[Wolves] BBC iPlayer woes...

[Peter Evans]

On Thursday 24 January 2008 15:47:44 Kevanf1 wrote:
> However, how many
> people realistically read the EULA on a Windows product?
I don't want to start a flame war, nor do I want to attract the ire of other 
list readers.

However were I to ask you if you had read all of the terms and conditions 
attached to everything that you use, would your answer be 'yes'?

Let's narrow it down and limit it to 'Have you read the terms and conditions 
associated with each piece of software on your Linux box?' would the answer 
be 'yes'?

If it is then I salute you, because you've done far more than many do (guilty 
m'lord).   I will not argue that these are legalese, but then again they have 
to be to a legal standard if anyone were to be prosecuted for breaches of 
them.  We can argue that your average person that reads these cannot possibly 
hope to understand what they're signing, but there are some potential  
drawbacks if you choose to go down this route.

I suppose there's also the question as to whether these form 'fair' 
contracts - in the legal sense; this is a question that lawyers make their 
living asking and answering.

When I first read the start of the thread I was a bit puzzled, because if they 
hadn't mentioned the use of these protocols I could see some people 
(including myself) wondering whether they were in breach of the computer 
misuse act and what consequences that would bring.

Not having installed it myself, would it be daft of me to assume that having 
found this out and choosing to remove it from your system that nothing 
untoward is left running without your knowledge?

People's ire at having their systems affected is understandable, but their 
outrage at 'not being told' because they haven't read and understood what 
they are installing on their system is somewhat less so.  Particularly if it 
can be removed with no harm done.
-- 
Regards,

Pete Evans