> In either case post to HN and as many other places as you can that are relevant to make sure their status as litigious wankers is recorded as far and wide as possible ;-)
While the idea of getting the word out there that these people are idiots is amiable, it's not the best idea legally. Now they can prove that you saw their original email and probably have scumbag lawyers who can use this post in other ridiculous ways (claim it proves malicious intent, for instance... no idea what they'd actually do).
Uhm well ElcomSoft was found not guilty in the end, and the case against Dmitry Sklyarov was dropped, so I don't think you can claim un-rot13 to be classed as an encryption circumvention device...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._ElcomSoft_and_...
un-rot13 is encryption circumvention? Source?
He was probably refering to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._ElcomSoft_and_...
When you signed up you will have agreed not to do this sort of thing in the terms and conditions - whether that is legally enforceable or not could be expensive to prove either way. Though the worst they can do you for here is breach of contract.
With regard to "copyright circumvention": un-rot13 has been classed as an encryption circumvention device before now, so don't bank on the law having any common sense here.
My advice:
1. If it is just a weekend project it isn't worth the hassle, drop it as requested.
2. If you really care about it, lawyer up and prepare to fight.
In either case post to HN and as many other places as you can that are relevant to make sure their status as litigious wankers is recorded as far and wide as possible ;-)