Illegal vs. Unlawful

[BobK]

Oh come on! An illegal operation has no legal ramification. It is purely a technical term within computing parlance. But nice try though. LOL.

I disagree. Software is very pernickety, and is governed by laws - regarding what can and can't be done in given contexts. 'Pernickety' is outrageously anthropomorphic, I know (you'd understand my paranoia if you knew how long I've wrestled with the stuff ;-)), but the same anthropomorphism underlies the words 'governed' and 'laws'. 'Illegal' in this metaphorical usage seems to me extraordinarily appropriate.

b