on top of any website, by sticking the website in an iframe. It's simple and it usually works, but as you say there are the occasional navigational problems. Now, for server-side stuff, that's where you've got problems. It might work better - you could just take the entire website code and stick it in your own - but that's where you really do enter legal-problem territory. You shouldn't mind people giving you advice - they are actually trying to help you avoid getting sued. The reason you found no technical help, though, is probably because what you want is going to be more or less impossible to achieve. You got no answers, perhaps, because there are no answers. Perhaps if you offered a bit more information about what you hoped to achieve, someone might be able to suggest a way of doing it.

tmorton 17y ago

"How do I pick a deadbolt lock, disable an alarm system, and arrange transportation for a big TV? I'm just wondering! This is theoretical! Stop lawyering!" In other words - you might be doing something legitimate, but it sounds fishy. You can't expect people to help you without further explanation.

jasongullickson 17y ago
Apparently you are spot-on. The severe irony here is that the reason I'm even attempting this is in response to having recently had my idea oppressed by an equally tyrannical entity (Apple), so I had the thought of taking the concept, re-implementing it using open standards and making it cross-platform and open source...but first I need to build a proof-of-concept. So garnering this response from the very community I aim to serve and who has been critical of Apple's actions is just...depressing.

rcfox 17y ago

Down-vote those answers and carry on. Maybe add a bit about not wanting legal advice.

nudge 17y ago

Yeah, those answers weren't incredibly helpful in technical terms. The problem for you is that what you want is actually very, very difficult to achieve, if indeed it is possible, and this is exactly because, for the most part, the only reason to do this kind of thing is for sinister reasons (e.g. phishing). For this reason, and also because website owners just don't tend to like it when you surround their stuff with your stuff (for a number of reasons), whatever solution you come up with will probably be worked around. As I understand things, you've got two ways to do this. Either client-side or server-side. Client side would be an iframe, for example. I use this on my website, http://minutes.at http://minutes.at, which just sticks a timer bar on top of any website, by sticking the website in an iframe. It's simple and it usually works, but as you say there are the occasional navigational problems. Now, for server-side stuff, that's where you've got problems. It might work better - you could just take the entire website code and stick it in your own - but that's where you really do enter legal-problem territory. You shouldn't mind people giving you advice - they are actually trying to help you avoid getting sued. The reason you found no technical help, though, is probably because what you want is going to be more or less impossible to achieve. You got no answers, perhaps, because there are no answers. Perhaps if you offered a bit more information about what you hoped to achieve, someone might be able to suggest a way of doing it.