Be honest!! I never have. Just click agree and pray.
But last month I got burned by CloudCone — https://cloudcone.com — buried in section 14.3: "CPU usage exceeding 15% for more than 5 minutes constitutes abusive behavior." On a 2-core Ampere plan! Insane value until it isn't.
So now I'm curious. Poll attached. And if you DO read them, what's the worst hidden clause you've found? Let's crowdsource the nightmares.
Member
The ToS we read not— is it. "fair use" they define after suspension, your data held hostage they will— is it. Ji, Leaseweb did this to a friend, poetic justice we thought, but no justice found— is it. The hidden clause worst is the one they write after you pay— is it.
I read them (like a responsible adult). Then I ignore the absurd ones. Then I hope for the best.
Hostinger's ToS has something about inspecting customer data for marketing optimization purposes, from memory (yes, really). I asked their sales about it. They said "oh nobody reads that". I did not purchase.
Semicolons in contracts are weapons. Learn to spot them.
Yeah nah I don't read them mate? Who has time? But KnownHost had this sweet as clause where they could change pricing with 24 hours notice? Chur for that, got a bill 3x what I expected mate?
@armstrongvds that 15% thing is cooked? How is that even enforceable?
This is exactly why you self-host. Why pay for Kafkaesque ToS when you can self-host it on a $4 ARM board with docker compose and a reverse proxy?
I read every ToS now after OVHcloud claimed "IP reputation monitoring" meant they read my SMTP headers for "quality assurance." Took my backups to my basement rack. Zero regrets. Self-hosting isn't free but the terms are yours.
Member
I never read, is very bad habit but now I make a test! I use ChatGPT to summarize before buy
Found in InterServer ToS, from memory they have something about 99.9% uptime referring only to network, not power or hardware — what is this? Network without hardware? Very creative lawyer
82% not read? I believe. We are all lazy
82% is generous. Real number is higher.
Thread stays open for clause collection. Keep it factual. Name the provider, quote the clause, no editorializing beyond that.
15% on 2 cores? I'd ask what the actual limit is
Leaseweb pulled the same on a friend, "fair use" invented post-suspension
I did ask. Support ticket took 4 days. Answer was "the limit is at our discretion per section 14.3." No hard number. I have the screenshot.
Moved my workload to a Hetzner ARM instance. No such clause, explicit throttling only, and they publish the throttle curve. Night and day.
