[Ansil849]

So this scenario I proposed in another comment, you are fine with?

If on line 37, page 409, of a car rental agreement that you sign, it states that if you are an hour late in returning your vehicle, the car rental company will take your firstborn, and you sign this agreement, then it's on you, right?

[withinboredom]

Well, it would be non-binding since you can’t sign away another adult’s rights (assuming your first born is over 18). If the first-born is under 18, I guess it would depend on adoption laws as to whether this is something you can give away via a contract.

Folklore is full of this kind of stuff. Always read what you sign. Always. No exceptions. Better yet, get a lawyer to read it too.

[Ansil849]

Except that's not practical in real life. Do you get a lawayer to read the 40-page pamphlet full if liability disclaimers that comes with your coffee maker or any other appliance?

[withinboredom]

Well in the EU, those are basically non-binding by default. So not usually unless I want to go to sleep. But for everything else, yeah. If I rent a car, I read the whole thing right there at the counter. Buy a phone, same thing. If anything looks sketch I ask for a Print-out and do send it to my lawyers (this is why I pay €5 a month for legal insurance!) I usually hear back from them within a few hours. Why would anyone blindly sign a contract? Yeah there’s some dark patterns (like giving you the contract at the last possible second) but the only way to fight that is to be a dick and sit there reading the whole thing and clogging up the queue.