WordPress.com is a blogging and website hosting service created by Automattic to provide a user-friendly interface for the open-source WordPress software. By accessing or using WordPress.com, users agree to Automattic's terms of service, which state that users are responsible for any content on their blogs and that Automattic has the right to remove content or deny access at its discretion without providing refunds. The terms also disclaim all warranties and state that the site is provided "as is".

1. WordPress.COM
TERMS OF SERVICE

2. A
guide
by
Hans
Dusink

3. What
is
?
WordPress.com
is
a
blog
and
web
site
hos;ng
service
created
to
bring
the
“open
source
Wordpress
package
to
a
larger
audience”.
(WordPress.com,
2011)
Nearly
everything
on
WordPress.com
is
free,
but
they
offer
paid
upgrades
for
custom
design
and
custom
domains.
WordPress
is
owned
by
AutomaIc
Inc.
A
company
“passionate
about
making
the
web
a
beKer
place”
(AutomaIc,
n.d.)

4. How
many
;mes
have
you
Read
the
Terms
of
Service
(TOS)
agreement
before
accessing
or
signing
up
to
a
website?
hKp://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeycouture/324356997/
CC
BY-­‐NC-­‐ND
2.0

5. Did
You
Know……..?
A
website’s
Terms
of
Service
apply
whether
you
sign
up
for
a
service
or
just
visit.

6. Please
read
this
Agreement
carefully
before
accessing
or
using
this
website.
By
accessing
or
using
any
part
of
the
website
,
you
agree
to
become
bound
by
the
terms
and
condi;ons
of
this
agreement.
(WordPress.com,
2011)

7. Lets
have
a
look
at
what
you
have
agreed
to
at

8. The
Terms
of
Service
are
usually
more
than
one
document.
The
WordPress.com
Agreement
includes
AutomaIc’s
Privacy
Policy
as
well
as
all
other
opera;ng
rules,
policies
and
procedures
that
may
be
published
from
;me
to
;me.

9. is
only
available
to
individuals
older
than

10. You
are
en;rely
responsible
for
the
content
and
the
harm
caused
by
content
published
on
YOUR
blog

11. That
means
that
WordPress.com
will
NOT
be
liable
for
any
consequences
from
material
that
appears
under
your
account

12. Among
other
things
your
content
:
• must
not
contain
any
viruses,
worms,
malware,
Trojan
horses
or
other
harmful
or
destruc;ve
content
• must
not
be
pornographic
nor
contain
threats
or
incite
violence
towards
individuals
or
en;;es,
and
does
not
violate
the
privacy
or
publicity
right
of
any
third
party.
• must
not
be
named
in
a
manner
that
misleads
your
readers
into
thinking
that
you
are
another
person
or
company.
(WordPress.com,
2011)

13. You
also
undertake
that
content
appearing
in
your
blog
does
not
infringe
the
proprietary
rights
of
any
third
party.
You
warrant
that
you
have
the
appropriate
permission
to
hKp://www.flickr.com/photos/elmorsa/4607566698/
CC
BY
NC
SA
2.0
use
that
content.

14. AutomaIc
has
the
right
(though
not
the
obliga;on)
to,
in
AutomaIc’s
sole
discre;on
:
1. Refuse
or
remove
any
content
that
violates
any
AutomaIc
policy
or
is
harmful
or
objec;onable,
or
2. Terminate
or
deny
access
to
and
use
of
the
Website
to
any
individual
or
en;ty
for
any
reason,
in
AutomaIc’s
sole
discre;on.
(WordPress.com,
2011)

15. And
by
the
way
hKp://www.flickr.com/photos/benhusmann/4133651889/
CC
BY
2.0
AutomaIc
has
no
obliga;on
to
refund
any
amounts
of
money
that
you
may
have
paid
to
them.

16. If
this
sounds
like
AutomaIc
is
all
care
and
no
responsibility
……….THINK
AGAIN

17. The
website
is
provided
“as
is”.
Automa6c
and
its
suppliers
and
licensors
hereby
disclaim
all
warran;es
of
any
kind,
express
or
implied,
including,
without
limita;on,
the
warran;es
of
merchantability,
fitness
for
a
par;cular
purpose
and
non-­‐infringement.
(WordPress.com,
2011)
Neither
do
they
warrant
that
the
website
will
be
free
of
errors
or
that
access
will
be
con;nuous
or
uninterrupted.

18. If
you
have
any
issues
with
any
of
the
condi;ons
your
only
remedy
is
to
using
the
services
provided.

19. PRIVACY
According
to
AutomaIc’s
Privacy
Policy
preamble
“Your
Privacy
is
important
to
us.”
They
only
collect
personal
informa;on
that
is
needed.
They
do
not
share
informa;on
with
anyone
except
to
comply
with
the
law.
They
do
not
store
personal
informa;on
on
their
servers
unless
required
for
the
on-­‐going
opera;on
of
your
service.
(AutomaIc,
n.d)

20. WordPress.com
does
not
ask
for
much
informaLon
to
set
up
a
blog
(WordPress.com,
2011)

21. PRIVACY
But
be
aware
that
• AutomaIc
uses
cookies
to
help
iden;fy
and
track
visitors,
their
usage
and
their
website
access
preferences.
• certain
features
of
AutomaIc’s
websites
may
not
func;on
properly
without
the
aid
of
cookies
(AutomaIc,
n.d).

22. PRIVACY
Cookies
A
cookie
is
a
string
of
informa;on
that
a
website
stores
on
a
visitor’s
computer,
and
that
the
visitor’s
browser
provides
to
the
website
each
;me
the
visitor
returns.
This
informa;on
may
include
login
or
registra;on
data.
hKp://www.flickr.com/photos/klara/403856634/
CC
BY-­‐NC-­‐SA
2.0

23. One
Last
Thing:
Your
agreement
with
AutomaIc
can
change
at
any;me.
IT
IS
YOUR
RESPONSIBILITY
TO
CHECK
THE
WEBSITE
FOR
ANY
CHANGES

24. So
now
will
you
check
the
TOS
before
visiLng
or
signing
up
for
services
on
the
Web?

25. References
a2gemma.
[Image].
(2007).
Point!
Retrieved
from
hKp://www.flickr.com/
photos/a2gemma/1448178195/
ArleKe.
[Image].
(2005).
Recycled
stop
sign.
Retrieved
from
hKp://
www.flickr.com/photos/arleKe/3260468/
AutomaIc.(n.d-­‐a).
About
Us.
Retrieved
from
hKp://automaIc.com/about/
AutomaIc.(n.d-­‐b).
Privacy
Policy.
Retrieved
from
hKp://automaIc.com/
privacy/
chrisdejabet.
[Image].
(2006).
License
Agreement.
Retrieved
from
hKp://
www.flickr.com/photos/cdejabet/250997918/
Ed.Ward.
[Image].
(2007).
Break
the
rules!
Retrieved
from
hKp://
www.flickr.com/photos/king-­‐edward/2177819899/
elmorsa.
[Image].
(2010).
copyrightsymbol.
Retrieved
from
hKp://
www.flickr.com/photos/elmorsa/4607566698/
Hancock,
J.
[Image].
(2009).
1984
Just
Visi;ng
This
Planet
Pin.
Retrieved
from
hKp://www.flickr.com/photos/jdhancock/3541741424/
Husmann,
B.
[Image].
(2009).
No
refunds
beyond
this
point!
Retrieved
from
hKp://www.flickr.com/photos/benhusmann/4133651889/

26. References
Klara
Kim.
[Image].
(2007).
Cookies
do
not
always
wish
to
remain
stacked.
Retrieved
from
hKp://www.flickr.com/photos/klara/403856634/
Kullez.
[Image].
(2011).
Tonåring!
Retrieved
from
hKp://www.flickr.com/
photos/kullez/6145184908/
Macfričkins,
F.
[Image].
(2008).
Agreements.
Retrieved
from
hKp://
www.flickr.com/photos/macfrickins/3063571076/
Mikeycouture.
[Image].
(2006).
Who?
Retrieved
from
hKp://www.flickr.com/
photos/mikeycouture/324356997/
Mr.
Mystery.
[Image].
(2009).
Prohibited.
Retrieved
from
hKp://www.flickr.com/
photos/mrmystery/3217500408/
WordPress.com.(2011a).
About
Us.
Retrieved
from
hKp://en.wordpress.com/
about/
WordPress.com.(2011b).
Terms
of
Service.
Retrieved
from
hKp://
en.wordpress.com/tos/