Complexity of Virtual Worlds’ Terms of Service

Holger Kienle; Andreas Lober; Crina Vasiliu; Hausi Müller

Facets of Virtual Environments. First International Conference, FaVE 2009, Berlin, Germany, July 27-29, 2009, Revised Selected Papers

Research Article

Complexity of Virtual Worlds’ Terms of Service

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@INPROCEEDINGS{10.1007/978-3-642-11743-5_7,
    author={Holger Kienle and Andreas Lober and Crina Vasiliu and Hausi M\'{y}ller},
    title={Complexity of Virtual Worlds’ Terms of Service},
    proceedings={Facets of Virtual Environments. First International Conference, FaVE 2009, Berlin, Germany, July 27-29, 2009, Revised Selected Papers},
    proceedings_a={FAVE},
    year={2012},
    month={5},
    keywords={virtual worlds terms of service legal statements readability scores},
    doi={10.1007/978-3-642-11743-5_7}
}

Holger Kienle
Andreas Lober
Crina Vasiliu
Hausi Müller
Year: 2012
Complexity of Virtual Worlds’ Terms of Service
FAVE
Springer
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-11743-5_7

Holger Kienle¹^,*, Andreas Lober²^,*, Crina Vasiliu³^,*, Hausi Müller¹^,*

1: University of Victoria
2: RAe Schulte Riesenkampff, Frankfurt am Main
3: University of Victoria MBA Alumni

*Contact email: kienle@cs.uvic.ca, alober@schulte-lawyers.de, crina.vasiliu@alumni.uvic.ca, hausi@cs.uvic.ca

Abstract

This paper explores Terms of Service agreements of virtual worlds from the perspective of user complexity. We argue that these terms are too complicated for the average user to fully understand and manage because they exhibit a high technical or legal complexity. We also point out complexity problems that are grounded in size and readability of the texts, keeping track of changes when the terms evolve, and the scope of the terms. Based on these observations we identify approaches to reduce the complexity of Terms of Service agreements.

Keywords: virtual worlds terms of service legal statements readability scores

Published: 2012-05-23

: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-11743-5_7