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0 pointsMiddleEndian1y ago0 comments

I don't use VSCode (or Cursor in this case (which I do think was malicious in the way it blindly hallucinated a policy for a paying customer)); I use vim or notepad++ depending on my mood.

I just don't have a problem with people "violating" Terms of Service or End User License Agreements and am not really convinced there's a legal argument there either.

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int_19h1y ago

I personally don't have a problem with that either, but as far as legalities go, EULAs are legally binding in US.

MiddleEndianOP1y ago

Have EULAs been tested in court?

For distribution licenses, I would assume they have. Can't put GPL software in your closed source code, can't just download Photoshop and copy it and give it out, etc. And that makes sense and you have some reasonable path to damage/penalties (GPL → your software is now open source, Photoshop → fines or whatever)

But if you download some free piece of software and use it with some other piece of free piece software even though they say "please don't" in the EULA, what could the criminal or civil penalties possibly be?

int_19h1y ago

Yes, there were some cases that confirmed the validity of "clickwrap", unfortunately: https://www.elgaronline.com/edcollchap/edcoll/9781783479917/...

I don't know what the hypothetical penalty would be for mere use contrary to EULA, though. It would be breach of contract, and presumably the court would determine actual damages, but I don't know what cost basis there would be if the software in question was distributed freely. However, fine or no fine, I would expect the court to order the defendant to cease using software in violation of EULA, and at that point further use would be contempt of court, no?

MiddleEndianOP1y ago

Fair enough, that is quite unfortunate.

So I've always avoided using the Windows Store on my Windows machines, I think I managed to get WSL2 installed without using it lol.

So I'm not sure on the details, but do the steps on https://www.cursor.com/how-to-install-extension bypass clicking "I agree" since they just download and drag? Because from what I can tell, the example in https://www.elgaronline.com/edcollchap/edcoll/9781783479917/... is because the customer clicked "I agree" before installing.

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int_19h1y ago

I personally don't have a problem with that either, but as far as legalities go, EULAs are legally binding in US.

MiddleEndianOP1y ago

Have EULAs been tested in court?

int_19h1y ago

Yes, there were some cases that confirmed the validity of "clickwrap", unfortunately: https://www.elgaronline.com/edcollchap/edcoll/9781783479917/...

MiddleEndianOP1y ago

Fair enough, that is quite unfortunate.

So I've always avoided using the Windows Store on my Windows machines, I think I managed to get WSL2 installed without using it lol.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse