437
votes
A new (2018) update to our Terms of Service is here
Arbitration clauses are inherently abusive. An opt-out is not good enough. You should not have this clause at all.
[EDIT: See the expanded version of this post on the follow-up discussion ...
- 3,616
337
votes
We're examining the implementation of arbitration in the 2018 ToS update
I'm going to repeat and expand upon what I said over on the other post:
Arbitration clauses in clickwrap terms-of-service contracts are inherently abusive. An opt-out is not good enough. You should ...
- 3,616
217
votes
A new (2018) update to our Terms of Service is here
Please remove the arbitration clause. Requiring users to agree to arbitration strips them of the rights and protections afforded them by the legal system and allows the entity handing down the terms ...
- 3,308
167
votes
A new (2018) update to our Terms of Service is here
The new terms include an arbitration clause. Arbitration is pretty standard for free online products, but if you really don’t like it, we included a way you can opt out.
Is the opt-out going to be ...
- 2,407
165
votes
Electronic opt-out, correcting miscommunication, and additional questions answered about the 2018 ToS update
I like how easy you've made it to opt out. It speaks well to the level of trust you've placed in your community, and, ironically, makes it less likely to be used. It's those companies that make it ...
- 16k
164
votes
We're examining the implementation of arbitration in the 2018 ToS update
You wrote in the original announcement
Arbitration is pretty standard for free online products, [...]
While forced arbitration agreements seem to be increasingly popular in the US, I don't think ...
- 187k
129
votes
Electronic opt-out, correcting miscommunication, and additional questions answered about the 2018 ToS update
There were a lot of concerns around the opt-out mechanism and you've responded pretty well to that, IMO. Most of the comments right now are focused on that part of the issue. However, by far the most ...
- 1,177
121
votes
A new (2018) update to our Terms of Service is here
What are the consequences of opting out of the arbitration clause? On some sites it means you can't use the service; presumably that's not the case here. But if there's no consequence and anybody ...
- 183k
118
votes
We're examining the implementation of arbitration in the 2018 ToS update
I have no plans to sue SE, but I'm very concerned that the new TOS attempts to apply the arbitration clause to "ALL DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND STACK OVERFLOW", no matter who initiated the dispute or who ...
103
votes
We're examining the implementation of arbitration in the 2018 ToS update
Along with the mandatory arbitration clause, the new Terms of Service would seem to have a mandatory gag order about any and all arbitration cases:
You agree that, notwithstanding anything in the ...
- 4,167
100
votes
Accepted
Was the retroactive change to CC BY-SA 4.0 approved by Stack Exchange's lawyers?
Given the complete lack of a response after over three weeks, the answer is clear. It appears as if the answer is no, this change was not run by the legal department. There is no question Stack ...
- 4,628
96
votes
Brace yourselves: The GDPR is coming!
Our goals in this update are to ensure we're fully GDPR-compliant, that the rights and protections afforded by the GDPR are extended to all of our users, regardless of location
How does this apply to ...
- 83.4k
87
votes
We're examining the implementation of arbitration in the 2018 ToS update
I suspect the unilateral carve-out for IP violations in your arbitration clause may violate Jams's Consumer Arbitration Minimum Standards. The Consumer Arbitration Minimum Standards say that
The ...
- 2,407
86
votes
A new (2018) update to our Terms of Service is here
I'm in Europe, Germany even, and I'm pretty sure that this won't need to be resolved before a US New York court.
From: https://www.transatlantic-lawyer.com/2017/12/__trashed/
Last but not least, ...
- 3,551
80
votes
We're examining the implementation of arbitration in the 2018 ToS update
The arbitration clause won't hold for any visitors from Europe.
http://www.privacy-regulation.eu/en/article-77-right-to-lodge-a-complaint-with-a-supervisory-authority-GDPR.htm
Without prejudice to ...
- 3,551
80
votes
Electronic opt-out, correcting miscommunication, and additional questions answered about the 2018 ToS update
Thank you for reviewing your options and explaining the situation clearly to us.
One thing still concerns me and my inner optimist thinks it's not hard to fix. Here's the problem: I trust Stack ...
- 183k
73
votes
Electronic opt-out, correcting miscommunication, and additional questions answered about the 2018 ToS update
I see no mention of Europe at all except GDPR. How will you deal with Europeans? The world doesn't stop at the US border.
In my answer We're examining the implementation of arbitration in the ...
- 3,551
62
votes
We're examining the implementation of arbitration in the 2018 ToS update
I don't know if asking a question here is ok but:
we would have looked to see if we could implement the clause a bit differently. We included a means to opt-out
Is there any reason a user would ...
- 10.4k
57
votes
Electronic opt-out, correcting miscommunication, and additional questions answered about the 2018 ToS update
What exactly is the track record of JAMS and why should they be trusted?
Quick googling suggests that there are no public records, no oversight or regulation, and no reason to assume the arbitrator ...
- 15k
55
votes
A new (2018) update to our Terms of Service is here
You mention existing users will get an email providing them with an opportunity to opt-out of the new arbitration clause. Will new users signing up to the network after 2018-05-02 get this opportunity ...
- 15.4k
50
votes
Electronic opt-out, correcting miscommunication, and additional questions answered about the 2018 ToS update
Is there still a 30 day opt-out period?
I'm confused by this:
And remember, if you still feel apprehensive, you can always opt-out.
(Emphasis in original). Does "always" mean "at any time" (ie, ...
- 10.4k
49
votes
Brace yourselves: The GDPR is coming!
Can we get an answer what will happen to European users with that arbitration clause? Since it's pretty clear that it's unenforceable for European users, and has no real merit here in the ToS.
Maybe ...
- 3,551
48
votes
Remove the arbitration clause from the Terms of Service
The terms of service existed for many years without an arbitration clause. Even if we end up with an arbitration clause in the end (probably not exactly this one, given Tim's update), Stack Exchange ...
- 183k
46
votes
How can we opt out from the arbitration clause of the new terms of service?
Such clauses are unenforceable in the EU, so no need for EU citizens to manually opt out.
See the European Council Directive 93/13/EEC on Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts. Basically, there is a ...
- 1,627
46
votes
A new (2018) update to our Terms of Service is here
The terms of service claim that even visiting Stack Overflow constitutes agreement to the terms:
By accessing or using the Services or the public Network in any manner, including without limitation ...
- 2,407
45
votes
How do users escalate concerns about an abusive employee?
In theory a MSE mod ought to be able to. In the post announcing the appointment of the moderation team
Our appointed moderators will have full agency to correct any chain of correspondence that ...
- 187k
45
votes
Are Mods on all sites aware of and able to handle the mass defacing/deletion attempts by users unhappy with the OpenAI announcement?
I would strongly encourage folks not to spend a lot of time and effort trying to detect this stuff. Flag what is obvious or obnoxious.
It is impossible for normal users to vandalize a post such that ...
- 454k
44
votes
Electronic opt-out, correcting miscommunication, and additional questions answered about the 2018 ToS update
We’ve discussed this in every imaginable context with our lawyers and we definitely feel that this is protection that we really can’t do without [...]
If possible, I'm interested in more detail on ...
- 537
43
votes
Accepted
Update the Terms of Service to reflect the established community consensus on shared accounts
A lot of project teams ask, "Can we just use one big central account?"
This would be a very poor idea — to allow this by design would be a breaking change in how Stack Exchange works and ...
- 111k
40
votes
How can we opt out from the arbitration clause of the new terms of service?
I was one who mailed them an arbitration opt-out letter. Not sure if this is exactly acceptable, but here's what I wrote:
Name: [my full name]
Email: [my email address]
Mailing address:
[redacted]
I ...
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible