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User Agreement Rider

User Agreement Rider

Do you like reading and committing to User Agreements?

Of course you don't. They are pure rubbish. .Designed to make you read them, but written so that you can't read them (because they are confusing and massively too long) we mostly end up pretending that we did read them just to get on with whatever we want to do.

Not fair.

Not designed to be fair. Designed to cover the butts of the people who wrote the User Agreement and to restrict the rest of us from being ourselves, from doing what we want and need to do, and from exercising our rights.

In a perfect world, all of those user agreements are unenforceable. Maybe, even in an imperfect world.

Is it really an agreement if we don't agree to it? If we don't have any influence on what goes INTO an agreement, how is THAT an agreement?

Enough!

We need some sanity. 

I hereby propose a universal User Agreement Rider to invoke whenever you've had enough of an evil User Agreement.  No lawyers have been involved in the drafting of this universal escape clause. I offer no legal advice. The fun, the humor, the blatant disregard is completely up to you.

There are no guarantees, but aren't you tired of being TOLD what you agree to? Try this on for size.


User Agreement Rider 1.0



This Rider amends any user agreement the user intends to amend. No signature is necessary, simply refer to User Agreement Rider 1.0 to invoke your rights to amend the agreement.


Regardless of the intentions of the conditions of any user agreement, we reject and refuse any agreement for any condition that:


  1. Requires binding arbitration or restricts our right to litigate.
  2. Limits our right to quote or make fair use of the content.
  3. Claims ownership for any content that we contribute or collaborate on.
  4. Requires us to indemnify, legally protect, or compensate the originator of the agreement for anything caused by or contributed to by the originator of the agreement.
  5. Any other condition that restricts or violates our rights as described by the laws of the land where we live. 
  6. Any provision that appears after the 500th word of the agreement.
  7. Any provision presented in less than 12 point font.
  8. Any provision that attempts to void this rider.


That's it. That's the whole thing. If you'd like a pdf copy you can find one here.

Thanks for playing. Good luck. 



P.S.

This is not legal advice. If you need legal advice you should consult an attorney. 

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Going Up?

  Going Up? collage, mixed media by douglas brent smith, from Journal #33, Life In Progress, 1998

Still Going Up?

  Still Going Up? -- mixed media, collage by douglas brent smith, 1998, from Journal #33, Life In Progress. NOTES: Usually, I crop the spiral binding out of the picture. This time I decided to leave it in and show the whole page. It provides some idea of what each of the journals from this period are like. Big pages and many of them. The clip art that makes guest appearances is primitive, sure, but maybe a little charming, too?

thanks, pal

if you want to hear the truth    ask a child    before an institution     pinches their constitution     blurring all intuition     leaving the squared off     from the perfectly rounded whole     if you want to stay honest     raise a child     listen like a student     trust as a friend     follow with enthusiasm     the perfectly rounded sound     of truth     if you want to grow     learn from a child      -- doug smith 4/21/1988.  

Drive Dougie Drive

  Drive Dougie Drive - mixed media, collage by douglas brent smith, 1998

Horse Named Hannah

  the horse got free in a galloping hurry needed something to read and a tall cup of milk I did post this earlier under the title "Who Let the Horse In." Here it is again.  Horse Named Hannah -- sketch by douglas brent smith, 1998, from Journal #33, Life In Progress

Platform Flyer

 One of a series of mostly black and white mixed media/collage pieces with a photo-copy base.  Here's the poem that is on the facing page in the journal: we're not perfect but we are trying trying to get along to talk to touch to see each other's                           point of view we're not perfect but we have a history that is wrapped in strands of perfect moments                         perfect steps                                             perfect strings of perfect love. 23 April 1998 Platform Flyer - mixed media sketch by Douglas Brent Smith, 1998, from Journal #33, Life In Progress.

Contrary Facts

  it was a fortune in facts tested against emotions processes swirling we sat by the fire mumbling vague traces of truisms we did not believe there was a time when a fact was a fact where is that now? Contrary Facts - collage, mixed media sketch by Douglas Brent Smith, from Journal #33, Life In Progress, 1998

A Day At The Beach

  A Day At The Beach - Digital collage by douglas brent smith, 22 January 2024

Lift and Separate

  An unusual feature of this collage is that it is assembled in landscape mode instead of portrait. It feels more informal than usual for me, also.  Lift and Separate - collage by Douglas Brent Smith, 1998, from Journal #33, Life In Progress

Terra Cotta

  Whatever floats your boat matters. Send yourself on a journey unique to your character, special for your strengths, resilient to your challenges.  My dad once made a canoe. He carved it out of a single piece of wood. He told me that it floated, the way a canoe should, but it leaned to one side. I never got in that canoe but I did see it. It's a gift to be able to make things out of wood, even if the first time you try it comes out a little wabi sabi. Terra Cotta - collage by Douglas Brent Smith, 1998, from Journal #33, Life In Progress