4 ms·

Actually, all of the documentation on tarsnap sets a new standard for honesty in business. That's probably the only good TOS page I've ever seen, and, perhaps m

Actually, all of the documentation on tarsnap sets a new standard for honesty in business. That's probably the only good TOS page I've ever seen, and, perhaps more importantly, the need for a good TOS page is recognized.

cperciva 17y ago
That's probably the only good TOS page I've ever seen I probably look stupid asking this, but... what makes the Tarsnap TOS page good? I didn't set out to create a particularly exceptional TOS page; I just said "gee, I guess I need to write a TOS page" and sat down to write what I, as a user, thought such a page ought to contain. (I'm sure many people will say that I should have had a lawyer review the Tarsnap TOS page -- but unless you pay a lot of money, a lawyer's advice in such circumstances generally comes down to (a) looking for really dumb mistakes and (b) providing that lawyer's standard block of boilerplate text, neither of which is particularly helpful.)
- ErrantX 17y ago
  I think the page itself doesn't necessarily stand out as exceptional (though it looks good); but the [why?] page is definitely a really nice feature.
  - cperciva 17y ago
    the [why?] page is definitely a really nice feature. That's an innovation which I'm hoping other people will pick up -- I'm sure it helps readers understand the terms, but I also found it very useful as I was writing the terms to write "these are the rules" and "these are the reasons for the rules" in parallel.
    - ErrantX 17y ago
      I've made a note to make sure I start doing it. :)
- DanielStraight 17y ago
  As ErrantX pointed out, the "Why" links are a huge part of it. Most of all, it's readable. Also, the sections are organized based on what the user wants to know, not what lawyers want to say. Where you say "Money," a megacorp would say something like "Terms of payment processing for the client service," or something similarly stupid.

cperciva 17y ago

That's probably the only good TOS page I've ever seen I probably look stupid asking this, but... what makes the Tarsnap TOS page good? I didn't set out to create a particularly exceptional TOS page; I just said "gee, I guess I need to write a TOS page" and sat down to write what I, as a user, thought such a page ought to contain. (I'm sure many people will say that I should have had a lawyer review the Tarsnap TOS page -- but unless you pay a lot of money, a lawyer's advice in such circumstances generally comes down to (a) looking for really dumb mistakes and (b) providing that lawyer's standard block of boilerplate text, neither of which is particularly helpful.)

ErrantX 17y ago
I think the page itself doesn't necessarily stand out as exceptional (though it looks good); but the [why?] page is definitely a really nice feature.
- cperciva 17y ago
  the [why?] page is definitely a really nice feature. That's an innovation which I'm hoping other people will pick up -- I'm sure it helps readers understand the terms, but I also found it very useful as I was writing the terms to write "these are the rules" and "these are the reasons for the rules" in parallel.
  - ErrantX 17y ago
    I've made a note to make sure I start doing it. :)
DanielStraight 17y ago
As ErrantX pointed out, the "Why" links are a huge part of it. Most of all, it's readable. Also, the sections are organized based on what the user wants to know, not what lawyers want to say. Where you say "Money," a megacorp would say something like "Terms of payment processing for the client service," or something similarly stupid.