7 ms·
> DMCA/copyright doesn't cover other people's tools That is probably exactly why they are doing this. They lack the legal grounds to slience, so they instead o
by gkya 5y ago
> DMCA/copyright doesn't cover other people's tools
That is probably exactly why they are doing this. They lack the legal grounds to slience, so they instead opt for the feral means.
- hannasanarion 5y agoThey absolutely have the legal grounds: the CFAA. Unauthorized use of a computer system is a crime.
- antisol 5y agowhat unauthorised use?
- Ygg2 5y agoAny use that doesn't sit well with whoever wrote EULA.
- antisol 5y agoAah. And how do they specify which access is authorised/unauthorised in their HTTP responses? How can we determine programmatically which use is unauthorised?
- antisol 5y agoOh nevermind, I figured out the answer to my question: If the server responds with a 401 code, it's unauthorised. It's right there in the spec. Duh.
- hannasanarion 5y agoNo, you didn't. HTTP status codes are not legally binding. EULAs are. Saying "if the status code isn't 401 then I'm authorized" is like saying "if the door opens, I'm allowed to enter". "Able to" and "allowed to" are not the same thing, especially when you were only "able" because you ignored DO NOT ENTER signs and picked locks. The fact that you managed to defeat or bypass security measures intended to block you doesn't magically make your behavior legal.
- antisol 5y agooh, did I not mention that I'm sending an X-send-401-if-use-is-unauthorised-and-also-please-note-that-by-responding-to-this-http-request-you-agree-to-my-eula header in my request? Yeah, sorry, looks like I did forget to mention that. I'm sending that header, too. So as you can see, by responding to a request containing that header they're accepting my terms, which are legally binding just like their eula (and in fact specifically take precedence over their eula), and which compels them to detect any use not authorised under their eula and notify me with a 401, and that by failing to do so they're explicitly authorising the use. So, yeah, it's pretty clear that if they're not responding with a 401, my use is authorised. Thanks for playing!
- hannasanarion 5y agoCool, so that means you won't go after me after I figure out all your bank passwords and steal all your money? After all, the website sent back a 200 status code, which means I must have been authorized.
- antisol 5y agoI think you're confused. Why would I come after you for that?