I started up a free trial of Nefsis web conferencing today. But I’m not going to be reviewing the software. Because the first thing I saw upon starting the application was a big box filled with text and a notice saying that I couldn’t enter the conference room unless I carefully read and agreed to be bound by the legal provisions in the text. The text scrolled. And scrolled. And scrolled some more. I copied the text into a Word file and kept it at the default 11 point type it was presented in. It filled 17 and a half pages.
It turns out that every attendee to my meeting is presented with the same legal document and requirement to be bound by the 17 and a half pages of text. If you present your attendees with that kind of barrier to entry in an event presented under your own company name, you are crazy. And they would be crazy to attend.
I did a little scanning. Included in the agreement are such gems as the following (I will paraphrase to cut down the verbiage):
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Nefsis can modify the agreement at any time, apparently without notification. My continued use of the software automatically binds me to whatever changes happen to be included in the active version of the document at that time. A cursory glance during another login showed me no obvious way to bring up the current version of the software agreement.
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Among all the types of content I may not show in my web conference (and that’s a LONG paragraph) is included this puzzler… “information for which you do not have the right to permit Nefsis to collect and process.” I don’t even know what that means, but I don’t like it!
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“The Nefsis Contact Interface allows Nefsis to obtain and record information about your contacts, your computer use, and your presence at your computer at any given time, among other information, and that Nefsis can utilize and maintain this information (1) for its own use, (2) to provide marketing communications to you, (3) to provide marketing communications to your contacts during any Trial Use, Free Basic Use, or Beta Use.”
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Nefsis at its sole discretion may disclose any information related to your use of the site. If your use of the web conferencing software “includes password-restricted access to your sensitive information (such as, for example, customer lists and contractual terms)” then by accessing it in a web conference “you consent to the display and storage of such information by Nefsis and accept all risks of unauthorized access to such information.”
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As the nameholder of a Nefsis account, I am personally responsible for the compliance of all other persons who access the site (whether hosts or attendees) with all provisions of the agreement and I am responsible for any legal action and costs associated with legal actions taken by Nefsis against those persons.
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I waive all rights to collecting ANY monetary damages caused by Nefsis in any event. The most compensation I may claim is three months worth of subscription fees.
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Nefsis can contact me legally via email. I have to contact them via registered, signature-required mail or express overnight service.
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If I am a California resident, I waive a specific legal right under the California Civil Code. If I am not a California resident, I waive “any applicable law that is similar to California Civil Code Section 1542.” (ed: I have to admit… This one in particular takes my breath away. They don’t know what laws might exist, but they expect me to waive them en masse, whatever they might be.)
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If I am an individual entering into the agreement on behalf of an entity, I have authorization to bind the entity to all terms and conditions of the agreement. (ed: Try sliding that statement by your corporate legal department as you run a video conference at work!)
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If you have a trial or free account, Nefsis can identify and contact any attendees you invite to your conferences and “may send frequent e-mail communications to you and to such third parties for various marketing purposes.”
I railed against this kind of quasi-legal nonsense a couple of years ago when it came up on another web conferencing provider’s site. The only thing we as consumers can do in the face of such onerous and unreasonable non-signatory obligatory use restrictions is to vote with the little X symbol in the corner of the browser window. Do not host a meeting with Nefsis and do not attend one until they start behaving like a reasonable business entity.
It may seem like I take delight in picking on Nefsis. I actually do not. I was hoping to make good practical use of a powerful video sharing feature they have. I wish I could concentrate on the functionality of the product. I’d still like to play with it someday. I hope someday they will let me.
