I don’t know what the fuck what that was.
Should I grovel now?
Grovel, grovel,
cringe, bow, stoop, fall
Worship, worship,
beg, kneel, sponge, crawl
A long-overdue flameout.
The thing is…that grid of numbers Darth posted earlier? I might have created something that looked somewhat similar back in the day. A grid of numbers from 1-8, arranged in groups of some kind, and it would have nothing to do with copyright, classified information, or anything remotely similar. It would very likely be my short hand method of noting the hit points for each member of an orc army in the D&D game I used to run. Or any other perfectly legitimate explanations could apply.
Note that I’m interested in the legal aspect of “illegal numbers”. I have no objection to board policy regarding same.
I still don’t know what illegal numbers are, but at least a recent banning makes more sense now.
Is 11 an illegal number?
11 f9 09?
09 f9 11?
Yes.
It is, it seems. Just don’t dance over Marley’s line…
Here’s a decent rule of thumb: if I put the number in Google and find it’s on a list of illegal numbers (or codes used to decrypt DVDs and so on), it probably is one. 
I think it may be safest to never post any number on the Boards. My reasoning is as follows.
First, if illegal numbers can range from zero up to infin . . . er, as high as you want, then there must be a lowest illegal number. Call it N.
If I posted the number which is one less than N, and mentioned exactly that, that “it was one less than the smallest illegal number”, it would be more than easy to use that information to calculate the smallest illegal number (duh, just add one to it). So, I can’t post N-1 (since it would be tantamount to posting N). And of course I can’t post N itself.
Okay, how about posting N-2. Nope. Same logic would apply.
I think you can see that it follows that I can’t post N-3, N-4, etc. They all allow you to determine N. Hey, if I type “32”, I may be breaking the law in the process.
As I said, it’s probably safest never to post any number.
ETA: I have been familiar with Mr. Berry for decades, but admit seeing it used elsewhere in this context quite recently.
if ever there was a thread that needs this, it is this one
fnord
001100010010011110100001101101110011
001100010010011110100001101101110011
NOTE: should not be read aloud
Wouldn’t a list of illegal numbers also be illegal?
But what if there’s a hypothetical sequence of ten numbers is illegal and that sequence appears as a part of a sequence of twenty numbers that I’m otherwise using legally. Could I get into trouble?
What if I’m an accountant or something and a monetary amount or whatever comes out to that hypothetical sequence of ten numbers? I mean, in that case the list of numbers aren’t even meant to be translated into binary, but still, if they were, it would represent illegal information.
Head explodes.
Exactly.
Seriously, don’t confuse SDMB rules with the legal issues with this this information. I think it’s pretty easy to conclude you can’t use the SDMB to share information that violates someone else’s copyright. I don’t think we’ve dealt with this specific issue before, but we’ve dealt with stuff like it. On the other hand the legal issues that have prompted people to say these numbers are “illegal” or copyrighted are bizarre and totally beyond my comprehension.
Maybe we need a list of numbers that are copyrighted and those that are not.
I would like to copyright the number 2. You can have the rest.
Then I will grab 1 and 3. Between us we can corner the math textbook market. At least in the primary grades. And Sesame street will be our bitch.
I though OP was reporting to the mods illegal gambling going on somewhere on the board. (I once saw a movie on cable where “illegal numbers” was used as a euphemism for “illegal gambling”. I don’t know if it’s a widely-used or well-known euphemism.) I quickly clicked on the thread wanting to see what’s happening somewhat like those bystanders who gather outside a crime scene, whispering to each other and pointing to the dead shrubbery as the police bring out handcuffed individuals.
I was surprised that the “numbers” in “illegal numbers” meant actual, living, breathing numbers. That so surprised, boggled and confused me that I scratched my head so hard it caused my dog to wag his tail. I would understand if some people living in bunkers surrounded by acres of barbed wire and underfed fracas would consider the number 666 as illegal, blasphemous and maybe even sexy but I could not think of a number that the government of these united states would consider illegal hence the head-scratching and consequent tail-wagging.
Thankfully, Marley23’s helpful link helped me understand and I have stopped scratching my head and my dog has stopped wagging his tail. To quote a great guy: “Fascinating!”
Then I want 0. After you get them hooked with Sesame Street, sooner or later they’ll want more. Or they’ll want nothing. Uhhh, whatever.
Seriously, I understand the concept, but trying to put it into a practical application (“Yes, that number’s illegal, here’s your jail term.”) gives me a headache, too.
3 is a MAGIC number. Not an illegal one. Duh.
Psst…over here…yeah, you…I just got 'em in…want some filthy transcendentals or surds, cheap?!
Are you suggesting that all negative numbers are legal?