Do you read contracts/terms of service/licenses?

[zen-r]

Interesting links, sandogg.

The idea of using software to analyse TOS hadn't occurred to me. I wonder how well it works? - I must check out the sites you linked to. One amusing thought, though : make sure you check the TOS on those sites before you use their analysis tools!!

Further to my last post, I'd just like to add that I always used to follow the No.1 rule : "Always read the contract & small-print before you sign anything". But of course, that was before use of the internet became so popular. Things have changed since then, & now TOS are much longer, especially if they have anything to do with websites (covering spamming, DOS attacks, illegal content....the list is endless) & as I said, what about those bloomin' scroll boxes?!! You never used to get them when the contract was written on a good old bit of paper.

And now a signature can just be a simple tick in a box. So much quicker to do, & it feels so much more anonymous that it lulls you into a false sense of security/ immunity.

Finally, & further to sandogg's idea of using analysis software. There is another method which might help you avoid agreeing to any dodgy TOS. Use the fact that you're online to your advantage. Use Google to search for sites where people have reviewed or discussed the company that you are dealing with, including any discussion of its service & TOS. If there is anything dodgy or devious about the company, chances are that someone will have complained about it online. They've often even started a dedicated grudge website!

But don't forget that reading a TOS before you sign it isn't just to protect you from potential financial losses & scams, it is also to make you aware of your obligations &, in the cases of X10hosting & similar, to make you aware of what you need to actively do to keep your service operational. Points such as those aren't, I suspect, so easy to find in a TOS with analysis software or Google!

[farscapeone]

I read them only when associated with something expensive, but I don't waste my time on reading software licenses for free or lo cost apps.

[vekou]

i selectively read them.. usually tos contains only disclaimers that they will not take any responsibility whatsoever if their product or service harms your computer. the privacy policy also usually says that their server will capture information such as IP address but not private details and will never sell them to anybody.

[rebellion]

For services only. Software licences and agreements are way too long and over written. They are a waste of time, since usually they are all exactly the same, except for the company and software name that pops up every 4 words. Terms of service MUST be read, because you can get in trouble if you don't know the terms of the service you are using.

[ichwar]

It depends on what it is.
When I'm just going to try out some free software for nothing in particular, then I never bother. But if it's for something that I anticipate using alot, I usually read it so that I don't start breaking rules right and left. :laugh:

[aaronj10]

I will only read them if it is somthing needed, if it's a forum, game site, somthing like that, then no not exactly, infact most of your 'free made forums' have pretty much the same 'Terms of Agreement' which is fine, but once you've read it about 2 or 3 times, it gets old, quick.:eek4:

[Smith6612]

For the ones I don't intend to break within minutes of installing, I read them.

The obvious exception being x10's; I read that one TWICE cause I didn't wanna be changing webhosts for what would have been the 5th time in 6 months when I first joined



But yeah, most of the games I play I don't bother with the EULA/ToS/License. Most of them forbid using a no-cd/dvd hack so I don't need the frackin' dvd in the drive. If I have the game legally, I shouldn't need the bloody disc in the bloody drive!

But they make it against the EULA to do, so I do it anyways. I figure if they wanna sue someone who spent $50+ on the game instead of suing the guy who both pirated it AND used the no-cd/dvd hack, let them. I imagine there'd be a ton of bad publicity there.

"EA sues a legally paying customer! Film at 11!"

The companies wind up releasing No-CD patches for their games eventually. Bungie did that last year with Halo for the PC. I've found No-CD patches and Daemon Tools to be very useful at times. When my laptop's CD/DVD drive broke years ago before I replaced it, I had to make ISO files of the games on another computer which ultimately was a No-CD method.

Now a days thanks to the Geniuses who said that the Internet can be used for digital Distribution of content/games in full quality, I've barely if anything used my optical drive on my PCs, and Daemon Tools has since been uninstalled from my other PCs. I have a fast, uncapped and unthrottled connection, I can pull down a single 700MB CD worth of content in minutes.

[briapv]

I only read them for select instances, like for services (of course I read the x10 TOS ;)). If I am about to make an email account, I am not about to read the whole yahoo TOS. Especially for software, most of the content is the same as all the other software.

I know a couple of people who would, what about you?

I've never read X10 TOS still nothing done wrong:drool::drool::drool::drool::drool::drool::dr ool::drool:

[taha116]

I voted selectivlety... its the most true for me i guess... im lazy but when spending money and agreeng to more sensitive matters i make sure i know what im doing. Or atleast try.

[halo3gopher]

I only really read through the TOS if either:
I'me really really bored, or It's for something that will make me money (ads) or when I'm buying a service