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That doesn’t seem to be the claim they were making. Regardless of legality, I’d argue that it’s the right thing to do in this case.

("You're not wrong Walter, ...")

That's like sticking a finger in front of someone's eyeball and saying "I'm not touching you, what am I doing that's illegal?"

The request in comments above is to do the polite thing and share credit for those not yet aware of the game.

Not quite. Your example could quite easily be considered an illegal form of harassment or intimidation,

But I agree with the principle, you don't have to be nice only when it would be illegal not to be.

The defense is that it's not literally illegal? Good lord, the bar is in hell.

Too many people conflate legality with morality.

Agree, and in my experience, the challenge is that they understand legality but do not have good moral instincts.