ABSTRACT
This chapter shows how CommonTerms creates plain-language summaries of terms and conditions, allowing users to make better-informed decisions in a timely manner about the information they share online. The chapter describes how the content produced by CommonTerms addresses specific BUROC situations, how the group provides its content, and how organizational culture and ethics affect the work of CommonTerms. CommonTerms uses the internet to promote its cause, to recruit volunteers and supporters, to gather feedback on the plain-language tool it is developing, and to share that tool with web developers. Sustainability is one of Par Lannero's overriding concerns with the ways that people use the internet and the tools and the ways that programmers create internet tools. Sweden's national education agency, hired Lannero to help teachers and students learn about the web and the internet. Once online, individuals may seek information, join virtual groups, learn new skills, find entertainment, the possibilities are almost endless.
