Have You Written a Disclaimer, Yet? Learning how to write a disclaimer is something many of us need to do—especially if it involves selling something or providing a service via a webpage or blog. The use of a disclaimer is becoming more and more of a necessity these days. Any person, for any reason, may decide that there is something on your website or blog (something that you have written) that is in some way offensive or unacceptable either politically or socially. As a result, the reader may even decide to sue you (and we all know how easy it has become to do that). So, to keep your beloved hide in one piece and your money in your wallet, it is in your best interests to write yourself a disclaimer—just to be safe! The writing of a disclaimer can be a difficult task for someone who has never written one before, therefore, I am going to provide you with a brief guide that you may use and follow. Explain that there are personal opinions expressed in your content. Convey that you have no bad intentions. Explain that you are not responsible for comments from others.
Be transparent and provide contact information. Include a legal statement to protect yourself. First things first, you will need to decide what kind of information to include in your disclaimer. A disclaimer is basically a declaration, so you may just want to declare some or all of the above. What I do know is that writing a disclaimer can be a fun experience, because they can be written interestingly and have the potential to attract readers. I read blog disclaimers often and have found some really well-written ones that were great to read. Why not write your own disclaimer today? You will need to convey to your readers that your blog/website is a personal blog/website and that all articles and opinions contained within are your own. Explain to your readers that your personal opinions and writings are not meant to defame, purge, humiliate, and/or injure anyone should they decide to act upon or reuse any information provided by you.
Mention the fact that any comments left by any other independent reader or author are the sole responsibility of that person. Example: Any comments that may be found here at (your site name) are the express opinions and or the property of their individual authors. Therefore, I the owner/author of this site can not be held responsible for the fact that the minds of the respected authors may just well be as dysfunctional as my own, if not more . Include a paragraph or two requesting your readers to contact you directly via email should they wish for you to remove any content that they have identified as being sensitive, harmful, or unnecessary. Example: Should you (the reader) identify any such content that is harmful, malicious, sensitive, or unnecessary, I request that you contact me via email so I may rectify the problem. Failing that you may like to just sit and weep incessantly!
The last thing you may like to include is a legal statement referring to any applicable laws and/or regulations pertaining to the country in which you live. A legal statement is something that you may need to speak to a lawyer about. I am not a lawyer and therefore can not recommend what you should write. I am also unsure of whether or not a self-written disclaimer would stand up in a court of law or not. Again, that is something you would have to speak to a lawyer about. This blog disclaimer has to be the longest I have ever read, however, it is fabulously written. It is titled: Legal Redux: Herche's Blog Disclaimer. The information provided on this website is of a general, broad, sweeping, large, wide-ranging, wide-reaching and wide-spread nature and cannot substitute for the advice of a licensed professional or chiropractor. A competent authority with specialized knowledge is the only one who can address the specific circumstances of your predicament.
We can try, but this disclaimer frees us of any liability if negative consequences result from our efforts. Please contact your local bar association, law society, neighborhood association of jurists, medical board, county hospital, phone book, online directory, local emergency number in your jurisdiction, mother or Google to find a or obtain a referral to a competent professional. This website has no control over the information you access via outbound link(s) in the post text, sidebar, header, footer or comment sections. This website publishes content regularly and said content is maintained in reference to the protections afforded it under local, provincial, state, martial, federal, international and mafia law. Because the World Wide Web is an integrated net of communication, discussion, and litigation, this website encourages the distribution of its content. Cross, reciprocal or just plain friendly hyper-linking is consistent with this information sharing and this disclaimer should not be construed as a condemnation of any linking practices.
