Marc wrote:
> Based on this and some other language in the user agreement, it appears
> that if a complaint of slander/libel was brought against the site, they
> would pass the blame on to the original poster of the evaluation.
Although
> an argument could be made that they are responsible for publishing the
> material, this is the same argument that has failed in cases against
> service providers who have users that post sexually explicit
> images/stories. Essentially, they provide a publishing service, but the
> individual who wrote the evaluation assumes responsibility for anything
> they say under the user agreement. Someone with more knowledge
> of the legal aspects might be able to clarify and point out the mistakes
> in my understanding.
The only mistake is in assuming that they enjoy the same protections as
do isps where sexually explicit materials are available. Unlike such a
service, which does NOT exercise any editorial control over content (the
cases you refer to involve the Usenet which is NOT restricted to any
single site, but which is available on a wide variety of systems and is
propagated by thousands of servers), the site in question DOES exercise
editorial control (its user agreement demonstrates that). Thus the
comparison shouldn't be to a Usenet provider but rather to a traditional
publisher--and in that case, the publisher is very much liable for the
content of his/her publication, just as (for example) Newsweek is
responsible for the content of its own pages.
Rick
> Anyone willing to take a poll in your class and find out? My
> guess is that it will be more widely known in some departments
> than others... but that's just a guess.
I'll go one step further than that--next week I'll inform the students in
all my classes about the site and _invite_ them to anonymously evaluate me
there! I'm arguing for free speech--at the least I should invite my
students to exercise it.
Rick
--
Rick Adams
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Department of Social Sciences
Jackson Community College, Jackson, MI
"... and the only measure of your worth and your deeds
will be the love you leave behind when you're gone."
Fred Small, J.D., "Everything Possible"
