The last 30 hours have been really, really interesting.  As a result of forwarded URLs with 'have you seen this' attached I have had separate conversations with two smart, passionate developers who posted information they probably shouldn't have from a legal perspective.  So far, both have responded positively to my suggestions and offers of assistance, feedback, support, etc.

So here is the deal: If you are a developer doing 'interesting' things with any product outside the scope of a published and public software development kit, take a moment and follow this simple rule:

Be Smart

Read the End User License Agreement before posting the wonderful thing you have discovered.  If you have even the slightest shred of doubt whether or not you should post, keep the information to yourself or contact the company who owns the software and ask for clarification.

Here's the deal. I don't have the bandwidth or inclination to keep calling folks and pledging my personal support of their efforts. I'm not a lawyer nor a law enforcement officer. I'm just a guy trying to help enable developers, designers and companies on the Media Center platform.  From now on, if you choose to Be Dumb and someone points it out to me (or I see it via Google Alerts, RSS feed I happen to be subscribed to, website I happen to be perusing, etc.) it's just going to get forwarded to our Legal and Corporate Affairs team.  Not out of spite -- they get paid to look into these matters and resolve them -- I don't.

That said, you can ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS send your feedback about the Media Center platform to me directly. I may not always answer (my Inbox stays pretty full with Follow Up flags galore) but I guarantee I will read your feedback and pass along as appropriate to our development teams.

* 'Be Smart' isn't my idea.  I heard it first from Scoble in reference to blogging.  It seems an equally good maxim for this topic.