At 12/1/97 01:47 PM , Alperin, Glenn wrote:

>>(e.g. be respectful towards others, no flaming, no
>>condoning nonconsentual stuff, etc), and wants to stay,
>>then they are welcome.  but the net is a different place
>>these days... it's not just college students, staff, etc.
>>anymore...  Recently there been some concern expressed that
>>since we talk about sexuality and relationships, that members
>>could be risking legal problems by posting to the list because
>>there are legal minors present.
>>I've also been checking out laws related to sexuality
>>and in some places in the US anything except for
>>intercourse (and yes the type of intercourse was
>>specified in the law) between 2 opposite sex legally
>>adult married people is against the law.  Does that
>>mean that talking about or condoning illegal activities
>>(such as oral sex, etc) is also against the law?  or
>>posting text based depictions of said activities?
>>This is making me crazy because given that we have
>>subscribers from probably over 50 countries, are we
>>supposed to cater to the most restrictive laws?

One other thought- whatever people think about the First Amendment as it
applies to flag burning, or pictures of <whatever>, one thing that is
absolutely protected is speech, including written speech. I'm pretty sure
that anyone who could actually cause trouble for you will know this.

IMO (I'm not a lawyer), _if_ you get anyone causing you trouble, ask for
any requests to cease/desist in writing. A true law enforcement official
will give you this. Then use the 'net to find an attorney that practices in
that area. Find an attorney who will give you an opinion on the letter for
free (many will) and fax/mail them a copy.

There are manymany blowhards/holier-than-thou types who will throw their
weight around when they have no real weight to throw. One religious group
actually got a local sherriff to show up at an ISP's door and demand the
ISP remove certain newsgroups from their server. This case would've lost in
court, easily, but since the sherriff was standing there, the ISP caved.

Be aware of your rights, be aware of *who* is contacting you. If you are
polite and cooperative, most persons with legal authority will be very
accomodating. Also, you can usually get enough free advice out of an
attorney to at least know where you stand.

Thoughts?
Philo


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