I guess the point is to make DMCA claims more annoying to file, or at least to automate. I'd also hope that in true HN spirit, this is intended to be portable,

I guess the point is to make DMCA claims more annoying to file, or at least to automate. I'd also hope that in true HN spirit, this is intended to be portable, so that if enough web sites replicated this policy, it would seriously handicap DMCA claimants. Of course, this only works if the "not by email" requirement is legal. IANAL, let alone an American one, but I'd love to read informed opinions about the legal validity of this point.