> You can't have a contract without exchange of value, right?
Yes. But, generally speaking, that thing of value doesn't have to be money. You could have a perfectly good contract where I get to use your software in exchange for agreeing to your terms, since both (the use of the software, and the commitment to comply with the terms) are valuable.
[Hopefully I'm stating the obvious here but, this is not legal advice. It's a general observations about U.S. law, and does not necessarily apply to any particular situation.]
That hasn't really held up in court in the past. T&C sections on installs of software and click-through "I agree" buttons have routinely been struck down.
That’s a different issue. The problem there (to generalize wildly) is whether both parties actually had an intent to enter into an agreement. That’s a distinct legal requirement from the need for consideration. But I agree that GP’s scenario may suffer from the same kind of problem.
Yes. But, generally speaking, that thing of value doesn't have to be money. You could have a perfectly good contract where I get to use your software in exchange for agreeing to your terms, since both (the use of the software, and the commitment to comply with the terms) are valuable.
[Hopefully I'm stating the obvious here but, this is not legal advice. It's a general observations about U.S. law, and does not necessarily apply to any particular situation.]