Anyway, we're in complete agreement on the "big lawsuit bogeyman" that some people have been using lately to scare other list owners with. I must admit I've been surprised that Jon Warren, who should certainly know such threats are empty, has given in to them in the past.
I don't believe that fear of possible litigation is the actual reason for the recent drama and clampdown on open discussion over at Movie Poster Talk. This is simply another case of misdirection, to keep people focused on a non-issue. The nearly universal opinion of those with credible knowledge of libel and slander laws is that the risk to an owner of an unmoderated forum with respect to statements made by individuals therein is negligible, essentially limited to providing information about the offending speaker, and even then only on presentation of a court order. IF Warren were primarily interested in maintaining an open forum while minimizing his risk, he would have sought legal counsel or just done some online research himself, and then acted appropriately, adding disclaimers to the website or having new members sign a waiver of liability; something of that nature. Several people have made this very suggestion in the past on MPT, but to the best of my knowledge Jon has not explored this approach.
Forget the liability question; it's not a real issue at all.
There is, I would like to suggest, a far more persuasive reason for the recent changes at MPT. Jon Warren has publicly indicated that his goal is to create a poster marketplace on his I Collect Movie Posters website. Setting up MPT and especially linking it to LAMP was a brilliant way to attract collectors and some dealers to the site. But now, he needs to court more sellers and dealers, if his marketplace is going to hit the ground running. And, not surprisingly, most dealers would rather not be part of an operation that allows open criticism of them. Here, I think, is the true basis of Jon's decision to ban all aggressive criticism of dealers and sellers from MPT.
And honestly, I'm not sure that this is the wrong decision, from Jon's perspective. Or that I would act differently, were I in his position. The fact is that he CAN'T be an unbiased observer and not have it impact his business or bottom line.
However, IF this is the truth of the situation, I for one would rather see an honest statement of this, rather than under the camouflage of fear of possible legal liability. Just acknowledge that MPT is now a multi-sponsored, fully moderated forum. Participation will plummet, but it's doing that already anyway. The reality is that a sizable number of poster collectors need and want a more-or-less totally open discussion forum, and if MPT no longer fits that need, a new forum will appear sooner or later. (Again, nothing against MoPo, just that some of us prefer the dynamic of a discussion forum over a mailing list.)
Also, I have a SUSPICION that I would like to share with the MoPo audience. Last week, Jon and I made a public bet over whether Hershenson would ever leave ebay, now that he was reinstated. I said no way, Jon said absolutely he'll leave before the end of the year. Just after the MPT 'lockdown' happened, I got a private note from Jon. Amoung other things, he mentioned that he wouldn't hold me to our bet, as he had definite inside information that Bruce would in fact be moving his operation off of ebay. Now the question is, How would he know that? My logical conclusion: that Jon and Bruce are already in discussions regarding moving eMovieposter off ebay and over to the soon to be a reality ICMP marketplace.
Of course I have no proof of this, but if true, consider the ramifications for MPT. Consider the influence BH would have on ICMP site content, and especially on MPT, under these circumstances. The MPT crackdown occurred basically because I posted some accusations about Hershenson to the forum. Compounding this was the fact that I was a forum moderator! (Emphasis on 'was'.) I would also again note that such draconian measures like shutting down the forum were not taken in response to many previous posts by other members critical of other sellers.
Also, I find myself wondering about the method by which Jon took MPT to full moderation. Here's the scenario: Announce that you're leaving and exit abruptly, only to return after a brief hiatus, to wails of anguish from a group of people happy to accept your return under any conditions. Does this modus operandi sound familiar?
RK
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