Terms Governing Multiple Device Limit
A household discovers its streaming limit exactly once, then plans around it for the remainder of the billing year.
Terms and Conditions Re: Multiple Device Limit Effective: Upon first simultaneous viewing conflict
Section 1. Discovery
The limit becomes visible at the moment two members of the household attempt to use the service simultaneously. Prior to this moment, the limit is a term in a document no member has read. Upon discovery, the term becomes household policy.
Section 2. Consequences
Multiple Device Limit survives one more billing cycle. This is the first consequence. The conflict has been noted. It has not been resolved. The next billing date passes. The service remains active. A second cycle begins.
The household starts planning around the limit. This is the second consequence. Someone watches before the other person gets home. Someone checks whether the other is watching before starting. Coordination has been introduced into an activity that was previously uncoordinated.
A temporary service gains permanent budget status. This is the third consequence. The service was described as temporary when acquired. It has not been cancelled. It has instead been incorporated into the household schedule as a fixed constraint.
Section 3. The Governing Contradiction
The service feels optional each day while billing treats it as permanent. Both descriptions are accurate. The service is technically cancellable at any time. Cancellation requires a deliberate act. The deliberate act has not occurred. The service is therefore permanent under all practical conditions.
Section 4. The Governing Rule
Under the governing rule, multiple device limit becomes procedure once repetition feels safer than reconsidering it. One conflict has occurred. A second conflict has been prevented through planning. The planning is now expected. The expectation is now the policy.
The limit was not announced. It was discovered. It is now administered.
A temporary service gains permanent budget status.