halacha - Bli Neder Loophole

Who came up with the Bli Neder loophole of:

Bli neder I will help you do X

Or

Bli neder I will etc...

And the list can go on and on.

Who came up with addingBli Neder which basically means "Without a promise" to things that seem like promises?!

Does that remove one from the obligation of the promise?

I have even heard people say:

I promise Bli Neder....

Really now?

How does all of this work, and what are the ramifications in halacha?

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Side points and references:

• Here is a whole article on nedarim on general


• Quote from here:
  

  
  

  Bli Neder
  A "neder" is a formal commitment. "B'li Neder" means "without making a formal commitment." Not to be true to ones word is itself considered a sin in Judaism. Therefore, not to become entrapped in the sin of violating ones commitments, one adds this expression (B'li Neder) when committing oneself to an action or behavior such as in this calendar. To avoid confusion - one must truly intend to keep ones word in order for this qualifier (or this calendar for that matter) to have any real meaning. This expression is not valid in business contracts and legal obligations

  
  

  
  

Answer

According to Alex's answer here (which I asked for this very purpose):

"A neder, by definition, is either declaring something to be forbidden to oneself, or taking on an obligation to bring a korban or give tzedakah (Rambam, ibid. 1:1-2 and Matnos Aniyim 8:1)."

So even if saying bli neder CAN circumvent a vow, logic dictates that it would only work on a neder, and not on a shevua. The cases you bring up in your question pertain to shevu'ot (except for the last one when referring to tzedaka), and since the wrong term is used, bli neder may not apply.

On the other hand, the Rambam writes (Hilchot Shevuot 2:12) that when one makes a shevua, his intentions must match up with what he says. For example, if one says that he will give a 180 dollar donation, while really he means to say 180 shekel hadash, he is not tied down to his oath. I would presume that similarly here, just because one says he will do something, if he does not intend for it to be binding, it may not apply. Assuming this logic is true, the words "bli neder" would not actually have to be said, as long as they are his intent.