4 ms·

I am not actually a lawyer, I am random dude on the internet, that was the point, there is absolutely no need for the disclaimer. I can literally claim to be be

I am not actually a lawyer, I am random dude on the internet, that was the point, there is absolutely no need for the disclaimer. I can literally claim to be be a lawyer, recommend extremely terrible advise and not have to worry. "Iamnal" is something that needs to die.

DoreenMichele 8y ago
Well, that's cool for you. But you are a relative newcomer here, at least your handle is (yes, pot, meet kettle -- but I've been here 9 years and quite a few people know that) and reputation, merit of the info, etc matters to quite a lot of the members here. It matters in part because truth matters to a lot of people here. Actual reality matters to a lot of people here. It's a bunch of pedants. And if you want to make it a habit of genuinely claiming to be a lawyer when you aren't and intentionally giving bad advice, you might eventually find that the mods will ban you for trolling.
- paulie_a 8y ago
  There is literally no reason to ever us Imanal. Ever. It's a stupid unnecessary disclaimer that dates back to the 90s. My point was I can literally give terrible legal advice, claim to be a lawyer and their will be zero issues. The disclaimer isn't necessary
  - DoreenMichele 8y ago
    That's your opinion. What I am telling you is that it isn't consistent with cultural norms here. If you don't wish to use the disclaimer "IANAL" (I am not a lawyer) -- which I am spelling out because your comment says Imanal, which looks like gibberish to me -- then you are free to not use it. But most people here aren't likely to agree with you.
    - paulie_a 8y ago
      Bickering over a misspelling is pretty petty
      - DoreenMichele 8y ago
        I'm not bickering. This is the internet. All I have to go by is the actual writing on my screen. I was merely being as accurate and clear as I know how to be and not assuming it was a misspelling. I was merely covering all bases to make sure we are as on the same page as possible. That's what pedants do.
  - pbhjpbhj 8y ago
    It's not [only (in some people's view)?] to avoid liability, it's to give the reader a warning that whilst the writer is convinced of the situation they don't have legal training, the writer recognises the complexity of the law and that due to that complexity their assessment may be flawed. It's like giving a restaurant recommendation second-hand, "but I've never eaten there". Or with tech, "but I've never done it". With people I know I disclaim _social_ liability with "this is not legal advice" -- it's not for legal reasons, it's to say please ask a lawyer before you rely on this for something serious, don't blame me you need to check for yourself. You could call it manners.
- cornholio 8y ago
  > bunch of pedants. > mods will ban you for trolling. This culture, while nice, cannot scale. At some point or another, an online community becomes an image of the wider social community it serves, regardless of the intentions of the founders or ephemeral royalty. Just like Facebook or Reddit (d)evolved, HN cannot forever maintain a 70s hacker ethos and mannerisms. At some point or another the current reality of today's Silicon Valley tech bros and gold rush mentality will come to dominate, as it indeed has. So I believe paulie has a point, IANAL is superfluous on any internet forum, this one included. And yes, that's solid legal advice I can give with full professional authority.
  - DoreenMichele 8y ago
    This culture, while nice, cannot scale I can't say that I agree with you. I have a history of joining forums, watching them grow dramatically while I'm there, leaving and watching them become a shell of their former selves afterwards. I spent some years feeling like a forum killer and afraid of the power I appeared to wield, but didn't understand and didn't feel in control of. I have not played such a central role on HN. But it is quite clear in my mind that the right cultural practices are critical to making a large forum live and breathe at all. Because if they are enforced by only one person and that person walks out the door, the forum collapses in upon itself and traffic shrinks to a level that can be sustained by the cultural practices that remain. I think this is a battle worth fighting. Merely agreeing with your point of view and throwing in the towel guarantees defeat.
  - AmericanChopper 8y ago
    >HN cannot forever maintain a 70s hacker ethos and mannerisms HN doesn’t currently have any traditional hacker ethos. The points of view accepted on HN are all quite homogenous and mainstream.

DoreenMichele 8y ago

Well, that's cool for you. But you are a relative newcomer here, at least your handle is (yes, pot, meet kettle -- but I've been here 9 years and quite a few people know that) and reputation, merit of the info, etc matters to quite a lot of the members here. It matters in part because truth matters to a lot of people here. Actual reality matters to a lot of people here. It's a bunch of pedants. And if you want to make it a habit of genuinely claiming to be a lawyer when you aren't and intentionally giving bad advice, you might eventually find that the mods will ban you for trolling.

paulie_a 8y ago
There is literally no reason to ever us Imanal. Ever. It's a stupid unnecessary disclaimer that dates back to the 90s. My point was I can literally give terrible legal advice, claim to be a lawyer and their will be zero issues. The disclaimer isn't necessary
- DoreenMichele 8y ago
  That's your opinion. What I am telling you is that it isn't consistent with cultural norms here. If you don't wish to use the disclaimer "IANAL" (I am not a lawyer) -- which I am spelling out because your comment says Imanal, which looks like gibberish to me -- then you are free to not use it. But most people here aren't likely to agree with you.
  - paulie_a 8y ago
    Bickering over a misspelling is pretty petty
    - DoreenMichele 8y ago
      I'm not bickering. This is the internet. All I have to go by is the actual writing on my screen. I was merely being as accurate and clear as I know how to be and not assuming it was a misspelling. I was merely covering all bases to make sure we are as on the same page as possible. That's what pedants do.
- pbhjpbhj 8y ago
  It's not [only (in some people's view)?] to avoid liability, it's to give the reader a warning that whilst the writer is convinced of the situation they don't have legal training, the writer recognises the complexity of the law and that due to that complexity their assessment may be flawed. It's like giving a restaurant recommendation second-hand, "but I've never eaten there". Or with tech, "but I've never done it". With people I know I disclaim _social_ liability with "this is not legal advice" -- it's not for legal reasons, it's to say please ask a lawyer before you rely on this for something serious, don't blame me you need to check for yourself. You could call it manners.
cornholio 8y ago
> bunch of pedants. > mods will ban you for trolling. This culture, while nice, cannot scale. At some point or another, an online community becomes an image of the wider social community it serves, regardless of the intentions of the founders or ephemeral royalty. Just like Facebook or Reddit (d)evolved, HN cannot forever maintain a 70s hacker ethos and mannerisms. At some point or another the current reality of today's Silicon Valley tech bros and gold rush mentality will come to dominate, as it indeed has. So I believe paulie has a point, IANAL is superfluous on any internet forum, this one included. And yes, that's solid legal advice I can give with full professional authority.
- DoreenMichele 8y ago
  This culture, while nice, cannot scale I can't say that I agree with you. I have a history of joining forums, watching them grow dramatically while I'm there, leaving and watching them become a shell of their former selves afterwards. I spent some years feeling like a forum killer and afraid of the power I appeared to wield, but didn't understand and didn't feel in control of. I have not played such a central role on HN. But it is quite clear in my mind that the right cultural practices are critical to making a large forum live and breathe at all. Because if they are enforced by only one person and that person walks out the door, the forum collapses in upon itself and traffic shrinks to a level that can be sustained by the cultural practices that remain. I think this is a battle worth fighting. Merely agreeing with your point of view and throwing in the towel guarantees defeat.
- AmericanChopper 8y ago
  >HN cannot forever maintain a 70s hacker ethos and mannerisms HN doesn’t currently have any traditional hacker ethos. The points of view accepted on HN are all quite homogenous and mainstream.