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Kill the Legalese! (Audio)

All right, I know I get way too worked up about this, but I have to say it: Legalese is destroying public discourse!

LISTEN NOW! Right-click that link to download the MP3 audio file. It’s about 1.3 MB and runs just under 6 minutes.

Show notes…

  • The offending page: Pearson Education legal notice. Read it. Go on, I dare you. It’s a perfect examples of how legalese can undermine the credibility of a site which depends on credibility. Sad, sad, sad…
  • There are better ways to address legal issues. Lawyers don’t have to resort to these impenetrable incantations. Read
    When Your Boss Wants It the Old Way     , by Wayne Schiess, published in the journal of the Michigan Bar Association.

‘Nuff said…

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This entry was written by Amy Gahran and posted on January 25, 2005 at 7:04 pm and filed under Audio Show, Real World Writing. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Comments are closed, but you can leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

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3 Comments so far (Add 1 more)

  1. regarding the disclaimer of warranty etc … they are effectively saying “here is some information, but don’t take our word for it, you have to *think*”.

    I would far prefer more educational institutions take this stance than the opposite, which is “here is some [propoganda], believe it, don’t question it, trust it, trust us (snigger)”.

    [Reply]
    1. Eric Scheid on January 26th, 2005 at 11:01 pm

  2. I had this great experience on my player this morning: Dan Klass was just about to tell a big celeb story (seems as if the file was not downloaded completly) and then you start! ;o)

    But, loved your podcast. They have “we don’t have any clue” written all over it - they try to use old times mechanisms and think it works. :o(( (What are 5000 layers on the bottom of the sea? A good start. )

    [Reply]
    2. Nicole Simon on January 26th, 2005 at 5:30 am

  3. Ahem.

    http://blog.contentious.com/archives/2004/08/04/contentious-copyright-notice

    Yes, it’s more “plainly spoken”, but the general intent is still intact:

    No stealing (plagiarism), no reprinting anything in whole or in part without (at a minimum)
    full attribution/linking, or prior written permission.

    Which is what Pearson Ed seems to be saying, just meaner sounding.

    In reading Pearson’s copyright notice, I was led to one of 2 conclusions:

    1. They are clueless, and someone convinced them that this was the only way to
    tell the hoi polloi that they are protected by copyright. Dollars to donuts
    says that the majority of site users fall well within the stated terms and conditions
    laid out in the notice, however, yes, the legalese-mania is both off-putting and
    overblown.

    2. Something happened that prompted this response, such as stolen (plagiarized)
    material(s), materials repackaged and re-sold without permission, or they sued
    someone/got sued and got their collective keisters handed back to them in court.
    This is comparable to complaints about “warning labels on everything”. There’s a
    reason, unfortunately.

    On the up side, keep up the good work with the podcasting. You’re sounding more
    comfortable with the medium, and I look forward to hearing more.

    [Reply]
    3. Effern on January 25th, 2005 at 10:17 pm