Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
h a l f b a k e r y
Invented by someone French.

idea: add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random

meta: news, help, about, links, report a problem

account: browse anonymously, or get an account and write.

user:
pass:
register,


   

agreement by proxy

A proxy server that "agrees" to stupid licensing agreements
  (-3)
(-3)
  [vote for,
against]

In the United States, the The Electronic Signatures in Global National Commerce Act recently took effect. According to this Act, activities in a gray area, like on-line licensing agreements, can now become valid, as clicking "ACCEPT" is construed as an agreement.

My idea is to create a proxy server that maintains the locations of these agreements on the web, or detects them. Typically, these agreements consist of a form with only two buttons with text like "I AGREE" and "I DO NOT AGREE", and possibly a text field containing the agreement. When the proxy server notices a page like this, it generates a POST indicating agreement, and returns the result of that page to the browser.

ipsin, Oct 25 2000


Please log in.
If you're not logged in, you can see what this page looks like, but you will not be able to add anything.



Annotation:







       ... the idea being that since you didn't actually click the button, you aren't actually bound by the agreement? (One could argue that by installing such a proxy you implicitly agreed to be bound by *any* such agreement... but that would be a fairly weak argument.)   

       I find that in an amusingly large number of cases, the text field in question remains editable. I generally delete the text, replace it with a contract I like better, and happily click "ACCEPT".
egnor, Oct 26 2000
  


 

back: main index

business  computer  culture  fashion  food  halfbakery  home  other  product  public  science  sport  vehicle