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Heres the thing about the ToC and licenses: Bots aren't people and can't read nor consent. They just consume. Any page which can be served without first displ
by DropInIn 3y ago
Heres the thing about the ToC and licenses:
Bots aren't people and can't read nor consent. They just consume.
Any page which can be served without first displaying a ToC or other terms which explicitly prohibit access is not protected by a ToC or other license from scraping, as they can be considered a Point of First Contact in each case, as the bot has selected each link from a simple aggregation of all links it encounters (each interaction being "new" in essence).
Now it could be argued that ignoring robots.txt is an explicit contravention of norms and standards which could be viewed as a violation of an implicit licence, but there is no law requiring adherence to robots.txt and thus no mandate that a program even look for it iiuc.
- sourdoughness 3y agoBots aren’t people and can’t consent, sure - but they are tools that are wielded or deployed by people who absolutely can consent (setting aside whether click-wrap terms are enforceable or not). If I throw a brick through a window, it’s me in the shit, not the brick.
- DropInIn 3y agoIf I have an open door to my business and someone's automated robot walks in the door to see what's available, how is that different? Even more applicable, this is like saying that a person walking down the street can't have a camera and take a picture of the front of the building.... Because the page you land on when entering a url is in fact little different than a store front, with the associated signage and access points defining how a person or automated device may interact with that business. If you want to have it different then you have to actually put everything behind a locked door with no window, right?