Naughty Or Nice? 250 People Chose The Naughty List For Life
Are you on the naughty or nice list? No wants to be on the naughty list- coal in your stocking? That would be the worst. But over 250 people signed up to be on the naughty list for the rest of their lives. Ho Ho Ohhh. Who would do such a thing?
Well, it wasn’t exactly on purpose. You know those pesky terms and conditions you probably never read? There is no telling what could be in them. ToolTester conducted a study on those terms and conditions and it led to over 250 people signing up to be on the naughty list for the rest of their lives. The point of the story was to encourage people to look over terms and conditions before they just check yes. ToolTester created a free ebook that anyone could download. They just had to agree to the terms and conditions. But they weren’t your typical ones. Read them below:
‘By downloading an ebook via this website, you agree to grant us a non-transferable option to be on the naughty list for the rest of your life. Should we wish to exercise this option, you agree to be put on Santa’s naughty list. We reserve the right to serve such notice, however, we can accept no liability for any loss or damage caused by such an act. If you a) do not believe in Christmas, b) are already on the naughty list, or c) do not wish to grant us such a license, please send an email to the address below to nullify this sub-clause and proceed with your download.
By downloading an ebook via this website, you agree to grant us a non-transferable option to let us name your firstborn child. Should we wish to exercise this option, you agree to surrender control over choosing the name, and any claim you may have on it. We reserve the right to serve such notice, however, we can accept no liability for any loss or damage caused by such an act. If you a) do not believe you want a child, b) have had your firstborn child already or c) do not wish to grant us such a license, please send an email to the address below to nullify this sub-clause and proceed with your download.
By downloading an ebook via this website, you agree to grant us a non-transferable option to not eat pizza for the next 12 months. Should we wish to exercise this option, you agree to refuse any type of pizza for the next 12 months. We reserve the right to serve such notice, however, we can accept no liability for any loss or damage caused by such an act. If you a) can’t be without pizza b) have already planned to eat pizza, or c) do not wish to grant us such a license, please send an email to the address below to nullify this sub-clause and proceed with your download.’
The experiment ran from October 26th to November 30th on domains in English as well as Spanish, French, and German. The chart below shows you how many people from each country’s domain agreed to the terms and conditions and how many chose to opt-out.
| Website | Agreed to T&Cs | Opted out |
| .com | 97 | 0 |
| .es | 45 | 1 |
| .fr | 87 | 0 |
| .de | 41 | 0 |
Clearly it’s true that no one actually reads terms and conditions as only one individual opted out. Either that or everyone just hates pizza, has no issue being on the naughty list, and really doesn’t love their children. Luckily for these non-readers, the company is not holding anyone to the agreements. Terms & Conditions are long and honestly who has time to read all of that? According to ToolTester the average terms for social media accounts would take someone 1.4 hours to read. I understand these companies’ lawyers want to waive their responsibility for everything they can, but maybe making these a more realistic length would be better.
Read the full study and find out more about the terms and conditions of websites you frequent here.
Here are 8 Ways to Spend Your Winter Days in Charlotte
