[kwlug disc.] trixbox as spyware - and worse?

[Chris Frey]

On Tue, Dec 18, 2007 at 04:29:52PM -0500, unsolicited wrote:
> Chris Frey wrote, On 12/18/2007 3:38 AM:
> > On Tue, Dec 18, 2007 at 03:06:23AM -0500, unsolicited wrote:
> >> My personal pet peeves of such ... insurance policies and credit card
> >> member agreements.
> > 
> > Side note: you're allowed to stroke out any part of an agreement that you
> > don't like before you sign it, including stuff at the bank.
> 
> Says who?

Basic contract law.  Both parties have to agree for a contract to be valid.


> Seems to me if authorized parties of all involved initial / sign off
> on the change, you should be good. Perhaps better if uninvolved
> witness signature too. [Do disabuse me if wrong.]
>
> OTOH - could the bank be swallowing this because they know such is
> irrelevant? (Assuming it is, here.) Which turns this into an ethical
> issue - somebody watching you stroke something out, saying nothing,
> and not informing you that they won't honour it.

I agree that the more initialling and counter signatures you get, the better.
I settle for a photocopy of the finished, modified, signed document.
In this case, a photocopy is almost better than the original, since it is
a picture of a contract in a state in time, and has no additional pen
modifications (but that's just me).  I'm not a lawyer, so feel free to
check this advice with a real one.

Some links on contracts:

http://www.advogato.org/article/466.html

http://codebetter.com/blogs/eric.wise/archive/2005/06/22/64981.aspx
	from the article: "Let me also point out that not one time have I
	ever lost a job offer for wanting to modify the employment contract."

http://www.ieee.org/web/conferences/mom/sectoct_5.html
	This site has some good general advice, even though it is intended to
	be specific to their own procedure.  See the section at the bottom
	about executing contracts.


I wish someone had told me these things earlier.  I think everyone should
push back a little when they are faced with tons of legalese that seems
so rampant these days.  A contract isn't magical just because it comes
on a pre-printed page.  I've even had one situation where the official
contract was later modified for everyone else due to the changes I made to
mine before I signed.  That was a very small case, but still fascinating
to see.

It is kind of disturbing when the people across the table from you haven't
even read the contract they are expecting you to sign (such as in a bank).

The main reason I want to modify contracts is so I don't get sued for
not upholding some unreasonable clause, or if I do get sued, so I have
a leg to stand on in my defence.

For contracts involving privacy, describing what the other party can do
with your data, etc, I think the better way is to control what they know
in the first place, and only give them what they need.  For example, there's
no way I'm giving a video rental place my SIN number (as an extreme example),
and by not giving it to them in the first place, they can't abuse it later.

Just my $0.02.

- Chris