Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by Larrikin 1943 days ago
I would hate to live in the world you imagine where every single awful thing that isn't obviously illegal is considered acceptable by society.
2 comments
chrisseaton 1943 days ago
And I'd hate to live in a world where you can drag anyone you want before a judge because you don't like what they're doing.

I don't like the colour of your shirt, so I'm going to say it's objectionable. It doesn't break any laws or infringe any regulations, but I want a judge's opinion on it anyway.

See?

link
Can_Not 1942 days ago
So you'd be wasting the judge's time with a frivolous lawsuit the same way you're wasting our time with a frivolous starwman?
link
pbhjpbhj 1943 days ago
Why would you hate that? The judge's opinion would be "the shirt is not unlawful" and "you're wasting court time, have a fine". How would that harm you?

In the case of passing off a service you offer as begin the service of another company, there is a clear legal case to answer. And as I recall this is settled caselaw in the UK and the people pretending to be other companies are in the wrong.

link
chrisseaton 1943 days ago
> The judge's opinion would be "the shirt is not unlawful" and "you're wasting court time, have a fine". How would that harm you?

It wastes the time of the defendant and the legal service, which harms society.

It imagine it's also super stressful and expensive for the defendant to go through, even when it's thrown out.

link
manigandham 1943 days ago
Legality already is society’s measure of what’s acceptable. If you want to change the standard then you do so by changing the law.
link
Jochim 1943 days ago
Acceptability isn't usually a binary. Legality is the cutoff point at which we decide you should be punished for unacceptable behaviour, but it's perfectly possible for behaviour to be both unacceptable but legal.

Consider: - Cutting your grass at 8am when your neighbour works nights.

- A well off person putting their child up for adoption because they don't want the hassle.

- Payday loans given to people you know won't be able to pay them off, ensuring they pay you far more than the value of the loan.

- Banks processing payments out of order to trigger overdraft fees that would otherwise not have been collected.

link