Forum policies must not deprive of rights - Supreme Court

[recraig2]

Private or not, civil rights cannot be taken away in forums. The Supreme Court already rule on it. You can read it on the ACLU website.

While the Terms and Conditions do not explicitly deprive us here, the administrator does. Probably this post will get omitted or closed and I will be banned for saying this. So I am glad for the snapshot on PRINT SCREEN in Linux. It will help the case filed with the ACLU.

After criticizing Dolphin, in reply to someone else's post, a couple of users personally attacked me - I believe due to not reading carefully. Then a moderator accused me of starting the post. I didn't know starting a post was a crime here, but he accused me. I corrected him that he exemplified the problem by not having paid attention to what ACTUALLY happened. I did not start the post. I replied to it. He apologized for that. Thank you. But it didn't stop the onslaught from a handful of users. Then the Administrator conveniently stepped in, closed the thread and banned me for a day.

Despite filling out the contact form I was not told what happened or why. You can put it in the Terms and Conditions that you are God here in the forums, but that does not make you God above the law. Constitutional Rights apply across the board in all places, public and private across the United States, even online, according to the Supreme Court.

Read the ACLU's website.

[syampillai]

I still don't understand some of these people who come to the forum and forget that we are all human beings.
There are millions of people in this world who suffer from one problem or another. Most of them do not know the meaning of "civil rights" etc. because they don't have time to think about such things when they are struggling to satisfy their hunger. Here, somebody's feeling got hurt even though he/she is nowhere here physically. So, he/she decided to waste more time now to invoke the civil rights law.
Most people do not remember that we all will die one day and we can not take anything with us - yes, including your feelings - bad or good.
To err is human, to forgive divine.

[Chrysantine]

Originally Posted by recraig2

Private or not, civil rights cannot be taken away in forums. The Supreme Court already rule on it. You can read it on the ACLU website.

Wrong. Freedom of speech in the US only refers to censorship done by the gov't - not private entities.

Originally Posted by recraig2

It will help the case filed with the ACLU.

Please do, tell them Chrys said "Hi!".

Originally Posted by recraig2

Despite filling out the contact form I was not told what happened or why.

They can ban you for absolutely no reason. They can ban you because they woke up with the wrong foot in the morning or because the coffee wasn't good and the first name they saw was yours.

Let me re-iterate this for you : On private property you have no right of free speech. However you are free to form your own forum or take it to the streets - that is the essence of the law.

Originally Posted by recraig2

Constitutional Rights apply across the board in all places, public and private across the United States, even online, according to the Supreme Court.

Indeed? Ever heard of the Castle Doctrine?

I suggest you go screaming in the lawn of some Texas home owner and then scream your rights are being deprived when they tell you to leave. I'm sure you'll find out soon enough what the CD is all about.

Originally Posted by recraig2

Read the ACLU's website.

I'd rather not - from what I've gathered about ACLU they're about as coocoo as PETA.

recraig2 wrote:
> Private or not, civil rights cannot be taken away in forums. The Supreme
> Court already rule on it. You can read it on the ACLU website.

is that The Internet Supreme Court, or The World Supreme Court??

or, are you saying that everyone, no matter in which country is their
computer, ISP or citizenship MUST conform to the laws of the USA?

grow up and face reality...you wanna play in this sandbox, you abide
by the rules of THIS sandbox's owner...don't like the rules, go
somewhere else..

on the other hand, wanna play HERE?

chill out, pipe down, learn to work and play with others...and, stop
believing you have the power (or YOUR "Supreme Court" has the 'supreme
power') needed to make sure YOU get your way!

--
natural_pilot

[microchip8]

I smell a troll from miles away...

[Knurpht]

So this is where it's going. Well, it was me who "attacked", by simply asking for some decent language and a bit of respect for all. Which leads me to the Supreme Court.

At this very moment I'm glad I already live in the Netherlands; it's only two hours travel to the Hague, where the International Court of Justice resides. Would be a nice occasion to meet you all

"If ten people tell you you're a horse, you can ignore them. If an 11th person tells you you're a horse, check if you don't have a tail".

[Chrysantine]

This thread is "pure win". Wish there were more like this one to give some livelyhood to this place :-)

[brucecadieux]

*I got reprimanded, and don't understand the law or Constitutions guarantees, so I will make things up as I go and or interpret the laws in ways that make absolutely no sense............*

People really blow my mind sometimes.

The number of people lately with nothing better to do then **** and moan like rednecks at a gay parade is pushing me away from this forum.

To be honest, I happen to think this **** and moan section was the worst thing ever done.

Remove this section, and simply delete posts that are nothing but **** and moan sessions.

Stuff that into your ACLU pipe and puff on it

[hendersj]

On Tue, 09 Jun 2009 05:16:01 +0000, recraig2 wrote:

> Private or not, civil rights cannot be taken away in forums.

Wrong. Restriction of free speech is for public venues, this server is
not a public venue. It's privately owned and as such, you have to live
by the rules put in place by the operators.

> The Supreme
> Court already rule on it. You can read it on the ACLU website.

Um, no, there's two references on the ACLU website: ACLU v. Johnson,
which was a case in 1998 (no ruling listed on the ACLU site), and one
relating to the California Supreme Court (not the SCOTUS) pertaining to
the liability of ISPs for things people post on/through their sites.

You want to play in THIS playground, you have to play by the rules
established by the owners of the playground.

Just like you can't go to a public park and say/do whatever you want. If
you want to hold a protest, you have to get a permit (for starters).

You may want to spend time reading and understanding the legal
implications of the US Constitution and what does/does not apply and
where. Even if you are a US Citizen (you appear to be posting from
Poland but that can be accomplished a number of ways even while not being
in Poland, for example if you're using TOR), but most US Citizens tend to
have a poor grasp of the constitutional protections and constitutional
law. A lot of the people who create and enforce laws, for that matter,
often have an incomplete understanding.

One such nuance is that "censorship" (as defined by US law for legal
purposes) has to do with the government censoring free speech. That is
different from a community owner (or the community itself) defining
community standards and enforcing them in a way that they seem fit -
including banning people who violate the terms and conditions or taking
other actions.

You also should know that you don't "file a case with the ACLU". That's
not how it works. The ACLU is not a judicial body. Cases are filed in
courts.

I've been around online forums for many, many years and have seen people
try to make "free speech" claims more times than I can count. The
mistake they all make is in assuming that an online discussion forum is a
public space. In general, they are not, even if they are open to the
public to post. They are privately owned, and as such, the owning entity
has the right to set and enforce community standards. That's why Disney
can host an online forum and require that people not use "adult language"
in sections that are designated for minors (I don't know if they have
such a forum/section and how they enforce it - it's a hypothetical
example).

So sit back, relax, and try being less confrontational for a change.

Jim

[dragonbite]

Now I'm curious about the mentioned thread that starting this whole politico-legal education.