We're clearly not making any progress, so I'll boil down my objections and leave it at that. My biggest problem with the original article is simply that it doesn't mention that setting up a dead man's switch could expose somebody to a legitimate charge of destruction of evidence or contempt of court. That seems like an important detail.

I'll accept your argument that there may be valid reasons for innocent people to set up a dead man's switch, but even so it's irresponsible to tell people "look at this cool thing you can do" without mentioning that doing it could -- in some circumstances -- lead to jail time and legal bills.

Yes, if I set up a dead man's switch and am never investigated, it will never be triggered, and I will never face charges because of it. But then the police will never know that the thing existed, so they would have no reason to believe that lots of innocent people are using dead man's switches for legitimate purposes.

I would still insist on a disclaimer if the advice only increased the chance somebody would be charged with a crime, even if it were impossible to be convicted. I don't believe everything should carry a disclaimer, but I do believe that if I'm aware of a nonobvious risk, I should mention it.

Years ago, I was a teller for BB&T bank. When the economy started slowing down in early 2001, and our competitors announced layoffs, the CEO sent out a memo stating that BB&T didn't plan any layoffs and that the CEO thought the company had a bright future. As proof of that bright future, he mentioned that he was "fully vested" in the company, i.e., his only investments were cash and BB&T stock, and he swore that he would not sell his stock because a captain has a duty to go down with the ship. It's certainly legal to put all of your investments in one company, but it's generally considered a risky move, so the CEO also included a disclaimer that he wasn't suggesting we put all of our money in BB&T stock. But he wanted us to know that he either sincerely believed in the company, or was willing to risk a fortune pretending to.

> > Considering Tor: I'm perfectly OK recommending people check sports scores and read Wikipedia through Tor in the US or other Western countries; but I would feel irresponsible giving that advice to people in, say, North Korea or Iran.

> Shouldn't it feel more uncomfortable than this casting the US into a comparison with North Korea and Iran? It seems like it should feel more uncomfortable than this.

I'm feeling the smugness, but I'm not able to figure out the logic behind it. My complaint with the original article is that it gives advice without mentioning the consequences for following that advice. My list of things that should include disclaimers is based on my understanding of US law and the potential consequences of using Tor, secure HTTP connections, encrypted email, etc. It seems obvious to me that the list of things that should include disclaimers under various legal regimes will be influenced by the consequences of taking those actions in those regimes. Indeed, mentioning that the consequences of using Tor, encrypted email, etc. are different in the US than in North Korea (or Iran, or Saudi Arabia, or Cuba, depending on who's on the other end of the connection) seems to me to be a compliment to the US.