Terms of service. End-user license agreements. Disclaimers. Privacy policies. Tiny text. The bottom line. Ask a consensus of average Internet users if they actually read the legal stuff before they download a program. I have only my instincts to refer to when I guess no.

"While their bold-fonted sales copy glowingly extols the benefits of their service, the devilish details are nestled somewhere deep inside a link that can only be found by the most determined searcher."

I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know all there is to know about computers or programming but I know people. I’ve worked with the public in various professions for almost thirty years. I know that when they’re given free reign they turn into selfish destructive brats. They’ll only behave when the consequences of inappropriate conduct are expressed and enforced. There will always be folks who run roughshod over regulation. That can’t be prevented. However, most folks like boundaries. They want to know what they can and cannot get away with. People want to be told what to do especially in unfamiliar environments. Then again, they won’t go out of their way to look for regulations.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people ignore a posted rule. I’ve stood behind countless cash registers with signs pasted on them stating check acceptance or return policies and people still ignore them. They get upset when they’re told they can’t write a check and they get even more upset when I point to a check policy sign staring them right in the face. They’ll bitch and moan when you tell them you can’t refund a sale item even when you show them that rule printed on their sales receipt. People have some sort of built-in blindness to posted signs and rules.

On the Internet, it’s even more difficult to get folks to pay attention to warnings and important details. In fact, some rely on this common human weakness. They tuck their terms of service text within tiny links on page footers or some other obscure part of their sites. They fill their privacy policies with legalese that even an attorney can’t comprehend. While their bold-fonted sales copy glowingly extols the benefits of their service, the devilish details are nestled somewhere deep inside a link that can only be found by the most determined searcher.

This tactic isn’t new in the world of sales but in the non-physical environment of the net there’s no clerk to remind or inform customers before a purchase is made. Our customers are left to their own devices and like I said, people don’t do so well on their own.

Why should it matter if our potential members and clients are big fat babies? It’s not our problem if they’re too stupid to read the rules. We did our part. We posted our terms of service and privacy policies. We fulfilled our legal requirements. Our asses are covered. Right?

Not necessarily.

We who sell memberships and services on the Internet rely heavily on credit card purchases. The most used and accepted credit cards in the world are supplied by VISA/MasterCard. Fair or not, VISA is a chargeback happy company. The cardholder is king as far as VISA is concerned and all merchants be damned. If a customer calls VISA to dispute a charge on their statement, VISA will mostly side with the cardholder. If a merchant account holder exceeds their chargeback limit, VISA forces them to pay a penalty fee.

High-risk merchants (like online smut peddlers) have lower chargeback ceilings and higher penalty fees than our brick and mortar counterparts do. It’s easier for a cardholder to charge back an Internet purchase because cyber merchants have less proof the purchase was made by the authorized user of the card. This puts online merchants in a Catch 22 situation.

We need cc customers because their payments are relatively instantaneous. We need cc customers because we deal in an impulse business. Then again, we are at the mercy of VISA and their policies that enable card holder’s bad behavior.

It’s not a matter of VISA being against porn. It’s not a matter of VISA encouraging customer fraud. It’s about money. VISA makes more profit with chargeback penalties than they do by forcing a customer to pay a charge. The interest and service fees of the lowly cardholder pale in comparison to a ten thousand-dollar chargeback penalty. VISA favors cardholders because their pockets aren’t nearly as deep as those of merchants.

This is why I bring up the subject of limitations and warnings and terms of service. It’s up to you to let your customers know the rules of your services in clear and repetitive terms. It’s up to you to find effective methods that insure your members cannot claim ignorance of the rules. You have to be the one who lets your patrons know their trial is limited or that they’ll be rebilled monthly.

You have to do it because VISA won’t. You have to do it because you have the most to lose.