The Great Zero Challenge

[Tom Thomson]

Isn't there a more fundamental problem?  If the disclaimer is at the end 
of the document, you can just say "I didn't read the disclaimer, I didn't 
get that far".  If the document contains information on which the 
recipient needs to act quickly, you may have reacted when you read that 
information and when you went back to read the rest and found the 
disclaimer it was already too late.

M.

-----Original Message-----
From: ukcrypto-admin@chiark.greenend.org.uk 
[mailto:ukcrypto-admin@chiark.greenend.org.uk] On Behalf Of Ian Batten
Sent: 07 September 2008 12:34
To: ukcrypto@chiark.greenend.org.uk
Subject: Re: The Great Zero Challenge


On 7 Sep 2008, at 11:23, Peter Sommer wrote:
>> n
> You are right it doesn't,  and I apologise.  But much of my
> correspondence is confidential and legall privileged which is why by
> default I have this sig file.  I have to remember to delete it.
> Better to cause amusement on ukcrypto, it seems to me,  than
> professional embarassment.

My logic for stopping people using disclaimers is as follows:

There are often occasions when it's hard to tell if the disclaimer is
`real' or not.  Were someone to attempt to enforce a disclaimer
against my employer, I would look through our archives and Google for
mail from that organisation where we had:

* An official order, change request or similar contractual item with a
footer which said ``this is not an official statement''

* Something which was manifestly intended by the sender to be
distributed widely that said ``do not distribute without permission''

* Something which said it wasn't legal advice when it was legal advice
(this is a favourite of solicitors).

* You get the idea.

I'd then say ``since the organisation can't decide if the disclaimer
applies, how can we as recipients be expected to?''

If this logic holds water (and lawyers I've spoken to say it's not
entirely laughable), sending mail to mailing lists isn't just a source
of amusement for ukcrypto-ites: it's something which might later count
against you were you to try to enforce it.

ian