[OT] New Bell TOS

[Colin McGregor]

--- Sy Ali <sy1234-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> Since there has been some related discussion, I
> thought I'd share some
> snippets about the new "proposed" Bell TOS.
> 
> It lets them:
> Jack up all the prices, so long as they notify you
> by means of a
> method *they* think is reasonable.
> Then they can abort your service without notice or
> reason.
> Service cancellation lets them charge for future
> unused services.
> Then they can accelerate all charges to bill you
> immediately.
> They can enter your home without notice, to seize
> their property.
> 
> Also,
> I am in violation of their TOS if I ever plug in a
> Bell modem and then
> disconnect it.
> I am unable to copy their TOS for any reason.  So I
> can't talk about
> it directly.
> 
> 
> I wonder what would happen if Bell was a person who
> had a little
> gambling problem and who needed to get some money
> real quick-like.

Scary, but...

I was involved in the creation of a TOS for an ISP
(the Toronto Free-Net) which involved a group of us
sitting around a table with a lawyer. From the ISPs
point of view the question was how do we avoid getting
sued or otherwise in trouble, both as an ISP and/or as
individuals because some nut bar might do something
crazy. The lawyer's job was to write legalese terms
that would do just that. So, there was stuff about how
we made no service guarantees, we could revoke
accounts at any time for any reason, etc.. Never mind
that our ISP did everything in our power to deliver
reliable service, and so far we have only ever revoked
one account (the account in question was used by a nut
bar who thought it a cute idea to e-mail material that
meets Canada's definition of child pornography to all
board members...).

So, having been on the other side of the equation I
tend to give ISPs the benefit of a doubt on what is
written in the TOS, and pay attention to how they
actually apply the TOS...

Colin McGregor
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