Ignoring the rest of this (very, very sad) thread, this stuck out to me:
> I am telling you to shut up and stop giving advice on a case you're not personally familiar with. You are aware that there is legal liability for YOU being created as we speak, right?
Not everyone cares about creating legal liability for themselves if they believe they're doing the right thing. I've built my career (and life, for that matter) on wading neck-deep into the grey areas of the law where I firmly believed that my actions were positive. Whether or not he's creating liability for himself shouldn't be your concern.
Plus there's the fact that I wasn't giving legal advice, by any stretch.
Further, like you, I'm quite comfortable with what I've said, and I am supremely confident that no liability has attached to me in this discussion.
The claim that he's trying to protect me from such liability is a rationalization. His real intent is that he's offended that someone is talking about legal issues and he want's to shut it down.
If that weren't his motivation, why lie and claim I was giving legal advice?
I think what you're missing is that he's not lying. What you're doing could be construed as giving legal advice, with the way US laws work. That doesn't mean he's right, but I doubt he's thinking "pfft, of course it's not advice", thus lying about it. You guys may differ in opinion, but he's not lying.
Honestly, you guys are talking (screaming) past each other on about a dozen things here. Please, step away from the keyboard. Cool down. Think it through and then if you want to from there, engage in a rational discussion. Both of you are doing a disservice to this thread.
True enough. I'm more concerned with the welfare of the person who blindly follows this advice, and the liability being created for people giving him advice is a close second.
> I am telling you to shut up and stop giving advice on a case you're not personally familiar with. You are aware that there is legal liability for YOU being created as we speak, right?
Not everyone cares about creating legal liability for themselves if they believe they're doing the right thing. I've built my career (and life, for that matter) on wading neck-deep into the grey areas of the law where I firmly believed that my actions were positive. Whether or not he's creating liability for himself shouldn't be your concern.