Man Finds $1,000 Prize in EULA

bhtooefr writes "When Doug Heckman was installing a PC Pitstop program, he actually read the EULA. In it, he found a clause stating that he could get financial compensation if he e-mailed PC Pitstop. The result: a $1,000 check, and proof that people don't read EULAs (3,000 people before him didn't notice it). The goal of this was to prove that one should read all EULAs, so that one can see if an app is spyware if it is buried in the EULA."

Re:$1,000 for reading all the way through EULAs?

[ackthpt]

However a good rule of thumb is that if you cant understand the EULA, dont agree to it. I mean would you sign somthing you didn't understand?

Like pretty much everyone else, if I took the time to read them all the way through and understand them then I wouldn't have time to use the product.

The only long documents I make sure I read and understand are the ones doctors give me before performing some test, like MRI or such. Hate to think I may have a staple or something and have one of those things turn my guts to hamburger because I didn't take time to understand fully the procedure and it's risks. Besides, you usually have lots of extra time in a waiting room, assuming you didn't arrive via Emergency Entrance.

Re:Reading every EULA?

[Xzzy]

Most of 'em are text files stuck somewhere. Just grep them for phone numbers, email addresses, and if you're feeling clever, mailing addresses. ;)

A standard set of EULAs

[osewa77]

Nobody needs to read a GPL license more than once; why can't we have standard comercial agreements? What we need is a standard set of EULAs for different types of software with coded variations ("basic closed source EULA with XXX clause").

Difficult

[sucker_muts]

A lot of EULA's are difficult to understand, a lot of technical/computer language, and not to forget legal/lawyer stuff.

Knowing so many open source lovers (like myself) are here on slashdot, how many of you have read the GNU GPL?

I had trouble understanding it all, but English is not my primary language...

Re:$1,000 for reading all the way through EULAs?

[fimbulvetr]

That's just it, TFA points out how it's _not_ just a bunch of gobbledy-gook and mumbo jumbo. To demonstrate, it gives the first paragraph from GAIM's EULA, seen here:

"GAIN Publishing offers some of the most popular software available on the Internet free of charge ("GAIN-Supported Software") in exchange for your agreement to also install GAIN AdServer software ("GAIN"), which will display Pop-Up, Pop-Under, and other types of ads on your computer based on the information we collect as stated in this Privacy Statement. We refer to consumers who have GAIN on their system as 'Subscribers.' "

Re:No Kidding

[Ayaress]

I read EULAs. Usually not when I'm installing something, unless I suspect it may have spyware. I've never found any good easter eggs, just things like being required to upgrade to a new version after n months, being required to grant physical access to my computer on request, and some weird things like not being able to uninstall third party applications on the same partition.

I don't trust a EULA to tell me it has spyware

[antispam_ben]

From TFA:

"The goal of this was to prove that one should read all EULAs, so that one can see if an app is spyware if it is buried in the EULA."

This is even assuming the 'this product includes spyware' statement is even there, encoded in a bunch of legalese. Companies that have spyware in their products are going to hide it as much as is legally possible, and even moreso if they think they can get away with it. This story indicates that they probably CAN get away with it.

Consider this

[HyperChicken]

Sure, it cost them $1,000, but it's going to get their name in the press.

Where's my F3 key?

[knapper_tech]

EULA...read? Somebody make a EULA search engine...or better yet, a Legalese-English translator for EULA's.

Re:GIVE ME MONEY

[tekiegreg]

Unfortunately for you, I noticed this clause:

This offer can be withdrawn at any time

Now if PcPitstop gave $1,000 to every user who Slashdots the site without a clause like this...their deficit would eclipse that of the United States Federal government in no time...so figure by now it's withrawn...

As far as I am concerned...

[IWannaBeAnAC]

... you can keep the $1000.

EULA's suck. Why should this do anything to change my opinon?

PS. I wonder what would have happened if the corp refused to pay up?

Throw out the whole system

[Clyde]

This things should not be legally binding. Consumers should have a standard, mandated set of rights when purchasing software and other products. EULAs only exist for the benefit of companies that don't tend to give a shit about the interests of their customers (spyware as the perfect example, microsoft as another).

Re:$1,000 for reading all the way through EULAs?

[temojen]

I mean would you sign somthing you didn't understand?

Interestingly, in 2002 the ER staff were shocked when I insisted on reading the consent for surgery form before signing it. Most people don't read things that are put in front of them that they're told is standard and must be signed.

Re:Reading every EULA?

[fireman sam]

There was a slashdot story several years ago about a web site that hosted pictures of old trains. Int the license agreement it stated that if you clicked on any links you owed $10000 to the company. To get to the license you had to click a link.

Free karma and a happy day to anyone who can get the link.

World of Warcraft EULA

[egburr]

As the article says, it pays to read the EULA. I may not have received big bucks, but at least I managed to receive what the EULA said I should despite the company's refusal to honor it.

A few days ago I submitted a story [slashdot.org] about Blizzard not honoring their EULA in full. After much arguing with Blizzard's support staff, I have heard from them today:

We have been investigating the issues you have raised in connection with our EULA and our Terms of Use. Our legal team is currently in the process of revising our documentation to make the permissions and restrictions more clear for situations such as yours.

In the meantime, we will provide you with a new standard-edition Authentication Key for World of Warcraft. Please use this key to create a new account for yourself:

[key deleted]

Please note that the account associated with the old key that you have will be permanently disabled and rendered unplayable, in order to facilitate the creation of a new account.

If you are interested in purchasing additional copies of World of Warcraft, we strongly recommend that you not acquire used or opened copies, since similar circumstances may similarly delay or prevent your ability to enjoy the product.

The really funny part is that they have never asked for the old key, yet somehow they have disabled it. I can't check, because it never worked for me.

Re:$1,000 for reading all the way through EULAs?

[rpetre]

To demonstrate, it gives the first paragraph from GAIM's EULA, seen here:

Please, please, people, make an effort and reread your post before submitting it.

My very first thought was: Gaim [sourceforge.net] has an EULA? Oh my god, how long did i sleep last night?

Re:No Kidding

[ricka0]

Lol... true. Hey does anyone else remember when Geocities changed their member agreement? (this is dating me a bit since it was years ago) There were a ton of complaints and protests, etc from people about what they changed (so they basically owned whatever you put up I think it was phrased). So in that case I guess it proved people DID read the agreement so the figures may be skewed... And like the AC above mentioned, replying to this one might have been like handing your e-mail to a million spammers... people are much less likely nowadays to reply to odd e-mail requests (for prizes even.. sheesh does that sound spamish) than they used to be.

Re:No Kidding

[Urger]

I had to document a "crucial app" for my boss's boss that my team had written. As a test and hoping I could use the Mea Culpa defense if I was caught I wrote 5 pages and for the rest as the instructions for the game Railroad Tycoon. I later recieved an "attaboy" for getting my work in so quickly.

Re:$1,000 for reading all the way through EULAs?

[sessamoid]

Interestingly, in 2002 the ER staff were shocked when I insisted on reading the consent for surgery form before signing it. Most people don't read things that are put in front of them that they're told is standard and must be signed.

In my ER, the staff would be more surprised that you were even educated enough to read the consent for surgery.

Anyway, the other reply was correct in that they all pretty much say the same thing--basically that you've been informed about the risks (which pretty much always include death and other nasty things) and benefits (not being dead) and agree to the procedure.

Re:No Kidding

[spywarearcata.com]

On the original Macintosh rom, Don Dxxxxx put an easter egg of a little stick guy running across the screen on the bottom. The kicker was that it only did this randomly only every 1 out of 35635 seconds or something... hard to duplicate what someone saw from the corner of their eye.

Alas it was taken out of the release ROM.

This was right after Lisa and Apple /// so Apple management weren't quite as playful as they had been.

Need a plain/standardized "disclousure" for EULA

[mstovenour]

We need a way to enforce a plain (i.e. table) and standardized EULA disclosure that resides at the top of every EULA. The table should include standardized key words that define the major pieces of the EULA, like spyware, copying, distribution, etc. This should be modeled after the "truth in lending" laws that require every credit / loan application to include a standardized table listing the terms of the loan / credit. Then the lawyers can include all their mumbo jumbo below the table to cover all the corner cases in EULA court judgments.

The first thing I do when I receive a credit card or load application is to flip it over and read the mandatory disclosure table. 2 or 3 seconds and I know right away if I'm being offered a good deal or taken for a ride. Why should EULAs be any harder?

Another reason why EULAs shouldn't be enforceable

[ArmchairGenius]

No one reads them and everyone (including the companies that include them with their products) knows that no one reads them.

Re:Steve Mann's Ouijagree

[__aailob1448]

It's funny, in french, Oui j'agree means Yes, I agree. Of course, the word agree doesn't exist in french (though its cousin agreement does (agrement)). A similare word would be "accepte". Well, this post was pointless :p

GPL Style Versioned Licenses

[Grax]

More companies should move the GPL style of EULA. (As much as I like the free stuff I am referring to the versioning idea in this case.)

That way, instead of requiring a lawyer every time you install a piece of software or run Windows Update you could call your lawyer only periodically. "Hey Larry, Could you check out MS EULA 4.3 and see if any of the changes bother you?"

With EULAs all over the place there is no way you can keep up. Many of them are 20 pages or more and how can you read that when you just want to install the software and see if/how it works?

The Van Halen brown M&Ms

[Garabito]

This reminds me of the story [snopes.com] of Van Halen putting a little clause in their concert contracts, stating that they demanded a bowl of M&Ms in backstage, but the brown ones would have to be removed. The presence of a single brown M&M in the bowl was enough to cancel the concert without any notice.

According to the band the reason for this clause was to assure that the contract had been read and understood and therefore, all technical specifications for stage conditions, power and so forth would be met.

Re:Removing EULAs from programs

[Anonymous Coward]

> So you don't actually agree to anything?

You don't actually agree to anything unless you make a verbal agreement with disinterested witnesses, or else sign a contract, which also is subject to challenges and probably should be notarized.

A EULA isn't a contract. It's a license, which spells out the terms of use according to the vendor's working set, but it must be measured against the reality set of the laws in the place it is to be used.

So it's the rules as the publsher would like them to be, which could be completely different from the rules as they are. The EULA probably can't even be admitted in court directly, but it can probably limit claims by being an exhibit of certain kinds of due diligence that was performed in a reasonable way by the publisher to protect their interests.

The EULA stops well short of being the final, bottom line on the law of the land. In the EULA, the publisher can only assert or surrender rights that they have under the law, but they cannot grant themselves additional rights. They have all rights except as explicitly limited by the law. The EULA isn't some magical rights-factory.

And it's not a contract. It's not even an agreement between two parties. It's an assertion that the company reasonably believes it has the rights enumerated within, and that the company reasonably believes that the customer can be expected to agree to operate within the context of this affirmation, which can do no more than assert (or surrender) rights already belonging to the publisher without the notice.

Something similar to that happened to me

[ShakaUVM]

Back in '95 or so, free SSH clients were more or less non-existant. About all there was for the PC was F-Secure's SSH client, which they allowed people to download 30 day trial copies for. When my copy expired, I poked around in the EULA that came with it. I found that the EULA stated that the copy was valid for exactly 60 days. =)

So I emailed them asking them for a copy with the correct number of days enabled. They wrote back, instead of making the programmers go to the effort of recompiling, how about just a free copy of the client? Which was exactly what I was hoping to get by asking for the extra 30 days. ;)

To this day, I still use my free copy of F-Secure SSH.

-Bill Kerney

Re:No Kidding

[johannesg]

You worked on Flightdeck? Cool! I didn't think it was so boring, keeping a bunch of planes in the air at the same time was pretty difficult.

You don't suppose a modernized 3D version is possible, do you? ;-)

Its 'shirk' ware.

[crovira]

The thing is that the content of the text is ignored partly because people are looking at what buttons to push to get past it to get the software they wanted at the pace that the expect computers to deliver it...

A computer screen a work or the home is exactly the WRONG place to ask if you've developped sober second thoughts about having shelled out money already.

You could write in there that they agree so sell their souls into perdition and nobody would notice.