At 03:03 PM 1/21/2010, OrionWorks - Steven V Johnson wrote:
Abd sez:
...
> Get this: lying, as such, is not illegal. Most
> subscribers to this list are really space aliens, and
> I'm not yet revealing my secret knowledge, because I
> must protect my sources. However, I need money, so if
> you want the evidence apply for a disclosure license,
> which I will sell to anyone I decide to trust, for
> the modest sum of $49.95. To inquire, use the email
> address provided with this mail. Skeptics welcome.
> I have also placed the necessary proof in a sealed
> envelope, mailed to an undisclosed friend, so that if
> anything happens to me, it will all be revealed.
> Space aliens, you better hope I don't have an accident,
> because if so, your secret is out!
Many within the UFO community would love you. ;-)
Heh! Part of the plan. Which plan it is, I won't tell you except for
$49.95. Satisfaction guaranteed, full refund except for actual expenses.
By the way, are you aware that a refund guarantee from a corporation
can be worthless if the corporation runs out of money and no
embezzlement is shown? (And even if embezzlement is shown, it might
be difficult to get the money back.) Similarly a refund due from an
individual who is judgment-proof due to lack of assets.
Damn it! I can't spend it because I don't still have it! (This would
be illegal under some circumstances, if formally claimed in a
bankruptcy action, and the person has concealed assets and this is
discovered, but not illegal if simply a refusal to pay and not
formally asserted under oath in court. "I can't pay is vague,"
actually, it might mean that the mortgage on my million dollar house
eats up all my income.)
But who would sue for $49.95, and, for that matter, for, what is it,
under 500 euros? Ever have a corporation stiff you for something like
that? Did anyone go to jail? Let me guess. Not.
But getting back to your original premise, yes, it does seem unlikely
that anyone would end up doing any jail time - assuming that Steorn
believes in their ORBO technology.
I'm saying that this can hold even if they don't. Or did but don't
any more, which might be the case. They thought they had discovered
fabulous wealth, but found out it was a lemon. So they figured out
how to make lemonade and sell it.
Granted, we are likely splitting
hairs here, but it seems to me that if this was a deliberate con
operation that someone will eventually spill the beans and go public
with what they know. At that point what protection would an iron-clad
contract give?
Depends. I doubt that they reveal the secret to anyone who they find
judgment-proof. I'm guessing that they would do a credit check. They
could take the person for all they are worth, up to the liquidated
damages. They'd use liquidated damages instead of actual damages,
because it avoids the whole issue of what the disclosure was worth,
and they could immediately move for collection. So their scam might
be over, but they might get a small consolation payment, and
meanwhile they worked it for all it was worth.
Now, consider this. In each disclosure package they plant information
unique to each disclosure. It's irrelevant as to the substance, but
it identifies what package was disclosed. A fingerprint, could be
data, could be a form of words using synonyms, etc. So, to protect
yourself, if you want to reveal it, you'd have to alter it or
paraphrase it and present all the information in new form. And, of
course, Steorn would deny that it was what was in the package, at
first, until they decide that you still have enough assets to be worth suing.
I would not recommend agreeing to the disclosure agreement unless you
were heavily protected or actually judgment proof. But somehow will
look to them like a solid citizen of sufficient means to be worried
about losing it. I might fit in that category, but ... what if I end
up making a lot of money on something, some years later. Oops! That
judgment can survive for quite a while. Just how much would I be
willing to expose myself to the risk. Let me answer that: you'd have
to pay me a lot! And I'd make sure that it was moved safely and
legally out of a judgment's reach before disclosing.
Now, who is going to pay a lot to gain the disclosure with a plan of
revealing it? I don't see anyone with sufficient motivation.
