

Ask HN: How important are terms and conditions? - vishaldpatel

A lot of websites seem to have "terms-and-conditions" upon getting an account. How important is it to have them? Many of these are very verbose, and I don't know anyone who actually reads them. Is it possible to get away with a simple set terms such as:
-&#62; You are limited to one account per person.
-&#62; We will send you a cheque if you have earned more than $50. If you have earned below this amount, we are not obligated to pay you.
-&#62; You, or we may choose to cancel your account at any time, without reason.<p>Thanks for your opinions.
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JacobAldridge
I guess the issue with terms and conditions is that they're not important
until they're important. Suddenly you act in good faith and get taken to court
because a customer interprets something differently - precision leads to
verbosity, particularly in the law.

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zepolen
An online TOS is not worth anything _unless_ you can prove to a judge that the
user did indeed read and agree to that _exact version_ of the TOS.

For example, a user can edit the html, print it out, and claim _that_ was what
he agreed to when he signed up.

Or, after getting involved with a user legally, the website can alter the TOS
on their site to better their own position.

Even if you register with a 3rd party (we get the police to date and verify
with a signed document everytime we change ours by making them visit our
website and printing off the TOS) - however that still is suspect to
tampering.

The best way is to make the user print, sign and return the TOS.

