4 ms·

Ask HN: Legal question – liability for printed card deck of computer pranks

Hi I am teaching my daughter how to code, and now I am running various pranks on her computer. For example, every time you alt+tab there is a weird beep sound, or the computer randomly restarts every 10 minutes, or after 10 minutes in Minecraft the keyboard presses 'W' for 3 seconds, or I move her mouse remotely and etc... (some are extremely evil, like stopping half the internet 128.0.0.0/1 or 0.0.0.0/1 every 10 minutes for 3 seconds) I made a whole deck of cards (each prank fits on one playing card): https://github.com/jackdoe/programming-for-kids/blob/master/projects/panic/cards-small.pdf I sell the decks for 5€ (e.g.: https://punkx.org/c-pointer-game/ or https://punkx.org/punk0/) but for this one, I am not even sure what kind of lawyer should I talk to, to make sure I am not liable if a user of the deck damages someone's computer. I also aded epilepsy warning on the cards that are very visual (like randomly rotating the screen 90 degrees). The deck is also licensed CC BY 4.0, so anyone can re-print it, and are the people printing it and sharing it liable as well? The warning I have now is made by me and you can see it on the first card, but I will also paste it here: WARNING! WARING! WARNING! USE THE CODE FROM THESE CARDS AT YOUR OWN RISK. THESE PRANKS ARE PURELY FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES AND ARE NOT INTENDED TO CAUSE HARM. THE AUTHOR OF THIS DECK IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE, LOSS OF DATA, OR OTHER CONSEQUENCES THAT MAY ARISE FROM THE USE OF THESE PRANKS. BY USING THESE PRANKS, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU ARE FULLY AWARE OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS AND THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THE CODE ON THESE CARDS. IF YOU ARE UNDER 18 YEARS OLD, YOU MUST OBTAIN THE CONSENT OF YOUR PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN BEFORE USING THESE PRANKS. BY USING THESE PRANKS, YOU AGREE TO RELEASE AND HOLD HARMLESS THE AUTHOR OF THIS DECK FROM ANY CLAIMS, DEMANDS, OR DAMAGES, WHETHER KNOWN OR UNKNOWN, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH YOUR USE OF THESE PRANKS. Any advice will be super helpful, I really think the pranks are very fun and educational if used properly, but like any prank it can go too far. Thanks in advance. EDIT: Forgot to say, I am in The Netherlands, but send decks worldwide, not sure if that matters when selling physical products online

coreyp_1 4y ago
Well, the Anarchist Cookbook (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Anarchist_Cookbook https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Anarchist_Cookbook) was deemed legal here in the US. Then again, you didn't ask about legality, but liability, and, here in the US, anybody can sue anyone else for any reason. However, I would think that the person performing the act would be the culpable party, not you. For what it's worth, I think that this is a great learning tool! After all, what drew me into computers was the realization that I could make it do stuff that I wanted it to do, and that's what your cards demonstrate.
- throwaway71271 4y ago
  I thought so too, but the fact that I am 'charging' for the product makes me somehow more responsible? Like if someone was selling the Cookbook Do you happen to know the "kind" of lawyer I need to speak to? BTW I got into computers the same way, just playing with them and making them do fun things, like opening and closing the CD non stop :) EDIT: actually people are selling the cookbook on amazon: https://www.amazon.de/s?k=anarchist+cookbook https://www.amazon.de/s?k=anarchist+cookbook without any disclaimer or anything, and it can literally kill people, maybe I am overthinking this
  - coreyp_1 4y ago
    I don't know what kind of lawyer. It may be as simple as calling a law office and ask if they handle that soft of work and, if not, would they refer anyone. I'm interested in purchasing some of your card decks, but the shipping will cost more than the cards (and I don't know if you combine if I purchase several different sets). Any chances of having a US distributor? I think your work is interesting, and I've already forwarded the link to a couple of educators that I know.
    - throwaway71271 4y ago
      oh nice! thanks a lot! of course i send multiple decks in one shipping, usually i can pack up to 6-7 decks in one big envelope or up to 10 in a small package for the US i donate a most of the decks for education, so if anyone of your friends is interested just send me an email to punkx@fastmail.com about US distributor, not sure, maybe its easier just to send them to amazon? the main reason for making the decks is to teach my daughter the difference between 'idea' and 'product' and how much work goes into making an idea into a product :) and also bonus we get to play all the "beta" versions of the game so i use the time to give lots of lessons
KomoD 4y ago
> Legal question When a post begins with this it means you should talk to a lawyer

coreyp_1 4y ago

Well, the Anarchist Cookbook (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Anarchist_Cookbook https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Anarchist_Cookbook) was deemed legal here in the US. Then again, you didn't ask about legality, but liability, and, here in the US, anybody can sue anyone else for any reason. However, I would think that the person performing the act would be the culpable party, not you. For what it's worth, I think that this is a great learning tool! After all, what drew me into computers was the realization that I could make it do stuff that I wanted it to do, and that's what your cards demonstrate.

throwaway71271 4y ago
I thought so too, but the fact that I am 'charging' for the product makes me somehow more responsible? Like if someone was selling the Cookbook Do you happen to know the "kind" of lawyer I need to speak to? BTW I got into computers the same way, just playing with them and making them do fun things, like opening and closing the CD non stop :) EDIT: actually people are selling the cookbook on amazon: https://www.amazon.de/s?k=anarchist+cookbook https://www.amazon.de/s?k=anarchist+cookbook without any disclaimer or anything, and it can literally kill people, maybe I am overthinking this
- coreyp_1 4y ago
  I don't know what kind of lawyer. It may be as simple as calling a law office and ask if they handle that soft of work and, if not, would they refer anyone. I'm interested in purchasing some of your card decks, but the shipping will cost more than the cards (and I don't know if you combine if I purchase several different sets). Any chances of having a US distributor? I think your work is interesting, and I've already forwarded the link to a couple of educators that I know.
  - throwaway71271 4y ago
    oh nice! thanks a lot! of course i send multiple decks in one shipping, usually i can pack up to 6-7 decks in one big envelope or up to 10 in a small package for the US i donate a most of the decks for education, so if anyone of your friends is interested just send me an email to punkx@fastmail.com about US distributor, not sure, maybe its easier just to send them to amazon? the main reason for making the decks is to teach my daughter the difference between 'idea' and 'product' and how much work goes into making an idea into a product :) and also bonus we get to play all the "beta" versions of the game so i use the time to give lots of lessons

KomoD 4y ago

> Legal question When a post begins with this it means you should talk to a lawyer