Hacker News Reader

Comment by moocowduckquack | Hacker News Reader

"the IP block gave them notice of the fact that they were no longer entitled to access what is otherwise a public website."

The same logic could presumably criminalise the behaviour of making a new account on a site after your old account has been blacklisted.

This isn't so much about banning people from entering a premises, this is more like banning someone from looking at your roadside advertising signs by standing between them and a sign and then taking them to court when they glance round you.

View on HN

A billboard is bad metaphor for a website. With a billboard, you can get the information while standing in public or private space not owned or controlled by the advertiser. So a billboard is more like banner ad than a website. A website as a public store seems to be the better metaphor.

That could mean that creating a new account after your old account was banned could be a crime. That's like putting on dark sunglasses and a beard and walking back into the store after you've been kicked out. It's trespassing which is a crime. The difference is in the real world, simple trespass does not result in a life-altering felony conviction with a jail sentence.

>The difference is in the real world, simple trespass does not result in a life-altering felony conviction with a jail sentence.

Isn't that enough of a difference? Property owners be responsible for security of their property to some extent. If there is a door with a key hanging next to the door and anyone is allowed in by simply using the publicly available key, is it really trespassing?

It is still trespassing. It doesn't have to be difficult to do something for it to be illegal.

I think the bigger issue is that trespassing is usually handled with a warning and, if it does go to court, is usually a misdemeanor or a low-grade felony. For this, it seems that accessing a server that you do not have permission to use is seen as much more serious than merely trespassing.

I can't see an argument that supports that position. Certainly, if you do anything to vandalize or disrupt the server, then you have crossed a line and should be prosecuted. Anything less should be handled more reasonably.

Creating a new account with a fake name directly interacts with the company's server. Looking at a roadside sign requires no activity on the part of the sign.

On the contrary, the sign must reflect photons into your eyes. :P

Reply on news.ycombinator.com