I'd like to hope an "average" person would not gloss over gaps in their knowledge and jump to a hostile conclusion.
In your scenario, say you're the phone company - would you think it reasonable if the customer who called in your example blames you for their having made a call and placed an order, because the phone line must have made the call itself and faked the customer's voice?
To be fair, the email included in the OP is not really bellowing. She's politely explaining that she found his contact information inside the documentation distributed with the app, and providing screenshots as proof. I think a simple explanation that the name is included only due to technicalities of copyright law and that there is no direct involvement whatsoever is sufficient. After that reply, there is no need to respond further, and almost all lawyers will immediately understand and refuse to proceed with a case.
It should also be noted that hosting an ecommerce platform is a lot different from being one of the many low-level libraries employed by the application. It's not necessarily unreasonable to expect an ecommerce processor or host to have reasonable fraud detection schemes in place, and it's certainly plausible that some lawyers would consider suing the ecommerce vendor (especially if the company makes money).
This sounds like bellowing. It's borderline blackmail. Help me with my request or else I make sure Facebook knows what a scumbag you are.
The funny thing about this whole story is that she's not contacting him because she thinks he works at Instagram, which would be an understandable misconception, but instead she thinks he's with the hacking team. You have to be completely imbecile to think of villains answering with their real names.
This is what many "average" people do, and people have built businesses and political careers out of this.
-Defensive: Remove links to: "made by"
-Reactive: Handle the situation every time it appears.
-Proactive: See if this represents an opportunity for you and approach the market.
-Not responding.
Edit: format and form.
If you think everyone has to know everything before seeking help, then you are the idiot, sorry.
The woman probably doesn't know what a software is, other than a "Download" button on a website and an icon on the toolbar. Do you expect those people to differentiate between the software and the libraries underneath ?
Of course she doesn't understand, but she doesn't know she doesn't understand. That's the very source of the problem, and assuming they're idiot for not having spent the hundreds of hours necessary to understand what we're talking about is ludicrous.
But the thing is, does the bellower know they don't understand something? Few people are mature enough (especially when angry) to admit they really don't understand something (and this is probably prevalent in software development circles / communities, too)
I don't think these people are dumb, just frustrated. But your phrasing was curious to me.
That is to say: I know what I don't know in the fields that I study/practice in. I don't know what I don't know about the fields I don't.
No, they don't, that's what makes them an idiot.
A non-idiot doesn't have to know everything, but they do need to be aware of what they don't know.
They ARE idiots, but not because they don't know tech. They're idiots making strong accusations without having any idea what they're talking about or any evidence.
People finding scapegoats because they're afraid of the unknown is how we historically ended up with things like the witch trials.
Naiveté is fine, not everyone can know everything, but this sort of aggressive ignorance shouldn't be even remotely humored.
I know it sounds elitist but there are people out there who are completely morons. We have to get used to it.
"Look, I saw your company name under my bicycle seat; how can you say you're not involved in the problem of my pedal having broken off!"
Man made stuff is made from parts, and parts have different suppliers; they are not all original, and a given part is not involved in every conceivable problem that occurs somewhere in the whole. Very complicated, that!
"No wait, I know what you are. You're part of a bicycle vandal ring. You go around breaking pedals and sticking your 'calling card' sticker underneath bicycle seats."
Most are people that should not have stopped taken what their Psychiatrist has given them (or should go to one given the chance)
And let's not forget the scammers, of course
They are not idiots, they are average people, tech is complex, I wonder if people who have to be told or explain things to represent a market to attend?
Imagine, something were you call a number ask for something to be bought; later someone go picking up the money, you perform the purchase and you later deliver.
No credit cards, no complex thing to go over.