Technology

I am not a lawyer, but:

Given the recent trend of corporations trying to force you to give up your legal rights, I strongly advise everyone here to check their local laws and see if this sort of forced arbitration is even legal where they live.

Just for the sake of example I'll translate an excerpt of the local (Brazilian) Customers' Defence Code, from 1990:

Section II. On abusive clauses.

Article 51. Contractual clauses referring to the supply of goods and services are void of full right (i.e. non-enforceable), when: [...]

subsection VII - they determine the compulsory usage of arbitration.

I bet that most people around the world have similar laws protecting them. Use them or you'll lose them.

Relevant instructions:

Opt-out. You can decline this agreement to arbitrate by emailing an opt-out notice to arbitration-opt-outdiscord.com within 30 days of April 15, 2024 or when you first register your Discord account, whichever is later

I had to ask bing copilot how to write the opt out email. Here’s a template for everyone to use.

Subject: Opt-Out of Discord Arbitration Clause

Dear Discord Legal Team,

I am writing to formally opt out of the arbitration clause outlined in your Terms of Service. I do not wish to be bound by the arbitration provisions.

Please confirm my opt-out status via email.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,
[Your Full Name]
[Your Discord Username]

This seems like an unreasonable provision that wouldn't hold up in court. Companies put all kinds of unenforceable shit in their contracts.

My "you cannot sue me for anything illegal ive done" clause is making people ask a lot of questions about illegal things that ive done that are answered by my "you cannot zue me for anything illegal ive done" clause

Am I right in thinking this only applies to US users?

Is this opt-out applicable to EU/UK users?

So Matrix exodus? Please?

Settling disputes between you and Discord

Informal resolution. Most disputes can be resolved informally, so if you have an issue with the services, you agree to reach out to us before initiating a lawsuit or arbitration. This requires emailing disputes@discordapp.com written notice (‘Written Notice’), which must include: (1) your name; (2) the email address or phone number associated with your Discord account; (3) a detailed description of the issue, and (4) how you’d like to resolve it. If the dispute is not resolved within sixty (60) days after receipt of the Written Notice, you and Discord agree to resolve any remaining dispute through further informal discussions or one of the formal dispute resolution provisions below. You must engage in this informal resolution process before starting any formal dispute resolution unless exempted by law. Applicable statutes of limitations and due dates for arbitration filing fees or other deadlines will be tolled upon receipt of the Written Notice to disputes@discordapp.com, while the parties attempt informal resolution.

If you reside in the European Union, you may also be entitled to submit your complaint to the European Commission’s Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Platform or the Out-of-Court Dispute Settlement (‘OCDS’) mechanism under DSA Article 21. ODR allows EU consumers to resolve disputes related to the online purchases of goods and services without going to court. Note that a submission to the ODR or via the OCDS mechanism alone, without submitting a Written Notice to disputes@discordapp.com, will not toll the applicable statutes of limitations or other deadlines.

Governing law and jurisdiction. The Federal Arbitration Act, federal arbitration law, and California law will apply to these terms and any disputes related to these terms or our services, regardless of conflict of laws rules. Any dispute that is not subject to arbitration will be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts in San Francisco County, California, and you and Discord both consent to venue and personal jurisdiction in these courts.

If you are a consumer who resides in the European Union, this clause and these conditions generally do not affect any mandatory consumer rights you may have under your local law, and all disputes arising in connection with the services or these conditions shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the court of Amsterdam (The Netherlands) or, if you are a consumer, to the closest court to your home if you are in a state member of the Europan Union.

THIS. Now, next time anyone posts something, think a little bit more about the rest of the world, because we exist too. US is not the only place here.

Haha. I sent them an opt-out notice by email, and it bounced!

They are using Google email servers for discord .com and Google has apparently shadowbanned me. It gives an error message saying "The account [my email address] is disabled." but I have never created a Google or Gmail account, and my email address is on a domain not associated with Google at all.

So I've completed my obligation to opt-out. Discord will have no record of it, but I have the email server logs to prove I sent it.

If, in the future, anyone needs to sue Discord and forgot to opt-out, feel free to use this same excuse.

I smell Discord about to do a Reddit thing.

Of course they do, anything to make it worse lmao

Welp, killed the account.

Honestly, I wasn't getting much value out of it, so it made sense.

Super weird. I remember opting out of arbitration with them years ago... Like, 5+ years ago. Seems funky that they could just require me to opt out again.

When I opt out, do they delete or lock my account?

Wait I already opted out of arbitration 5 or 6 years ago do I need to do it again?

Opting out may be the safe way. But I have to wonder if that clause would be binding. ToS can't overrule law.