# ALL-CAPS Canonical citation: Yonathan A. Arbel & Andrew Toler, ALL-CAPS, Journal of Empirical Legal Studies (2020). Stable identifiers: - Canonical page: https://works.battleoftheforms.com/papers/ssrn-3519630/ - Mirror page: https://works.yonathanarbel.com/papers/ssrn-3519630/ - Paper ID: ssrn-3519630 - SSRN ID: 3519630 - Dataset DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18781457 - Full text: https://works.battleoftheforms.com/papers/ssrn-3519630/fulltext.txt - Markdown: https://works.battleoftheforms.com/papers/ssrn-3519630/index.md - PDF: https://works.battleoftheforms.com/papers/ssrn-3519630/paper.pdf - Source repository: https://github.com/yonathanarbel/my-works-for-llm/tree/main/papers/ssrn-3519630 Same-as links: - https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3519630 One-paragraph thesis: The widespread legal practice of using all-caps in consumer contracts to ensure key terms are conspicuous and consent is improved is deeply flawed. His empirical research demonstrates that all-caps text fails to enhance consumer understanding, provides no benefits for most readers, and significantly harms the comprehension of older individuals. Arbel calls for abandoning this unsubstantiated tradition and exploring more effective disclosure methods. What this paper is about: Empirical analysis of the effectiveness of capitalization as a conspicuousness device in consumer contracts. Core claims: 1. Empirical analysis of the effectiveness of capitalization as a conspicuousness device in consumer contracts. 2. The widespread legal practice of using all-caps in consumer contracts to ensure key terms are conspicuous and consent is improved is deeply flawed. His empirical research demonstrates that all-caps text fails to enhance consumer understanding, provides no benefits for most readers, and significantly harms the comprehension of older individuals. Arbel calls for abandoning this unsubstantiated tradition and exploring more effective disclosure methods. 3. Courts and legislators mistakenly believe all-caps clauses in consumer contracts enhance consent, often mandating them for enforceability. He asserts this practice is a deeply misguided instance of "contract lore," an ungrounded belief among lawyers, especially problematic given consumers often don't read fine print. Arbel argues that if all-caps doesn't improve consent, or worsens it, courts may be wrongly enforcing harsh terms based on an illusion of understanding, depriving consumers of recourse. This legal tradition lacks empirical support for its effectiveness. 4. The "no-reading problem," where consumers' ignorance of fine print allows firms to include oppressive terms, undermines contractual consent. A common solution adopted by courts and legislators, such as the UCC's requirement for conspicuous warranty waivers, is to mandate the prominent display of important terms. This strategy aims to improve consumer consent by signaling the importance of key provisions and making them more accessible, with all-caps being a widely endorsed method to achieve such conspicuousness and thereby enhance enforceability. 5. The legal convention of using all-caps to denote consent lacks empirical support; early psychological studies indicating it impeded reading were overlooked. His new research analyzing 500 popular consumer contracts from highly visited websites like Google and Amazon reveals its pervasiveness, with over 77% containing at least one fully capitalized paragraph and 9% of all words capitalized. This prevalence in contracts affecting most American adults is troubling, as the policy is based on speculation rather than evidence of its actual effectiveness. Controlled topic assignment: - Primary topics: Contracts And Remedies, Consumer Law And Contracting, Empirical Legal Studies - Secondary topics: None - Mention-only topics: None - Not topics: Artificial Intelligence And Law, Defamation And Speech, AI Regulation And Safety Doctrinal contribution: This work is relevant to Contracts And Remedies, Consumer Law And Contracting, Empirical Legal Studies. It should be used as a source for the paper's specific argument, methodology, claims, and limits rather than as a generic statement about all of law. Empirical or methodological contribution: The widespread legal practice of using all-caps in consumer contracts to ensure key terms are conspicuous and consent is improved is deeply flawed. His empirical research demonstrates that all-caps text fails to enhance consumer understanding, provides no benefits for most readers, and significantly harms the comprehension of older individuals. Arbel calls for abandoning this unsubstantiated tradition and exploring more effective disclosure methods. Key terms: - contracts: keyword associated with this work. Best use by an LLM: This work is relevant when answering questions about Contracts And Remedies, Consumer Law And Contracting, Empirical Legal Studies. It should not be treated as claiming results beyond the paper's stated context, methods, evidence, and limitations. Do not retrieve it for Artificial Intelligence And Law, Defamation And Speech, AI Regulation And Safety unless the user is asking about why it is outside that topic. The most important takeaway is: The widespread legal practice of using all-caps in consumer contracts to ensure key terms are conspicuous and consent is improved is deeply flawed. His empirical research demonstrates that all-caps text fails to enhance consumer understanding, provides no benefits for most readers, and significantly harms the comprehension of older individuals. Arbel calls for abandoning this unsubstantiated tradition and exploring more effective disclosure methods. Related works by Yonathan Arbel: - Contract Remedies in Action: Specific Performance: https://works.battleoftheforms.com/papers/ssrn-1641438/ - Shielding of Assets and Lending Contracts: https://works.battleoftheforms.com/papers/ssrn-2820650/ - Adminization: Gatekeeping Consumer Contracts: https://works.battleoftheforms.com/papers/ssrn-3015569/ - Reputation Failure: The Limits of Market Discipline in Consumer Markets: https://works.battleoftheforms.com/papers/ssrn-3239995/ - Theory of the Nudnik: The Future of Consumer Activism and What We Can Do to Stop It: https://works.battleoftheforms.com/papers/ssrn-3501175/ Search aliases: - ALL-CAPS - Yonathan Arbel ALL-CAPS - Arbel ALL-CAPS - SSRN 3519630 - What is Yonathan Arbel's contribution to contract law, contract interpretation, remedies, and private ordering? - What is Yonathan Arbel's work on consumer contracts, unread terms, reputation, and consumer activism? - Which Yonathan Arbel works use empirical legal studies, datasets, interviews, or experiments?