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> Disclaimer: I am not your lawyer, I have not prepared citations for your review, please seek legal counsel if you’re considering actions based on my opinion,

• floatingatoll 6y ago
  It does, yes. 1) IANYL is not widely-recognized, so I have to spell it out. The unusual phrasing, versus the typical IANAL, is because "I am not a lawyer" is inappropriate to use. If you are perceived as having given legal advice, it isn't necessarily relevant whether you're a lawyer, and if you are a lawyer you might not be allowed to 'practice law' in the jurisdiction of every reader, and find yourself subject to enforcement actions if you are found to have failed to highlight this distinction. Specifying clearly "I am not your lawyer" clearly indicates that you are not acting in any capacity as lawyer with respect to the reader, denying any opportunity for misinterpretation otherwise. It also clearly highlights that no duty to clarify, followup, or respond exists as a result of the comment, which is frequently misunderstood by Internet forum participants (see also following). 2) HN users frequently seek citations for opinions. Whatever their motivations, I have none to offer here. Clearly stating so helps them correctly perceive this as an opinion posted on an Internet forum, rather than misconstruing it as legal advice provided by a lawyer. They may choose to reject the opinion as it is insufficiently supported, which is of course their right. See also above. 3) Finally, "seek legal counsel" reminds the reader that a profession exists to make judgement calls about these things, and recommends consulting formally with such a professional rather than depending solely on an Internet forum comment. It also reiterates the "this is not legal advice" sentiment that the above try to convey, offering an additional layer of defense again people somehow misunderstanding the degree of legal advice that an Internet forum comment can provide and then suing for recompense when they don't like the outcomes of their actions. If you can think of a shorter way to say it, I'm open to considering it, but IANAL certainly isn't enough.
  • dwild 6y ago
    Sure but my point is that it's so complex that you need to seek a lawyer or else you may not be able to do it. That's what I always like about software development. It was simple, it was accessible... but now, you need a lawyer for each individual jurisdiction.