I have a problem with licenses that don’t use real English: e.g. “… in the event that you’re hair falls out …” (not a real example). Bullshit. When I agree to that, all I’m agreeing to is some Yiddish humbug that looks fancy but means nothing. And that thought is just strengthened when they don’t use real English. I’d like to see how a license written in pidgin English would stand up in court, and it would be a sad day when the courts find it acceptable.
Full-caps is another problem with license agreements. Isn’t it well-known that it’s harder to read something in all capitals than in normal case? People recognise words by their shapes, and when they’re needlessly capitalised they obviously have a different shape. Writing in capitals isn’t valid English. English has simple rules about what case to use, and it’s not “upper-case any paragraphs you want to sound angry about”.
It’s just more proof that the people writing these things don’t want them read or understood. Bastards.
April 30th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Frustrating phenomenon Amos. Really freaking frustrating. I am sure you are aware of my fervent hatred of poor English usage; it is all the more insulting when it is deliberately applied in order to be manipulative and slimy.
The man is a bastard. Damn the man.
May 27th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
I’m curious as to which license agreements are really that bad… Most large evil corps have teams of lawyers writing the EULA. Those who don’t… well they probably aren’t terribly water tight anyway.
“Yiddish humbug”?… I’m disappointed d’Mossy. Yiddish *does* look fancy - it means something too.
Usage or “Your” and “You’re” bugs me a lot. It really isn’t that difficult to work out which one to use.
As for uppercasing an entire paragraph, specifically in a legal document; “The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act” (1900)… it starts with a lovely unnecessary use of capitalisation:
WHEREAS the people of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia,
Queensland, and Tasmania, humbly relying on the blessing of Almighty God,
have agreed to unite in one indissoluble Federal Commonwealth under the
Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and under the
Constitution hereby established:
It is only one word, but still, unnecessary capitalisation…