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Subject:QUERY: Writing terms of service documents? From:"Hart, Geoff" <Geoff-H -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 3 Nov 2003 09:09:22 -0500
Bonnie Granat reports: <<I thought lawyers wrote these, but I have received
a lead from my ISP, who participates on a Web hosting message board, about a
contract about a site that is looking for a writer familiar with writing
"Terms of Service" text.
There are good examples of these all over the Internet, so I could learn
from them.>>
Be very careful about this, since these documents are likely to be
considered legally binding contracts. Me, I stay as far away from law as
possible. I consider myself expert in the English language, but Law isn't
English; it has a dramatically different vocabulary, uses the same words we
use in different ways, and has a complex body of jurisprudence [sic] that
underlies how even compatible words are interpreted.
That being said, here's what I've done in the past:
<<Do you have experience in this or have any insights about how I might
tackle approaching the site owner? I am not at all familar with writing
Terms of Service, nor do I have much experience in *reading* them (who
does?), but I'm sure I could give them what they want if I know the
operation of the site.>>
Clearly communicate something along the lines of the following: "I'm not a
lawyer, but I can write you something clear and comprehensive enough that
when it comes time to pay your lawyer 4-10 times my hourly rate to approve
it (i.e., to make it legally correct) you'll still save money on the total
cost". Emphasize up-front and again when you draw up a contract for the work
that you are providing material that requires a thorough edit by a lawyer. I
do this at work whenever (for example) they want me to edit a contract of
some sort.
Think of this kind of work as putting on your writer hat rather than the
editor hat: your goal will be to create content that a language expert will
subsequently polish.
--Geoff Hart, geoff-h@ mtl.feric.ca
(try ghart@ videotron.ca if you get no response)
Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
580 boul. St-Jean
Pointe-Claire, Que., H9R 3J9 Canada
"Wisdom is one of the few things that look bigger the further away it
is."--Terry Pratchett
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