I'm not certain where to post this but I figured this was as good as a place as any. Also, just to be clear, I'm putting this in a way that most people can understand. ------------ There is a fair amout of discussions on the Internet about Facebook and how they "violate" or "revise" their Terms Of Service. There is often public out cry against it by their users. But does anyone know what exactly a TOS agreement is? Well the first thing to understand is that it is not a contract. Now why is it not a contract?A) In order to have a contract there must be equal parties named in the contract and each must agreeing to exchange something of equal value or perceived value. Now that can be goods or service or any combination thereof. And it must be incumbent upon all parties therein named. (IE. There is no such thing as a one-sided contract) B) A contract must have clearly defined penality for any party that fails to complete the requirements as stated in the contract. C) It must have a clearly stated date of termination that will signal the termination of the contract by either succesful or unsuccesful completion. D) It must be legally enforceable and only contract for that which is legal. E) Can not be altered except by express consent by all parties named therein. And technically, altering a contract destroys the previous contract and creates a new one that all parties must have agreed to. A Terms of Service Agreement does not contain any of the above elements! So what exactly is a TOS agreement and who does it affect?A) It is a set of rules that really only affect the person that signs up for an account. In layman's terms. "You want to use our site. Here are the rules you (and only you) must obey." B) It is also often contains a "declaration" in order to avoid possible legal expenses. NB. I said "legal expenses." This does not mean they can be sued or will loose if sued. It means that they do NOT want to want to waste their money or time on lawyers having to deal with an angry user. Basially, it comes down to be able to say, "Hey we said we were going to do this thing you don't like. So stop your bitching because you didn't have to sign up." C) Any penalties are only against the user. In a situation where they decide to do something other than follow what they said in their published TOS, there is no mechanism of punishment against the service provider (site owners). Think of it this way. A fat man can break his diet anytime he wants and go eat at an all you can eat buffet. It's his body and his rules. He can do whatever he likes. There is nothing to stop him from doing so, even if he did promise others that he would stick to the diet. So to sum this all up; Many people act surprised and scream murder when sites like Facebook appear to violate or change their TOS agreements. When the truth is they are not violating or changing their TOS agreements. Because1) There is no violation because the owners of the site can make and break their own rules and standards as they desire. (Remember a TOS is not a contract) 2) When they change their TOS all they are doing is changing the declaration in the TOS. IE: Telling you what they are going to do before they do it. So if anyone decides they don't like what they are doing. Sites like Facebook can say, "We told you so! Stop acting surprised and go away." So when you sign up to a site like Facebook or Myspace or any of the other thousands of sites out there. Get it in your head that these sites are not humanitarian and compassionate organisations. They are about making money and selling your personal information to everyone from McDonalds to the CIA will make them money and it is legal. And groups like the FBI/CIA/NSA etc love them. Because they can just purchase your information without having the need to get permission from a judge. In the end, if McDonalds or anyone else can buy your information.. so can they. So remember before you start giving out your personal information that they can do whatever they want it. Whereas you have to obey their rules. ---- V.O.T Soon, I'll put a post up on what is personal information and who has the rights to access it or not.
Very good. You forgot to mention that anybody who is bitching about facebook should pull their head out of their arse and sort their life out. I'm glad that you mentioned the CIA too as there is (strong) evidence to suggest that the CIA funded facebook in the early days. The same applies to myspace/twitter/whatever else godforsaken wastes of times people will transcribe their lives onto, mainly through the purchase of information. They must be bored shitless reading that stuff, though.
