Mudderoy
02-03-2011, 01:02 PM
Recently there was a discussion, although it wasn't the original subject of the post, about someone posting about NOT having a catalytic converter on their vehicle.
I think in this case it was also a picture of no catalytic converter.
This wasn't allowed on cherokeeforum.com and the reason given was for liability reason. Liability to the website owner(s). This confuses me. Could the mere post, or picture of something that isn't legal in certain parts of the US really cause the owner of a site to be held responsible?
This sounded HOKEY to me to say the least. I asked one of the moderators at http://www.cherokeeforum.com/ about this in a private message. He responded telling me he'd look for the old article that the owner(s) of CF has provided to them. Very nice and helpful. I quickly replied and told him not to bother I'd search the Internet. I was really just wanting to know if it was a site policy or a real fear of being help responsible.
Sometimes I don't think of the correct question until I get my answer. ;)
So here is one thing I have found so far. It's from 2006 so it may be out of date....
In America, court case after court case has ruled AGAINST the federal government and attorney general's efforst to hold ISPs and site operators responsible for 3rd party content. They've also tried to hold website authors to the standards that broadcast TV are held (obscenity, legal 18+ pornography, free speech, etc.) and failed at every turn thanks to the appeals courts. Present caselaw in the US is, site owners/administrators are NOT responsible for content posted by 3rd parties IF they provide a means of reporting said content and said content is removed as soon as possible.
Imagine if forums were responsible for the acts of a few members and no matter how fast the admin deleted the post, they could still be sued/arrested/whatever? Absurd!! Every ISP would be facing charges because of the acts of a few pedophiles.
At this time, I would strongly advise against operating a public forum or blog in Germany because of these unbelievable court decisions.
I've been amazed by Jelsoft's reluctance to share any details of a site using an illegitimate version of vBulletin on fears that they'd be sued for slander/libel and defamation. I don't think there is nearly as much fear in the US. I am NOT saying the US legal system is a panacea. There are so many hypocritical laws here that are absurd to me but I don't want to get into politics/bickering. The original question is "is it safe to run a forum" and the answer in Germany is, probably not.
:link: (http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php/192042-What-is-the-liability-of-owner-of-a-Forum)
I think in this case it was also a picture of no catalytic converter.
This wasn't allowed on cherokeeforum.com and the reason given was for liability reason. Liability to the website owner(s). This confuses me. Could the mere post, or picture of something that isn't legal in certain parts of the US really cause the owner of a site to be held responsible?
This sounded HOKEY to me to say the least. I asked one of the moderators at http://www.cherokeeforum.com/ about this in a private message. He responded telling me he'd look for the old article that the owner(s) of CF has provided to them. Very nice and helpful. I quickly replied and told him not to bother I'd search the Internet. I was really just wanting to know if it was a site policy or a real fear of being help responsible.
Sometimes I don't think of the correct question until I get my answer. ;)
So here is one thing I have found so far. It's from 2006 so it may be out of date....
In America, court case after court case has ruled AGAINST the federal government and attorney general's efforst to hold ISPs and site operators responsible for 3rd party content. They've also tried to hold website authors to the standards that broadcast TV are held (obscenity, legal 18+ pornography, free speech, etc.) and failed at every turn thanks to the appeals courts. Present caselaw in the US is, site owners/administrators are NOT responsible for content posted by 3rd parties IF they provide a means of reporting said content and said content is removed as soon as possible.
Imagine if forums were responsible for the acts of a few members and no matter how fast the admin deleted the post, they could still be sued/arrested/whatever? Absurd!! Every ISP would be facing charges because of the acts of a few pedophiles.
At this time, I would strongly advise against operating a public forum or blog in Germany because of these unbelievable court decisions.
I've been amazed by Jelsoft's reluctance to share any details of a site using an illegitimate version of vBulletin on fears that they'd be sued for slander/libel and defamation. I don't think there is nearly as much fear in the US. I am NOT saying the US legal system is a panacea. There are so many hypocritical laws here that are absurd to me but I don't want to get into politics/bickering. The original question is "is it safe to run a forum" and the answer in Germany is, probably not.
:link: (http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php/192042-What-is-the-liability-of-owner-of-a-Forum)