Re: FN-FORUM: Terms

date posted 21st May 2007 23:13

James Herrington wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Since my post yesterday i have found some template terms and conditions on
> the internet and have placed them into a document of my own. If anyone has
> time do you think you could have a quick look through the document and check
> that its suitable/ recommend changes etc.
>
> the url is http://statistics.freehostia.com/test/terms.pdf
>
> I cant see anything that protects me against security for example if the
> site gets hacked and data is lost, could i be held responsible? If so what
> would i need to enter to protect me against this?
>
> Also can anyone point me in the direction of a simple contract.
>
> Thanks
>
> James
>

I think it is a brilliant piece of work

May I lift some of it for my own terms and conditions?

Just one point:
In Termination
"immoral, illegal or *otherwise unacceptable*

otherwise unacceptable is a bit vague - maybe defamatory, libellous,
offensive?
You could look at your hosting company's T&Cs and adapt those.

and it also appears to apply to the client too: immoral is a bit huge -
I think that Nestle is immoral but I couldn't necessarily get away with
terminating a contract with them because of their behaviour in Africa.

Excuse me, I am nitpicking, other people get upset about grammar, I get
upset about needless and stupid clauses in contracts - this is a
hangover from being employed by people who tried to get me to sign
something that said that any idea I had day or night, belonged to them,
no sick pay, no pension, minimum holidays, maximum employer power, badly
worded, and just so amateur.

Anyway this sort of clause is almost never exercised, but you do need
something there just in case your client turns out to be an axe wielding
paedophile, but they are quite rare.

Don't get too stressed out about the formalities. In reality the
furthest that most freelancers go is to the small claims court, where
you will (usually) get a fair hearing and the real thing that counts
there is "reasonable-ness" and documentation.
I have never got that far, so far in about 15 years of freelancing I
have got stung by three bankruptcies which were a total loss but taught
me to take deposits and not to rely on charming promises from desperate
start up business men.
The first two were early on, the third one was a surprise, but by then I
had learnt to limit the amount that I was owed.
The rest - 3 or 4 maybe, all settled fairly quickly after getting the
summons.

As long as you are clear with your client, and manage their
expectations, simple contracts are (IMHO) best. However my clients tend
to be small businesses, who dislike reams of legality, and prefer
handshakes.
They usually read the legal stuff, and sometimes want to argue about it,
so I tend to keep it simple.

I am looking forward to seeing your sample contract when you come up
with one.

Hope your exams went well.
Promise me to take time out to enjoy yourself.

Cheers
Carrie