>>It's when a religious discussion... what was the word... yes, encroaches on the territory of the commons, claiming it - well, I apply the golden rule and defend myself and the space

I've noted your disdain for religion (apart from the cult of tobacco doing no harm ;-) )

I don't share it, but agree we need to be cautious about Pharisee good works steeped in infallibility of teachings and self praise of public services.

For something more contemporary than the biblical examples, I'm reminded of a public service to a public service in NY that cost a fellow UTer her job.

Meanwhile, the essence of Lawfare in the US is that LLCs and Corps must hire a lawyer to defend- officers cannot represent the company themselves as you can in Europe- and with recovery of US legal costs only in "exceptional" circumstances, the prospect of Lawfare exerts a chilling effect unless you have a dedicated legal department. The prospect involves costs likely into the $100Ks to achieve nothing different from the status quo. A US person considering use of Chen's works may choose to reconsider rather than risk Lawfare, as at least one has already intimated in this thread.

If it's too late for that, there's the historic precedent of hiding from Pharisee types. "What they don't know can't hurt me" is a smart motto, as also has been practiced in many other circumstances over the years to spare oneself the fire of good works.

The other issue is Chen: with risks introduced by the public servant and no expectation of payment, there's not just a perception of "looking a gift horse in the mouth" but also a chilling effect that can cause a smart person to shrug and walk.

Of note is that if current logic were evenly applied, even superb products like Rick Strahl's Web Connect could be declared "illegal" since they overcome technical limitations in VFP, which is one of the rationalizations attempted here.

FWIW, I agree with Bill and Kevin that MS is unlikely to push this, not just because it lacks merit but because the $75K jurisdictional minimum is unlikely to be met by Chen and also because these things have a way of attracting undesirable attention or crowd funding before the judge decides it warrants an "exceptional" cost award. Unless VFP bursts back onto the scene in the Western World, not just in the developing world, MS doesn't need to respond.

Unfortunately that doesn't stop the chilling effect which is a shame when Chen is the only one who actually delivers, unlike Etechnologia and others who were so full of promise but didn't deliver. Of course Chen is worthy of community plaudits rather than having first stones cast at him.