[pmelendez]

And... Did you leave her? or just break up as a common agreement? In legalese language, I am pretty sure that a promise is synonym of contract, and contracts might be dissolved if both sides of the contract agreed.

This being an open promise is not a contract but a reaffirmation of a goal, since people change is regrettable but OK to break promises to ourselves sometimes when the interest of the goal had changed.

[raldi]

> In legalese language, I am pretty sure that a promise is synonym of contract

You are 100% wrong.

[pmelendez]

From Wikipedia article: [1] "In the law of contract, an exchange of promises is usually held to be legally enforceable, according to the Latin maxim pacta sunt servanda."

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promise

[potatolicious]

Like said, the word "exchange" is critical here, and isn't pedantic - this is a key part of the modern western understanding of contract law.

A contract must be quid pro quo to be valid.

"Bob, I'm going to come fix your fence this weekend" is a promise, but it isn't a legal contract.

"Bob, I'm going to come fix your fence this weekend for $100" is a promise, and because there is a quid pro quo exchange it can qualify as an enforceable contract. Bob can potentially come after you for damages if you renege on your end of it.

One-sided promises (like the one Google made) are generally not considered contractually obligated[1].

[1] http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/consideration-every-c...

[raldi]

"Exchange" is the critical word. A single promise is extraordinarily different, in the legal world, from a contract.

[pmelendez]

Ok, let's try with another wikipedia article: [1]

"A contract is a legally enforceable promise or undertaking that something will or will not occur. * The word promise can be used as a legal synonym for contract *,[2] although care is required as a promise may not have the full standing of a contract, as when it is an agreement without consideration"

Emphasis is mine :)

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract_law

[dragonwriter]

That article is wrong (and the cited source for that claim, if you follow it, leads back to a thesaurus-like entry that is, unlike the other definitions on the page, itself unsourced though the source appears to be itself a tertiary source.) A promise is not a "legal synonym" for a contract. A promise is a necessary but not sufficient element of a contract.

[raldi]

Whoever wrote that is wrong. Click the "[2]" citation, and you'll see that it in no way backs up the claim.

[dragonwriter]

Well, along with the proper definitions from other (cited) legal dictionaries on that page, there's also an unsourced, thesaurus-like entry that does seem to suggest what the page is cited for, though the other definitions on the page make clear that that entry is only accurate in terms of loosely associated concepts and not proper synonyms.

[pmelendez]

Ok.. I know the discussion is going way off-topic and getting pedantic connotations. To illustrate the point in my original comment, I would like to make a last cite from Britannica.

@dragonwriter: For some reason I can't reply your comments, I guess HN is delaying replies after a while precisely to avoid long off-topic threads (although they are fun :)

"contract, in the simplest definition, a promise enforceable by law" http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/135270/contract