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If you have no right to a computer service, you have no right to the AGPL code it runs. For example, a company is allowed to make internal GPL-based tools and n

If you have no right to a computer service, you have no right to the AGPL code it runs. For example, a company is allowed to make internal GPL-based tools and not have to release their code. If I hack into their service and download the binary, I’m not entitled to the source code. If the closed beta was meant for a select few, but was found by someone else, that someone else doesn’t have a right to the code just because they managed to get access. Only the select few would be allowed. The fact that it’s a public web server (with no access controls) does throw a wrench into things, but it’s not as simple as many here make it seem.

rbanffy 5y ago
> If the closed beta was meant for a select few, but was found by someone else The license makes no such distinction. The website had no warning that it was a private test, was hosted on the presumed official domain and looked like it went live. I never received an explicit authorisation by YC to use Hacker News and here I am. I wouldn’t call my access unauthorised even though it was never authorised.
- colejohnson66 5y ago
  > The license makes no such distinction. The website had no warning that it was a private test, was hosted on the presumed official domain and looked like it went live. That is true. I mention that in my last paragraph: > The fact that it’s a public web server (with no access controls) does throw a wrench into things, but it’s not as simple as many here make it seem. However, simply being accessible is not akin to authorization. If that company tool is accessible to the public through a misconfigured DNS, the courts probably won’t side with me asking for the source. The law is not black and white (despite what many here think). Judges are humans and will apply judgement as to whether Truth was meant to be accessible or not. There’s also the fact that the CFAA is a broadly worded law and could easily be wielded by Trump against the people accessing Truth prior to launch. Just say they weren’t authorized and were hacking. They’ll probably lose in court with that argument, but we won’t know until the ruling would come out
  - rbanffy 5y ago
    > However, simply being accessible is not akin to authorization. That’s a hard argument to push unless the judge is unbelievably biased. If the website is up and running on the expected domain, functions correctly and has no indication it’s a private beta, it’s hard to assume bad faith from the unintended users. IIRC, the idea was tested in the early days of dial up systems and a system that was setup to not require authentication that had a “Welcome to this computer” banner was considered open enough the intruders were not considered intruders. If you have a building and charge for entry, but there is no access control at the door, no ticket sales and no indication you need to pay to enter, can you complain someone wandered into the building without paying?

rbanffy 5y ago

> If the closed beta was meant for a select few, but was found by someone else The license makes no such distinction. The website had no warning that it was a private test, was hosted on the presumed official domain and looked like it went live. I never received an explicit authorisation by YC to use Hacker News and here I am. I wouldn’t call my access unauthorised even though it was never authorised.

colejohnson66 5y ago
> The license makes no such distinction. The website had no warning that it was a private test, was hosted on the presumed official domain and looked like it went live. That is true. I mention that in my last paragraph: > The fact that it’s a public web server (with no access controls) does throw a wrench into things, but it’s not as simple as many here make it seem. However, simply being accessible is not akin to authorization. If that company tool is accessible to the public through a misconfigured DNS, the courts probably won’t side with me asking for the source. The law is not black and white (despite what many here think). Judges are humans and will apply judgement as to whether Truth was meant to be accessible or not. There’s also the fact that the CFAA is a broadly worded law and could easily be wielded by Trump against the people accessing Truth prior to launch. Just say they weren’t authorized and were hacking. They’ll probably lose in court with that argument, but we won’t know until the ruling would come out
- rbanffy 5y ago
  > However, simply being accessible is not akin to authorization. That’s a hard argument to push unless the judge is unbelievably biased. If the website is up and running on the expected domain, functions correctly and has no indication it’s a private beta, it’s hard to assume bad faith from the unintended users. IIRC, the idea was tested in the early days of dial up systems and a system that was setup to not require authentication that had a “Welcome to this computer” banner was considered open enough the intruders were not considered intruders. If you have a building and charge for entry, but there is no access control at the door, no ticket sales and no indication you need to pay to enter, can you complain someone wandered into the building without paying?