I think that is a reasonable interpretation, but sets a scary precedent. If you are selling something and I, the buyer, say "I'd really like to get this for free" and you respond, "okay, it's yours!" Can you come back and call on me being a thief later?

> if it comes across as a joke then the teller isn't going to give you any money.. because they think it is a joke.

I'd also add that vast majority of malformed requests are denied. Only computers who have a sense of humour, so to speak, comply to the abnormal requests. Computer security is much closer to this scenario than carrying a gun, I feel.

Yeah, in the real world there are a lot of more factors to consider than just the wording. How threatening the victim/potential victim feels the other party is being is hugely important.

For example, there is a world of difference between a panhandler asking you "Hey, can I have a couple dollars" in a populated touristy area during the day, and the same panhandler following you for several blocks at night before asking you that in an ally. One is just panhandling, but the other is effectively a mugging.

Computers don't really have those sort of cues, so it becomes difficult to make reasonable comparisons between the two.