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A VC-funded startup called WhosHere is trying to steal my social network

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Re: A VC-funded startup called WhosHere is trying to steal my social network

#161

Post by jhuni »

MiguelHudnandez wrote: post #68
jsprinkles wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FYI, what I wrote is not an ad hominem argument, and "ad-hominem argument" is not an a.k.a. for "personal attack" (neither of which my comment is, for what it's worth).

Thanks for the clarification on "ad hominem" versus personal attacks. Now I understand that it's only ad hominem if the basis of the argument relies on the personal attack. All that aside, your comment above, reproduced here, is clearly a personal attack: > Not only are you surprisingly easily manipulated, apparently, don't you have better things to hack on?

Is it "clearly" a personal attack even though there is a question mark there?

Re: A VC-funded startup called WhosHere is trying to steal my social network

#163

Post by tuxidomasx »

jarrett wrote: post #42
smattiso wrote: post #9

Somewhat unrelated, but I ask the legal experts here. If someone sues you for some bogus claim, is it possible to submit a written plain english rebuttal and have the court throw it out before it gets too serious? I mean if I sue some company for something absurd and demand $10 million dollars, are they forced to actually entertain my lawsuit or can it be dismissed readily without a lawyer?

The short answer is this: It's possible, but hard to pull off. First, you would have to do some basic research on court filing procedures. It's not rocket science, but you can't just pop an envelope in the mail addressed to the judge. Once you figure out how to file documents for the case, you need to determine what type of documents to file. E.g. a motion to dismiss might be appropriate if you think the claim is utt…

This is the kind of information that I would be most interested in. I understand that the legal system is very complex (like a programming language with funky syntax), but there IS a process and there ARE standard ways to go about doing things, even if there are particularities for different locations. I suppose this is the kind of thing you learn in law school or from experience in a courtroom, but there is no reason that it can't be taught outside of those environments.

Is there a repository for learning the basics (and maybe more advanced) legal processes? What forms to send to whom, and when, and what to be sure to do, and what to never do?

It's learn-able if there is a resource that teaches it. An online Khan Academy-like resource. Or even maybe an educational game. The only lawyer sim I've seen is Phoenix Wright.

Sure, I'd still prefer an experienced lawyer to do the driving if something comes up, but I'd feel more confident with some solid legal knowledge of my own.

Re: A VC-funded startup called WhosHere is trying to steal my social network

#164

Post by ard0r »

jsprinkles wrote: post #34
nirvana wrote: post #30

I never went to law school so there's no way I could be a lawyer, I'm just giving my thoughts on things I would do in this situation. This isn't legal advice. I sympathize with your situation and I'm sure there are a couple lessons learned here- namely that they used negotiation with email to apparently cause you to forget that there was court case pending. But saying that doesn't help you. I've been in the situation…

I appreciate what you're doing, but you just wrote an essay full of legal advice, including conclusions on how the proceedings will go -- something you really shouldn't predict. By putting the words "this isn't legal advice" before your comment, you aren't magically making it okay to give your opinion in the guise of advice. Just be aware of that.

Ipse dixit.

Also, this is a state-by-state issue, and in Texas, at least, you are quite wrong.

http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/76R/billtext/html/HB015...

Re: A VC-funded startup called WhosHere is trying to steal my social network

#165

Post by MartinCron »

jsprinkles wrote: post #44
throwaway1979 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You've posted two negative comments thus far. Your point is valid that one must hear both sides. Are you affiliated with either party? Disclaimer: I'm a random HN reader who has done work in the area of location aware computing. I have no connection with either party.

It concerns me that I'm attacked personally for advocating for common sense when it comes to the law. Being sued? Shut up. Don't post to HN. Don't comment on the case. Don't challenge the other party to Quake 3 on Twitter. Don't give people legal advice after saying "I'm not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice". Stop being stupid. This advice transcends my allegiance, which is to nobody involved in this discussion (…

It concerns me that I'm attacked personally for advocating for common sense when it comes to the law

I think that it's not as much that you're advocating for common sense, but that you're being really aggressive about it. Everyone can read and understand your point of view. Not everyone has to agree with it. You don't have a moral or ethical obligation to argue with people until they realize that you're right. Reasonable people can disagree, and on the internet, the standard of "reasonable" is often pretty low.

I personally agree with you in that I would never discuss pending legal matters with an online community. It seems too risky.

It also saddens me, as a tech-geek and business-geek and law-geek that we can't have transparent and "hackerly" discussions of these kinds of conflicts and possible ideas (not exactly full-on advice) for addressing and/or preventing them.

Re: A VC-funded startup called WhosHere is trying to steal my social network

#166

Post by tlogan »

liber8 wrote: post #38

General advice for legal questions: it's fine to ask these sorts of questions, but please, for the love of god, don't listen to anyone who isn't a lawyer or who hasn't gone through something very similar to what you're going through. And, even in those cases, take their advice with a HUGE grain of salt. (If you disagree, please see below, where OP is variously advised to (1) commit unlicensed practice of law [serious…

I agree that it is smart to say "get a lawyer" in this situation. It does seem very hairy.

But now something off topic...

I noticed that these kind of answers ("get a lawyer") are used also to answer question even when people are just curious or they just want to learn something. It is nearly impossible to learn what needs to be read or investigated in order to evaluate the situation.

For example, I don't need a lawyer for small claims court but where to get some advise?

In other words, even the most common sense questions regarding law, health, taxes, etc are answered with "get a lawyer, see a doctor, get tax advisor, get accountant, etc".

It does seems that market of legal, health, tax, and similar professionals is due to a disruption.

Is there a cheap lawyer service? Something like not visiting doctor but just visiting nurse.

Re: A VC-funded startup called WhosHere is trying to steal my social network

#167

Post by pooriaazimi »

simpleenigma wrote: post #26
logical42 wrote: post #4

Put up something to accept donations, I'd be happy to kick back a few bucks to the cause.

I know the developer and I just let him know that he is getting attention here ... and to get a donation link up ASAP ... He is a good guy and this has been an awful experience for him ... I've told him to get an account and start posting to this thread, so hopefully he'll be here soon ...

Merely a 'Donate' button is not enough. It should show how much has been donated so far (it gives people more motivation to donate, if they see that this 'donate' thing actually works and for example, $1900 has been raised so far).

Re: A VC-funded startup called WhosHere is trying to steal my social network

#168

Post by pooriaazimi »

user40682 wrote: post #24

Work the PR front, in addition to all the legal work you need. Ideas: -Start tweeting about it & create a hashtag #WhosHereThieves -Get in touch with the TechCrunch author who wrote about about your app. This story is a big deal -Reddit post -Accept donations page -The VC probably doesn't know anything about this, but they might respond if included in all the negative PR

> -Start tweeting about it & create a hashtag #WhosHereThieves

IANAL, but I think it's a very bad idea. I don't have the faintest idea if it's considered defamation in the court, but I suspect it might be, and thus should be avoided.

Re: A VC-funded startup called WhosHere is trying to steal my social network

#169

Post by pooriaazimi »

user40682 wrote: post #24

Work the PR front, in addition to all the legal work you need. Ideas: -Start tweeting about it & create a hashtag #WhosHereThieves -Get in touch with the TechCrunch author who wrote about about your app. This story is a big deal -Reddit post -Accept donations page -The VC probably doesn't know anything about this, but they might respond if included in all the negative PR

> -Start tweeting about it & create a hashtag #WhosHereThieves

IANAL, but I think it's a very bad idea. I don't have the faintest idea if it's considered defamation in the court, but I suspect it might be, and thus should be avoided.

Re: A VC-funded startup called WhosHere is trying to steal my social network

#170

Post by MartinCron »

chuinard wrote: post #139

I hate to be negative about this, but it sounds like you've had a successful product for 2 years. Why are you still working on it if you're sacrificing time, sleep, and a social life to 'break even'? At some point (and I would think well before 400,000 users), why didn't you go out, seek $1.25m for yourself, and win your market over with a better quality product? I do think what is happening is wrong, but why are you…

Not all projects are blockbuster profit projects, some people do things as a labor of love for the joy of doing them. Sometimes great things are made that way.

Seeking out $1.25M is not the sort of thing that has any draw for a lot of people, and that's OK.

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