Test Those Terms of Agreement

Have you ever really read the complete terms of agreement on any device, any contract? If so, when was the last time that you did it?

We skim over those things. We click "agree" as fast as we can scroll to it and move on with whatever it was that we wanted to do.

That's high risk. You know that, I know that, and yet we do that anyway.

It's hard to stop. But here's what I would like you (and me) to stop, to desist from, to resist. Stop doing that to others. Just don't do it.

Be gentle. Be kind. Be honest. Be real. And (when you can) be brief.

Overwhelming people;le with long, extensive, even convoluted terms of agreement is a low form of coercion and manipulation. Here's why:

it's not an agreement, it's a weapon
agreements that are unjust and unfair are NOT agreements
it's not clever or smart to trick someone (say, your customer) into signing away rights -- it's evil and it's theft
the ability to take advantage of someone's ignorance does not give you the right to (read that one again!)
obedience implies oppression
play fair or face an unfair consequence

I mean that. Play fair or face an unfair consequence. It may take a while, but the equation always seeks to balance itself. When things even-out, it could get ugly.

Besides, you DO want to be able to sleep at night, right?

-- doug smith

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