Today is Official "Read the Terms and Conditions" Day!

RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, as of September 30, 2007, 1.244 billion people use the Internet according to Internet World Stats; and

WHEREAS, E-commerce product sales totaled $146.4 billion in the United States in 2006, representing about 6% of retail product sales in the country (http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/14/news/economy/online_retailing/); and

WHEREAS, credit cards are the most common form of payment for Internet shopping; and

WHEREAS, if you enter your credit card number, your billing address, and your security code online, it is highly likely that you will be charged for the service that you are registering for; and

WHEREAS, most websites have posted terms and conditions that you must agree to in order to use the services of the websites or make purchases; and

WHEREAS, the purpose of having people agree to the terms and conditions is so that people are aware of the terms and conditions; and

WHEREAS, you cannot claim "unauthorized charges" and have fees reversed for items that you have actually ordered simply because you didn't read or remember what you agreed to; and

WHEREAS, not reading the "terms and conditions", especially when you are entering personal information online is a very very bad idea; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Writer of this Blog, That the twenty-fifth day of January, in 2008 and in each succeeding year, be designated as “Official 'Read The Terms and Conditions' Day" everywhere; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Writer of this Blog hereby recognizes the importance of reading contracts before you agree to them; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Writer of this Blog calls upon all readers of the blog to reflect upon the significant roles and many contributions of Terms and Conditions to the nation and all people throughout history and today, and to celebrate this day with appropriate activities and events that honor this rich legacy, like reading Terms and Conditions; and, be it

RESOLVED FINALLY, That the Writer of this Blog will post the designation of this day on her own blog.


There you have it! Go nuts, everyone. I challenge each of you to read the terms and conditions for anything that you register for today.

Extra Credit Assignment: Read all bold writing on the pages of your registration. (Hint: bold writing will often contain important information about what you are registering for!)