5 ms·

Hacker News – Terms of Use (2014)

44 points by ffpip 6y ago

stanislavb 6y ago
They have trademarked "Startup" and "Work at a startup"?
- ffpip 6y ago
  Yes, I think. https://www.workatastartup.com/ https://www.workatastartup.com/
- federicoponzi 6y ago
  I think it's "Startup news", which if I'm not wrong was the initial purpose of hn.
  - ffpip 6y ago
    Yes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_News#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_News#History https://web.archive.org/web/20070405032412/http://news.ycombinator.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20070405032412/http://news.ycomb...
- eru 6y ago
  Funny enough, if you were selling ice cream, you could totally trademark 'Startup' for that market.
- iso1210 6y ago
  Unlike "Start Me Up", which was the Windows 95 advertising blitz (and of course they licenced the Stones)
  - acheron 6y ago
    "You make a grown man cry..."
  - CaptainZapp 6y ago
    Even more interesting is that the Windows 95 startup sound was composed by Brian Eno. https://theindustryobserver.thebrag.com/the-odd-story-of-how-brian-eno-composed-the-windows-95-startup-sound/ https://theindustryobserver.thebrag.com/the-odd-story-of-how...
scandox 6y ago
It's a tad more complex now for sure: https://www.ycombinator.com/legal/#tou https://www.ycombinator.com/legal/#tou
- dt3ft 6y ago
  Good old times, eh?
- hnick 6y ago
  > violate any applicable local, state, national or international law, or any regulations having the force of law; Does this mean the national laws of every country on earth? That's a long list! I'll be sure to only post nice things about the King of Thailand ;)
  - Cthulhu_ 6y ago
    It's a cover-your-ass statement; HN and the people running it CAN be held accountable if it's available in Thailand and content that isn't acceptable over there is posted. Although in practice I think countries will opt to block the whole site instead. Anyway, I do think foreign justice departments can in theory subpoena HN for data if their laws have been violated.
    - hnick 6y ago
      I was being cheeky, however, since it's in the ToU then potentially we can and should be censured for such things on this site. Thailand believes such laws are applicable to everyone around the world so my place of residence doesn't really seem to matter regarding "applicable". Just another way that the internet and reality don't get along I suppose.
- bosswipe 6y ago
  What?! By using this site I've agreed to be bound by an arbitration agreement, is that right? There's no way that should hold up legally. Clicking around the web shouldn't be equivalent to signing a bunch of legal contracts.
fireattack 6y ago
Shouldn't it be the Terms of Use of ycombinator.com instead of Hacker News? I mean, the content of that ToU does sound like describing Hacker News, but it's under https://www.ycombinator.com https://www.ycombinator.com not https://news.ycombinator.com https://news.ycombinator.com (just like today's https://www.ycombinator.com/legal#tou https://www.ycombinator.com/legal#tou ).
- ffpip 6y ago
  I mean, I haven't see any ToU for HN. The Legal section always linked to ycombinator.com pages.
teekert 6y ago
Technically, does a server do that? I guess my browser does, right?

44 points by ffpip 6y ago

stanislavb 6y ago

They have trademarked "Startup" and "Work at a startup"?

ffpip 6y ago
Yes, I think. https://www.workatastartup.com/ https://www.workatastartup.com/
federicoponzi 6y ago
I think it's "Startup news", which if I'm not wrong was the initial purpose of hn.
- ffpip 6y ago
  Yes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_News#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_News#History https://web.archive.org/web/20070405032412/http://news.ycombinator.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20070405032412/http://news.ycomb...
eru 6y ago
Funny enough, if you were selling ice cream, you could totally trademark 'Startup' for that market.
iso1210 6y ago
Unlike "Start Me Up", which was the Windows 95 advertising blitz (and of course they licenced the Stones)
- acheron 6y ago
  "You make a grown man cry..."
- CaptainZapp 6y ago
  Even more interesting is that the Windows 95 startup sound was composed by Brian Eno. https://theindustryobserver.thebrag.com/the-odd-story-of-how-brian-eno-composed-the-windows-95-startup-sound/ https://theindustryobserver.thebrag.com/the-odd-story-of-how...

scandox 6y ago

It's a tad more complex now for sure: https://www.ycombinator.com/legal/#tou https://www.ycombinator.com/legal/#tou

dt3ft 6y ago
Good old times, eh?
hnick 6y ago
> violate any applicable local, state, national or international law, or any regulations having the force of law; Does this mean the national laws of every country on earth? That's a long list! I'll be sure to only post nice things about the King of Thailand ;)
- Cthulhu_ 6y ago
  It's a cover-your-ass statement; HN and the people running it CAN be held accountable if it's available in Thailand and content that isn't acceptable over there is posted. Although in practice I think countries will opt to block the whole site instead. Anyway, I do think foreign justice departments can in theory subpoena HN for data if their laws have been violated.
  - hnick 6y ago
    I was being cheeky, however, since it's in the ToU then potentially we can and should be censured for such things on this site. Thailand believes such laws are applicable to everyone around the world so my place of residence doesn't really seem to matter regarding "applicable". Just another way that the internet and reality don't get along I suppose.
bosswipe 6y ago
What?! By using this site I've agreed to be bound by an arbitration agreement, is that right? There's no way that should hold up legally. Clicking around the web shouldn't be equivalent to signing a bunch of legal contracts.

fireattack 6y ago

Shouldn't it be the Terms of Use of ycombinator.com instead of Hacker News? I mean, the content of that ToU does sound like describing Hacker News, but it's under https://www.ycombinator.com https://www.ycombinator.com not https://news.ycombinator.com https://news.ycombinator.com (just like today's https://www.ycombinator.com/legal#tou https://www.ycombinator.com/legal#tou ).

ffpip 6y ago
I mean, I haven't see any ToU for HN. The Legal section always linked to ycombinator.com pages.

teekert 6y ago

Technically, does a server do that? I guess my browser does, right?