Template:In writing capsule: Difference between revisions

no edit summary
No edit summary
Line 1: Line 1:
“[[In writing]]” means ''recorded for posterity, in words ingestable by means of the eyes, as opposed to the ears''. This is not the OED definition, I grant you — I made it up just now — but it zeroes in on the immutable fact that, whether it is on parchment, paper, cathode ray tube, LED screen or electronic reader, you take in [[in writing|writing]] by ''looking at it''. Not [[orally]] — from the mouth — or for that matter, ''aurally'' — to the ears nor, in the [[JC]]’s favourite example, via semaphore, by a chap waving flags from a distant hill, but in visible sentences, made up of visual words.  
“[[In writing]]” means ''recorded for posterity, in words ingestable by means of the eyes, as opposed to the ears''. This is not the OED definition, I grant you — I made it up just now — but it zeroes in on the immutable fact that, whether it is on parchment, paper, cathode ray tube, LED screen or electronic reader, you take in [[in writing|writing]] by ''looking at it''. Not [[orally]]— from the mouth — or for that matter, ''aurally''through the ears nor, in the [[JC]]’s favourite example, via semaphore by a chap waving flags from a distant hill but in visible sentences, made up of visual words.  


Could “writing” include GIFs? [[Emoji]]s? We ''suppose'' so — but do you “write” them, as such? — but to the wider question “can [[emoji]]s be contractually significant?” the answer is undoubtedly ''yes''.
Sentences. Words. Mystic runes carved upon the very living rock. Anything else? Could “writing” include memes? GIFs? [[Emoji]]s? We ''suppose'' so — but do you “write” them, as such? — but to the wider question “can communications apprehended visually but of a non-verbal nature be contractually significant?” the answer is undoubtedly ''yes''.


Acceptance, to be legally binding, ''need not be “[[in writing]]”''. Nor “[[orally]]”. [[Acceptance]] just needs to be ''clear''. ''Whether'' one has accepted is a matter for the laws of ''[[evidence]]''. There is little doubt that one who has [[signed, sealed and delivered]] a parchment deed by quill in [[counterpart]] has accepted its contents — it is about as good evidence as you could ask for, short of the fellow admitting it in cross-examination — but a merchant need not, and often does not, reach this gold standard when concluding [[Contract|commercial arrangements]] about town.  
Acceptance, to be legally binding, ''need not be “[[in writing]]”''. Nor “[[orally]]”. [[Acceptance]] just needs to be ''clear''. ''Whether'' one has accepted is a matter for the laws of ''[[evidence]]''. There is little doubt that one who has [[signed, sealed and delivered]] a parchment deed by quill in [[counterpart]] has accepted its contents — it is about as good evidence as you could ask for, short of the fellow admitting it in cross-examination — but a merchant need not, and often does not, reach this gold standard when concluding [[Contract|commercial arrangements]] about town.