How to write Terms and Conditions for website?

October 25, 2006 5:13 PM

How do I write Terms and Conditions for a website, without spending too much on a lawyer?

I have several websites which are beginning to gain popularity, and I'm beginning to worry my homegrown Terms and Conditions aren't up to par. How do I write Terms and Conditions correctly, so they will reflect the sites and be legal?

I have a small budget, so I don't want to consult a lawyer if possible, and I wouldn't even know where to find one who would know about the intricacies of the internet.

posted by jesirose to technology (14 comments total)

Why do you think you need terms and conditions? Are you selling something? Allowing users to post in a forum? What sort of liability are you worried about?

In my mind, there is too much in the way of Ts and Cs in this world that are either unenforcable or redundant with the law. If you're talking about the web site in your profile, you have some real howlers there:

"You agree that if you disseminate, design or assist in the design of a third party program that changes the game play on Doubloon Cove, you will pay Doubloon Cove liquidated damages in the sum of Fifty Thousand Dollars for each such program as liquidated damages."

Good luck with that.
posted by grouse at 5:23 PM on October 25, 2006

I remember when people used to try and be helpful and answer questions here, and keep snarky "I won't tell you how because its a bad idea" answers to themselves. That was nice.

Anyway, there are some standards that have sprung up around terms of content use, privacy policy, and other web-related legal mumbo jumbo. For terms of use, see the GNU Free Documentation License and the Creative Commons License, both of which, as a webmaster, I assume you are familiar with.

For privacy policies, the W3C has started the Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) Project in an attempt to standardize the process of telling users what the site intends to do with their data. Making your site P3P compliant is a (relatively) painless process, and replaces much of the page after page of 10 point legalese in many "Terms and Conditions" docs.
posted by ChasFile at 6:37 PM on October 25, 2006

Back in high school, we looked at starting an online company and met with a lawyer to discuss what was required, including creating documents like the T&C / TOS.

Understanding that our annual income was probably on par with what he made in a day, he suggested that we visit other sites, see what we liked/didn't like, and model ours on theirs, and then we'd just be paying him to look it over, rather than to write it from the ground up. (They all seemed to be worded similarly anyway, so it's not like copyright infringement was a likely problem.)

Obviously, IANAL, nor did we end up following through, but thought I'd pass on that suggestion.
posted by fogster at 7:21 PM on October 25, 2006

The reason I need terms and conditions:
Two of the sites have forums. One is an online game. Both of them sell projects as well. Users submit a lot of different information, and we collect that information, as well as have rules about how users use the site.

As for the one from DC, I copied that from another site, so that is what I am talking about. I have no idea how to make terms which ARE enforceable, so thank you for pointing out why I am asking :)
posted by jesirose at 7:22 PM on October 25, 2006

Thanks ChasFile, I will check those out.

Grouse, the site you mention does indeed have terms and conditions for all of their services. Here they are. They have more detailed ones for gmail and other products.
posted by jesirose at 7:25 PM on October 25, 2006

Is there a way to edit your own comments? I feel stupid posting three in a row, sorry.

It wasn't grouse who said Google doesn't have Terms, but the comment is gone now so I have no idea who it was.
posted by jesirose at 7:42 PM on October 25, 2006

The reasons you think you need fancy legal terms and conditions all seem to apply to the website you're looking at right now, and it gets by without anything more complicated than this:

If you sign up an account to pimp your product, act like an ass, or generally just do things that break the guidelines you will be booted and there will be no refunds.
posted by sfenders at 8:10 PM on October 25, 2006

Okay, not to be rude, but the question really wasn't "Do I need T&C?", it was "How do I write T&C"...

I realize I am a new member here, but am I misunderstanding the rules of THIS site? Aren't you supposed to post answers to the questions?
posted by jesirose at 8:54 PM on October 25, 2006

My intention was to suggest that you might write your terms and conditions in the same kind of plain language that is used in those for this site. It is quite adequate. Be as precise as you can. No lawyer necessary. Write down clearly what you want the rules to be. If you can do that, with due care, it will be just as legally binding as the more verbose prose you are presumably thinking of.
posted by sfenders at 9:10 PM on October 25, 2006

Okay great, thanks :)
posted by jesirose at 9:28 PM on October 25, 2006

... just as legally binding as the more verbose prose you are presumably thinking of ...

Which is not at all, fairly often. The great majority of Google's users have never read the terms of service text you link to. It claims that I require express permission from Google before sending automated requests to their website, which is simple nonsense. By all means they could reserve the right to refuse me service if I were to do something like that, as they can refuse service to anyone they care to; for example by blocking IP address ranges. But they would have no claim against me for making use of the interface they provide in this way; and they do not require such to deny me service. Now, it does make sense for them to explicitly claim the right to deny me service for whatever reasons they deem appropriate, absolutely, which is why metafilter has a similar condition of service. The problem with Google's approach is right at the top: By using Google's search engine or other Google services ("Google Services"), you agree to be bound by the following terms ... uh, no, I don't. If a user is not even aware that those terms exist, he cannot be bound by them. The metafilter example is in that respect better-written. For a more obvious example of the same thing, you could take those sites that prohibit linking to them; there are many. These prohibitions have no legal force whatsoever. The problem is that they are trying to claim something that should be unreasonable to anyone with a basic understanding of how the web works. Don't do that.

Now, it is understandable that Google should hire a team of lawyers to write up that largely irrelevant nonsense, since they have a big pile of money which they might as well spend, and which makes them an attractive target. So they take every precaution.

Taking ideas about what you want to include in your terms and conditions from examples such as Google is reasonable; take the parts that make sense to you, put them in your own words, and be done with it. The specific things I can think of that might be worth including are a disclaimer of liability, and the statement that you reserve the right to deny service to anyone who pisses you off, at your discretion.

--
I am not a lawyer, and while the foregoing could be construed as legal advice, it may not be any good. I may be drunk, you may be in some other legal jurisdiction. The opinions, facts, and statements of all kinds expressed in this comment do not necessarily reflect the views of metafilter, of the user called sfenders, or of anyone else. This comment may contain misleading or incorrect information, and any use it is put to shall be made at the sole risk of him, or her, or anyone else who does so.
posted by sfenders at 9:42 PM on October 25, 2006

Okay, not to be rude, but the question really wasn't "Do I need T&C?", it was "How do I write T&C"

Just from my own perspective, it is extremely important to know what kind of site you are running, and what you hope to accomplish with your Ts & Cs. It is really impossible to give advice without knowing what you want.

I have no idea how to make terms which ARE enforceable

If you write the terms in clear language, and require users to agree to them (via a form rather than small text at the bottom of a page), they are more likely to be enforceable.
posted by grouse at 4:16 AM on October 26, 2006

See this similar question
posted by patricio at 4:21 AM on October 26, 2006

Some good examples you might use for inspiration:

Typepad terms of service

Myspace terms of service

Like both of those examples above, you might also consider signing your site(s) up as an Online Service Provider with the U.S. Copyright Office. It's easy, costs $85, and provides you with some protection against infringement claims.
posted by schoolgirl report at 8:40 AM on October 26, 2006