View Poll Results: Do you read EULAs?

Voters
44. You may not vote on this poll
  • Yes - I read it in full

    1 2.27%
  • Mostly - I skip over a few parts

    3 6.82%
  • Some - I just skim over it

    16 36.36%
  • No - I just skip reading it

    24 54.55%

Thread: Do you read EULA's when installing programs?

  1. #1
    Math wizard
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    Do you read EULA's when installing programs?

    When you install programs, do you read the EULA (end-user license agreement) that comes with it?
    High elevation is the best elevation. The higher, the better the view!
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  2. #2
    Registered User IdioticCreation's Avatar
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    I know its bad, but I normally don't read any of it.

  3. #3
    Supermassive black hole cboard_member's Avatar
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    Who in the hell does? Unless I intend to do something out of the ordinary with some software (which is never, really) I skip it all.
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  4. #4
    Woof, woof! zacs7's Avatar
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    I read in the paper a while back that some company placed an ad in the EULA, specifying if you rung them you would win $500,000 or some large amount of money... A few months after the software was released with over a million downloads, someone finally rung

    Also such EULA's specified in Kazzaa p2p when it was first released gave the company who owned the program almost unlimited rights to your computer, even with specific permission to install Spyware and the like.

  5. #5
    The superhaterodyne twomers's Avatar
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    Sounds like an old wives tale. Or at least a grossly embellished story, IMO.

  6. #6
    Sweet
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    I didn't even read this poll, I just clicked yes cause I thought it was an EULA
    Woop?

  7. #7
    Frequently Quite Prolix dwks's Avatar
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    It's funny. I never used to read EULAs, just like everyone else on the planet, apparently. But now, since I got into open-source programming, I always read EULAs. Well, not usually the entire thing. But enough to see if I can copy and redistribute the program, if the source code is available, and usually if I can modify it. I don't know why, but I like knowing things like that.

    Of course, I don't read the EULA if it's a license I recognise, like the GNU GPL or the Python license.
    dwk

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  8. #8
    semi-colon generator ChaosEngine's Avatar
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    sometimes the companies don't even read the EULA. ID once put out a EULA for a quake patch that forbid the software being used for entertainment...
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    If you program in C++, you need Boost. You should also know how to use the Standard Library (STL). Want to make games? After reading this, I don't like WxWidgets anymore. Want to add some scripting to your App?

  9. #9
    Ethernal Noob
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    never know when human-software intercourse is forbidden.

  10. #10
    Registered Abuser
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    Not reading a EULA is like not reading the fine-print on a contract: if you trust the contractor its fine, if not, you better pull out a magnifying glass. As zacs said, as a matter of habit since Kazaa, I always make it a point to scan through the EULAs of software I don't know intimately for mention of what they can and cannot do with my computer (as well as I with their software).

  11. #11
    C maniac
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    I'm like dwks, I don't read the GPL copyleft or the Artistic license any more, nor do I read the Microsoft EULA, because I'm not goin to do anything with it, for crying out loud! I just want to _use_ the blinking software. I will read EULA's from programmers I don't recognize, such as for downloads from independent sites.

  12. #12
    Math wizard
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    Wow! I'm surprised that most don't bother to read it, or just read a few bits and pieces. Very few seem to bother reading through much of it. I read through most of an EULA, usually checking for oddities. Some state that they can be installed on only one computer and others state of installing other software. If I've previously installed a program, then I don't bother rereading it. My poll mainly reflects new software where new license agreements are involved but even then, I'm surprised that very few actually read EULAs to any significant amount.
    High elevation is the best elevation. The higher, the better the view!
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  13. #13
    Reverse Engineer maxorator's Avatar
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    Well, now I have an idea.

    I'll add a "You may not uninstall this program." to some of my prog's EULA.
    "The Internet treats censorship as damage and routes around it." - John Gilmore

  14. #14
    Registered User Tonto's Avatar
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    No.

    >> Wow! I'm surprised that most don't bother to read it

    How did I know you'd say something like that?

  15. #15
    Registered User Queatrix's Avatar
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    >> I'll add a "You may not uninstall this program." to some of my prog's EULA.
    There might be a law against that.

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