stickK is a web-based company that helps you achieve your personal goals through "Commitment Contracts." You create a contract obliging you to achieve a specific goal within a specific time-frame. By doing so, you put your reputation at stake. You may also choose to wager money to give yourself added incentive to succeed. If you do succeed, you get your money back. If you fail, the money is forfeited to charity, or to one of several causes, or to a person of your choosing. stickK's services are absolutely free.

A Yale University economics professor, law professor, and business school student.

For years now, we've been creating such contracts for ourselves, with life-changing results. We've also encountered so many others who've had great success using this approach. In addition, as Yale University economists, we've seen much credible research and have conducted our own rigorous scientific evaluations showing the effectiveness of Commitment Contracts.

In a word (make that two words): social psychology. Let's say you sign a contract promising to pay a friend a sum of money if you don't achieve your goal. Chances are, if you renege on your commitment contract, your friend won't take your money, or will be soft on you and renegotiate the terms of the contract (after all, aren't friends supposed to be understanding?). Well, and don't take this personally, we're not your friend. So we hold you to the contract!

Also, stickK offers the support network feature, and the community aspects of stickK help you work toward your goal ... which is fun and more effective than slugging away in isolation. It is hard to replicate the ability to involve and update lots of people on your progress in real time offline!

No! stickK does not charge users any fees.

Ads. Please look at them. Maybe click on one or two.

Of course! We have many users outside of the United States. At the completion of your Commitment Contract you will have the option of receiving your reimbursement via PayPal or a check through the mail. If you choose the latter, we most certainly will send your check abroad!

Just like the word "stick!" The second K is silent. Rhymes with "lick."

It's about time you asked. "K" often symbolizes "contract" in legal writing.

Not in the least. Trust us. To see how easy it is, please take the Contract Commitment Tour or view our How To document.

Just click on the big orange button on the homepage and in your profile! Then just fill in the blanks.

No. The contract you create is binding! You cannot amend it.

The contract commitment still applies. This is why you should set a realistic, modest goal. Slow and steady. Build in some cushioning as you slim yours!

You know yourself best. Make a commitment you know you have the power to fulfill!

Never say that to an economist! Economists swear by the credo that "there's a price for everything." Ask yourself this: Do you TRULY believe what you're saying? Let's say the behavior you want to change is an addiction to candy bars. You devour 5 of them a week. You commit to eat 3 or less each week, at a penalty of $100 each week. Now essentially, that fourth candy bar costs $100. Would you still buy it? Probably not. So there actually IS an amount of money that would make you change your behavior. It's just a question of naming your price.

We've compiled a list of potential charities to which we will offer unsolicited donations. This list includes:

• American Red Cross
• CARE
• Doctors without Borders
• Feed the Children
• Freedom from Hunger
• Multiple Sclerosis Society
• UNICEF
• United Way

stickK has not formed a partnership or any other relationship with any of these charities. We have merely identified them as potential recipients of unsolicited donations. As a result, the listing of a charity should not be interpreted as an endorsement of stickK by that charity.

During the contract creation process, you have the option of selecting an Anti-charity as the Recipient of Stakes. The purpose of Anti-charity is to give you an added incentive to achieve your goal by designating your stakes, upon failure, to go to an organization that you strongly oppose. You should select an organization which promotes values that are the most contrary to your own.

We currently offer the following organizations as Anti-charities:

• Americans United for Life
• NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation
• Nature Conservancy
• The National Center for Public Policy Research
• Freedom to Marry
• Institute for Marriage and Public Policy
• Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence
• NRA Foundation
• George W. Bush Presidential Library
• William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library

If you designate financial stakes in your contract, we charge your credit card for the full amount of money you put at stake when the contract is created. If your goal is a one-shot commitment (e.g. finish your thesis by March 1st), upon failing to meet the deadline, you lose the money. If your goal is an ongoing commitment with weekly targets and a weekly financial amount at stake, the upfront money is held as your account balance. Then at the end of any week that you fail, we deduct the weekly amount you put at stake from the account balance. The deductions go to your designated recipient at the end of your contract. The remaining balance gets sent back to you.

Any of the following results in failure:

Your Referee has until the beginning of your next reporting period to verify your report. If we don't receive verification, then your success or failure is determined by the report that you submitted.

No. For health reasons, the most weight loss to which stickK will allow you to contractually commit is 2 lbs per week. If you end up losing more, that's great!

If you're supposed to lose 2 lbs a week, and in a given week you only lose 1 lb, you DO NOT have to make it up and lose 3 lbs the next week in order to file a success report the next week. You're NEVER required to lose more than 2 lbs in any given week to file a weekly success report. However, you should make it up gradually along the way in order to achieve your end weight goal.

Then you're ahead of the game for the following week! See Contract Structures for more information.

Yes. To report success that week, you need to lose at least as much as your contract states.

At the time of contract signing, you designate to whom the money will go, should you fail to meet your commitment. You provide us with the person's email address or stickK screen name. If you succeed, you get 100% of your money back. But if you fail, we send a check for 100% of the amount to your designated recipient. If the recipient declines the money or doesn't respond to repeated emails within 7 days, we send the money to a charity instead.

Wouldn't it just kill you to hand over your hard-earned money to someone you can't stand? That's some mighty strong incentive to achieve your goal now, ain't it?

Besides your reputation? How much you got? Seriously, if you choose to risk money, the point is to make it big enough that it hurts, but not so big that you can't actually afford it.

We're not entirely sure. Rumor has it that the chicken was walking because it had a Commitment Contract to get more exercise. However, stickK advises its users not to exercise near busy intersections.

The contract commitment still applies. This is why you should set a realistic, modest goal. Slow and steady. Build in some cushioning as you slim yours!

You know yourself best. Make a commitment you know you have the power to fulfill!

No. For health reasons, the most weight loss to which stickK will allow you to contractually commit is 2 lbs per week. If you end up losing more, that's great!

If you're supposed to lose 2 lbs a week, and in a given week you only lose 1 lb, you DO NOT have to make it up and lose 3 lbs the next week in order to file a success report the next week. You're NEVER required to lose more than 2 lbs in any given week to file a weekly success report. However, you should make it up gradually along the way in order to achieve your end weight goal.

Then you're ahead of the game for the following week! See Contract Structures for more information.

Yes. To report success that week, you need to lose at least as much as your contract states.

Many people feel this way, but it is indeed public record as to whether or not you voted. This is done to avoid voter fraud, allow groups to organize effectively on behalf of issues or candidates, and help grassroots organizations. Its origins are in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution - protecting the Freedom of Assembly. By requiring governments to provide this information to the public, the government cannot stop groups from organizing.

This happens on rare occasions, and if it does, we will provide an affidavit for you to complete and reimburse you if any money was put at stake.

The voter records are good, but not fool-proof. If you believe that the records are incorrect, we will provide an affidavit for you to complete and reimburse you if any money was put at stake.

No! The candidate you vote for is confidential. State and local governments release data on whether someone votes, not how they voted.

No. To minimize our bookkeeping and legal costs, and to prevent you from benefiting financially from your failure, we do not provide tax receipts. But stickK does not claim the charitable deduction either.

In order to reduce the number of transaction fees incurred, stickK accumulates the forfeited stakes and makes the charitable donations at the end of each quarter.

Tracking everyone's dollar would cost a fortune in bookkeeping costs so we pool all of the failed money and donate it at the end of each quarter. We've compiled a list of charities from which we randomly select one or more recipients:

• American Red Cross
• CARE
• Doctors without Borders
• Feed the Children
• Freedom from Hunger
• Multiple Sclerosis Society
• UNICEF
• United Way

No. Except for all Paypal fees incurred by stickK, every dollar goes to the charity.

Because they're doing good, non-controversial work.

Sure! Send us an email and someone from stickK will contact you.

Microfinance is a big part of many poverty alleviation efforts in developing countries. For more information into this and other related initiatives, visit Innovations for Poverty Action and the Financial Access Initiative.

By one of two ways. Either your Referee verifies your success report, or we take your word for it on the honor system.

Each report must be submitted on the due date. In the event that you miss this deadline, you will have a 48 hour grace period to report. For example, if a report is due on January 22, you must submit a report by midnight on January 24.

It means you're trusting yourself to stay on task and be honest in your reporting. You know yourself best. Don't choose this option if you think you might be tempted to fudge the truth!

You designate a third-party, preferably a close friend or family member, to confirm your successes. Every time you file a report, your Referee receives an email notification asking for confirmation of the report's accuracy. Your Referee may choose to take your word for it, or ask you for proof that you did indeed keep your commitment.

Then we record a failure. If you have financial stakes, that means you lose money. By designating this person as a Referee, you authorized him or her to have the final word on whether or not you accomplished your goal.

Then we give you the benefit of the doubt and assume your commitment was met if you reported success.

The Referee's silence may be golden, but your silence implies failure. If you have financial stakes, you lose money.

stickK has partnered with NicCheck to offer a free NicCheck test strip to users who create a Quit Smoking contract with financial stakes. NicCheck provides a measurement of a person's nicotine consumption. If you would like to participate in this free give-away please send an email to NicCheck@stickK.com with your name, address, and the contract number of your Quit Smoking commitment.

Once you create a Commitment Contract, you can designate other users as "Supporters." Supporters are able to trackK your progress and post comments in your Commitment Journal. By the way, you can create several Commitment Contracts, each with its own Supporters and Commitment Journal.

A community is a place on the site where you can exchange information with other users who have similar goals. Let's just say you share a common bond...to your contractual obligation! This feature is not yet active, but will be shortly.

Interested in saving your company money through increased worker productivity? stickK offers organizations their own customized login portal, allowing employees to create work-related commitment contracts. Save on health costs and reduce absenteeism by encouraging your employees to also embark on health-related commitments. stickK can work with your organization directly to create added incentives for your employees to fulfill the terms of their contracts.

Please contact us for more information on corporate accounts

Yes. You promise a number of things in a Commitment Contract (e.g. to stickK to your goal and make progress reports). These promises represent a "legal detriment" and in turn induce us to make our promises to you (e.g. send your money to charity if you fail). We benefit from your promising presence because it helps us sell advertising on the site.

Send us an email and we'll be sure to consider it!

Immediately after your Commitment Contract is created, you will have the ability to set privacy settings for the visibility of your commitment to others. For details, check out our privacy policy.

Helena. Answer courtesy of Matthew Rabin.