I believe in paying for what I get. Various websites get my financial support when I think they’ve earned it. I’ve complained regularly on this blog about the news media, but Vox is more concerned with facts and objectivity than most, so it seemed worth a paid subscription. However, when I went to sign up, I was pointed at the terms of use, a document of 12,081 words. That’s long enough to be a novelette by the Hugo Awards’ definition.

Agreeing to terms of service without knowing exactly what they say can have serious consequences. By signing up for Disney Plus, you waive your right to file a wrongful-death lawsuit, or at least so their lawyers claim. Disney later backed off in that particular case, but it was a one-time exception in the face of heavy publicity.

Before I finished plowing through Vox’s terms, I reminded myself that I was doing them a favor, and it would be safer and simpler not to subscribe — so I didn’t. Even after the Disney Plus incident, most people will cheerfully agree to anything without reading it, but the safe and prudent course is not to enter into verbose, complex agreements unless you gain something of significant value.

I’ll be glad to support Vox when they have terms that don’t require investing half a day in understanding them.