Doug,
I'm no lawyer, but it is hard to understand how a message which no
human will ever see could be considered binding on the people who
operate the
company.
Actually, the federal E-Sign Act (enacted in 2000) provides
that a contract
may not be denied legal effect because it was created by one or more
electronic agents (computer programs designed to act
independently without
contemporaneous human participation).
The point is not whether or not a "contract" can be in electronic form (I
agree this is possible) but whether two people can enter into a contract
when only one of them is aware of its existence. The answer, I think, is
no.
Your argument, if I understand it correctly, is that a mail server can enter
into legal agreements on its owner's behalf without his prior knowledge.
This seems... problematic.
-J
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