4 ms·

Off-hand this seems like a rather cruel and unusual punishment. Are there any previous examples of this sort of order?

hell0_th3r3 14y ago
1. this is UK law, not US 2. "cruel and unusual" has no meaningful definition for a corporation. is a $1 billion fine "cruel and unusual"?
cryptoz 14y ago
From wikipedia: > Cruel and unusual punishment is a phrase describing punishment which is considered unacceptable due to the suffering, pain, or humiliation it inflicts on the condemned person You don't really think that an HTML page inflicts any kind of suffering or pain on someone, do you? First, I don't even think this is 'punishment': it appears to be more focused on clarifying the issue to the public and ensuring Apple doesn't try to twist the story. Secondly, there's absolutely no way it's cruel. It may be unusual, though, and I'm curious about that too.
- robgough 14y ago
  I'm sorry you took such offence at me using "cruel and unusual" as a turn of phrase, rather than to mean it's dictionary definition. I'll admit I'll happily use it in conversation - but perhaps I should have been more careful online where things are taken somewhat more literally. I do feel that forcing Apple to link to a competitor, and advertise for them, is a form of punishment though.
  - natrius 14y ago
    The phrase "cruel and unusual punishment" is typically used when someone is trying to argue that a punishment should be illegal. A legalistic reply should be expected.
  - 286c8cb04bda 14y ago
    > I'm sorry you took such offence... You're sorry he took offence? That's a pretty passive-aggressive apology isn't it? You used the phrase wrong. He corrected you. I don't think you're allowed to claim any high ground here. > I do feel that forcing Apple to link to a competitor, and advertise for them, is a form of punishment though. That's supposed to be the whole point, I think.
    - robgough 14y ago
      It was quite genuine, I didn't mean to offend or upset. Lesson learnt! You don't mention this, but I didn't to edit my original post, as i'm not a big fan of editing post content - but rather adding as part of the conversation.
    - capitao 14y ago
      > You used the phrase wrong. He corrected you. wow, really? that phrase is used all the time in a lax, colloquial manner, he didn't 'use it wrong' at all. why is everyone jumping to wikipedia over this? nothing better to do today?
    - lmm 14y ago
      He didn't "use the phrase wrong"; he communicated his meaning effectively. Dictionaries (of English; there is no acadamie anglaise) consist of observations, not rulings; if a dictionary disagrees with usage, it is the dictionary that is wrong.
  - Samuel_Michon 14y ago
    “I'm sorry you took such offence” Fantastic, I'm a huge fan of the non-apology apology. Hearing or reading one always makes me smile. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-apology_apology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-apology_apology
- dagar 14y ago
  corporations are people...

1. this is UK law, not US 2. "cruel and unusual" has no meaningful definition for a corporation. is a $1 billion fine "cruel and unusual"?

cryptoz 14y ago

From wikipedia: > Cruel and unusual punishment is a phrase describing punishment which is considered unacceptable due to the suffering, pain, or humiliation it inflicts on the condemned person You don't really think that an HTML page inflicts any kind of suffering or pain on someone, do you? First, I don't even think this is 'punishment': it appears to be more focused on clarifying the issue to the public and ensuring Apple doesn't try to twist the story. Secondly, there's absolutely no way it's cruel. It may be unusual, though, and I'm curious about that too.

robgough 14y ago
I'm sorry you took such offence at me using "cruel and unusual" as a turn of phrase, rather than to mean it's dictionary definition. I'll admit I'll happily use it in conversation - but perhaps I should have been more careful online where things are taken somewhat more literally. I do feel that forcing Apple to link to a competitor, and advertise for them, is a form of punishment though.
- natrius 14y ago
  The phrase "cruel and unusual punishment" is typically used when someone is trying to argue that a punishment should be illegal. A legalistic reply should be expected.
- 286c8cb04bda 14y ago
  > I'm sorry you took such offence... You're sorry he took offence? That's a pretty passive-aggressive apology isn't it? You used the phrase wrong. He corrected you. I don't think you're allowed to claim any high ground here. > I do feel that forcing Apple to link to a competitor, and advertise for them, is a form of punishment though. That's supposed to be the whole point, I think.
  - robgough 14y ago
    It was quite genuine, I didn't mean to offend or upset. Lesson learnt! You don't mention this, but I didn't to edit my original post, as i'm not a big fan of editing post content - but rather adding as part of the conversation.
  - capitao 14y ago
    > You used the phrase wrong. He corrected you. wow, really? that phrase is used all the time in a lax, colloquial manner, he didn't 'use it wrong' at all. why is everyone jumping to wikipedia over this? nothing better to do today?
  - lmm 14y ago
    He didn't "use the phrase wrong"; he communicated his meaning effectively. Dictionaries (of English; there is no acadamie anglaise) consist of observations, not rulings; if a dictionary disagrees with usage, it is the dictionary that is wrong.
- Samuel_Michon 14y ago
  “I'm sorry you took such offence” Fantastic, I'm a huge fan of the non-apology apology. Hearing or reading one always makes me smile. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-apology_apology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-apology_apology
dagar 14y ago
corporations are people...