Comments on draft documents

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"Accepting these Terms" (ToS)

The section "Accepting these Terms" states:

Also, if a term does not make sense to you, please let us know.

I propose that you should not ask for feedback unless you're clear why you're asking for it/what you're going to do with that feedback; accordingly I suggest adding wording to the end of this sentence along the lines of:

: we’re unlikely to change it but we will try to explain it.

“Changes to these Terms” (ToS)

The section “Changes to these Terms” states:

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. For instance, we may need to change these Terms if we come out with a new feature or for some other reason. We will let you know if we have modified these Terms by indicating at the top of these Terms the date the document was last updated.

The Privacy Policy currently provides for website/email notification of significant changes to that document’s terms. For consistency’s sake I propose that a similar mechanism should be adopted for all significant changes across all app.net legal documents. If changes are significant enough – be they to the ToS, the Privacy Policy, the Subscription Terms or the Copyright Policy – then they should be flagged to subscribers via email or website banner notification. Your subscribers are your customers and they should be informed clearly and pro-actively when significant changes are made.

“Creating Accounts” (ToS)

The section “Creating Accounts” states:

When you create an account, you may use any name (real, fake or otherwise).

There is no “or otherwise” in this context – names are either real or fake. Accordingly I suggest amending the wording to read:

When you create an account, you may use any name (real or fake).

The section goes on to state:

If you discover or suspect any Service security breaches, please let us know as soon as possible.
I propose that an obligation should be created on subscribers to notify you of any security breaches in order to maintain the network’s integrity. Accordingly I suggest amending the wording to read:

If you discover or suspect any Service security breaches, you must let us know as soon as possible.

“Your content & conduct” (ToS)

The section “Your content & conduct” states:

In order to make App.net a great place for all of us, please do not post, link and otherwise make available on or through the Service any of the following: [...] Unsolicited promotions, political campaigning , or commercial messages (SPAM)

I believe the phrases “political campaigning” and “commercial messages” are potentially ambiguous. For example, if I post a message “I’m going to vote for Jane Doe. I don’t think you should vote for John Doe”, is that political campaigning? Similarly if I create a new product or service and post the message, “I’d be grateful if you’d check out my new $5 app.net third party app at [URL]”, is that a commercial message?

Without knowing the intention behind the clause I cannot propose amendments, but I believe the wording is currently ambiguous and I therefore recommend that further thought and/or clarity be given or further examples provided to make clear what is and is not acceptable.

The section goes on to state:

In order to make App.net a great place for all of us, please do not post, link and otherwise make available on or through the Service any of the following: [...] Private information of any third party (e.g., addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, Social Security numbers and credit card numbers)

I believe this seeks to address two separate things in one clause and does not quite work. For example, I suspect you consider there would never be circumstances in which a subscriber should share “Social Security numbers and credit card numbers” (ie information that could be used for identity theft/fraud) on the service.

However, the clause as worded would also prevent me from posting “My friend Jane might be able to help you with that – drop her an email at [email protected]” where I have implicit or explicit permission from Jane to do so.

I therefore suggest the two things be separated out to read:

A third party’s contact information (e.g., addresses, phone numbers, email addresses) unless you have their permission to do so

and

A third party’s private information (e.g., Social Security numbers and credit card numbers) under any circumstances

The section then goes on:

Also, you agree that you will not do any of the following in connection with the Service or other users: [...] Impersonate ... any person or entity

This contradicts the section “Creating Accounts”, that expressly permits parody accounts. I therefore propose the wording be amended to something like:

Impersonate (without making it clear that you are operating a parody account)... any person or entity

The section goes on:

Also, you agree that you will not do any of the following in connection with the Service or other users: [...]post on behalf or any person or entity

This potentially prevents someone from (a) operating a corporate account (ie Dalton is not app.net but may operate app.net’s corporate account), or (b) operating an account on behalf of someone who is physically unable to operate their account themselves (eg a subscriber who is disabled or has been physically incapacitated by illness/injury). Accordingly I propose that the wording be amended to read something like:

post on behalf of any person or entity unless you have that person’s or entity’s express permission to do so

“App.net's Materials” (ToS)

This section states:

This property is owned by us or our licensors and it is protected by U.S. and international copyright laws.

Is this property covered only by copyright laws? I would have expected patent and/or trademark law to apply. Accordingly I propose amending this wording to:

This property is owned by us or our licensors and is protected by U.S. and international intellectual property laws.

“Hyperlinks and Third Party Content” (ToS)

This section states:

You may create a text hyperlink to the Service for noncommercial purposes.

I question whether this prevents the third party developer of a paid-for app.net client from placing a link on his/her website to the app.net site. The hyperlink to app.net itself is not for the developer’s commercial purposes but could conceivably be caught by this wording as the developer’s website is operated for commercial purposes and his/her app is sold commercially. Accordingly I suggest amending the wording to read:

You may create a text hyperlink to the Service as long as you do not do so for your commercial purposes.

This section goes on to state:

When you leave the Service, you should be aware that these Terms and our policies no longer govern.

I question whether this sentence is actually supposed to end where it does – should there not be some further words following “govern”? In any event I do not believe this is correct: I presume that app.net would want the limitation of liability and arbitration clauses (if nothing else) to survive after the termination of its relationship with a subscriber. I cannot propose alternative wording without knowing what app.net seeks to achieve from this clause, but I suggest further thought and/or elaboration is needed.

“Termination” (ToS)

This clause states:

If you breach any of these Terms, we have the right to suspend or disable your access to or use of the Service.

However, the Privacy Policy state (and the Subscription Terms imply) that a subscriber may also terminate, cancel or suspend the service. For consistency across the documents I suggest the addition of the sentence:

You may suspend or close your account at any time by emailing [email protected] but if you do so you will not be entitled to a refund of any part of your subscription charges, except as required by law.

“Use of Information” (Privacy Policy)

This clause states:

We do not use your information for serving up ads.

My understanding (from what I have read and heard publicly from Dalton, at least) is that third parties may, however, serve up ads in the apps/services they provide on the app.net infrastructure. If my understanding is correct, I suggest the addition of the sentence:

If you only ever use App.net’s website or any official mobile app to access our service, you will not see ads. However, if you use third party apps to access the App.net service you might see some ads but they will have been placed there by the app developers, not us.

“Purchase & Account Security” (Subscription Terms)

This clause states:

You will provide accurate and complete information in your App.net user account at all times...

I propose that the clause be amended with the addition of two words:

You will provide and maintain accurate and complete information in your App.net user account at all times...

”Prices & Availability” (Subscription Terms)

This clause states:

While we have the right to change the prices, the prices associated with your subscription will not become effective until 30 days after we have posted the new prices in the Service or in these Subscription Terms.

This potentially contradicts the introductory paragraphs to this document which state:

By purchasing a subscription you signify that you have read, understand and agree to be bound by the Subscription Terms in effect at the time of your purchase... Any changes will be effective immediately upon posting the revised Subscription Terms to the App.net's website.

If someone signs up on day 29 after you have announced a price change, do they sign up at the old price or the new price? Further, if you pre-announce a price change with 30 days’ notice, what is to stop subscribers from joining/renewing their subscriptions at the old price on day 29?

Again, as I do not know the intention behind the clause I cannot currently suggest alternative wording but recommend the issue be given further thought and clarity.

I hope at least some of this is helpful.

Jonathan