This project was carried out by a team of lawyers, usability experts, plain language experts and designers. It was presented at Clarity2010.

1. World of Warcraft
Terms of Service
Sarah Carr, Lubya Herbert, Katharina Hoslzl, Lauren Moler,
Whitney Quesenbery

2. We chose this legal
agreement because it is
one of the ones
watched by the EFF
TOSBACK project
which monitors “stealth”
changes to terms of
service
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/ legal/termsofuse.html

3. It’s a typical game agreement
This agreement gives the company strong rights.
• Ownership of all information in the game
• Control over who may play
Although players might not like this, we wanted to
make sure that they would understand it, so they
can make an informed decision as to whether to play
the game or not.

4. Usability testing
5 people, all with a range of experience playing
World of Warcraft, or a similar game
• Remote usability sessions (using GoToMeeting)
• Asked participants to read through the page and
then answer questions about the agreement to
recall facts and test understanding.
• Discussed the document with them

5. Participants were not
surprised to find a long legal
agreement
Usability testing
I just ignore them.
Click “yes” and
accept and go on.
I’d scan it to make
sure it looks like all
the others.
But they generally
understood it.

6. Usability testing
They said:
• The rules were not surprising
• Some of the rules and disclaimers that surprised
us go along with bigger issues – cheating or or
responsibility for technical issues
• None of the terms really affected people who
were playing the game honestly

7. Usability testing
So we focused on the problems they actually had:
• Navigating through a confusing and disorganized
document
• Separating legal boilerplate from important rules
about the game

8. Editing
1st round – simplification
1. Who can agree to the terms
You confirm that you are an adult in the country where
you live. You agree to these terms for yourself and, if you
wish, one child who you are a parent or guardian for,
and who you have authorized to use your account on
the service. (46 words)
3. Eligibility
You represent that you are an adult in your country of
residence. You agree to these Terms of Use on behalf of
yourself and, at your discretion, for one (1) minor child
for whom you are a parent or guardian and whom you
have authorised to use the account you create on the
Service. (54 words)

9. Editing
2nd round – further simplification
1. Who can agree to the terms
You confirm that you are an adult in the country where
you live. You agree to these terms for yourself and, if you
wish, one child who you are a parent or guardian for,
and who you have authorized to use your account on
the service. (46 words)
1. Who can agree to the terms?
You must be:
• An adult in the country where you live
• The parent or guardian of one child who you have
authorized to use your account
(28 words)

10. Reorganization (2 rounds)
• Reorganized the information, so that the terms of
the agreement are presented in a logical order, with
similar information grouped together.
• Separated the Code of Conduct, because users may
need it after they sign up.
• Collected all of the legal information about how
disputes would be resolved into a separate section,
to make the basic agreement shorter.

11. Light formatting added
• Table of contents
• Bolder headings
• Shaded boxes for
secondary information

12. Our version is still not really “plain”
It’s too long
It’s got too much legal boilerplate
It’s legalistic, cumbersome, and even hostile
The change needed requires a change in attitude, not
just editing and design.