Karen
   Just tell them straightforwardly: The First Amendment applies only
to the acts of the Federal government (and through the 14th amendment,
to acts of the states as well).  Even if the government provides some
funding for the computer on which your list is run, or even if it owns
the computer or employs you, that doesn't make your list subject to the
First Amendment.  Only if the government instructed you, its employee,
to reject certain types of messages based on their content, is there a
chance that this might be considered to be impermissable state action,
action forbidden by the First Amendment.   But you, as an individual,
who has set up a list to deal with a certain topic, have every right to
refuse to post any messages that fall outside that scope.

    So, set the troublemakers to Review or even to NOPOST.  Delete them
if they persist.   The majority of list subscribers will be with you.

Judith Hopkins, Listowner of Autocat
     [log in to unmask]


On Mon, 17 Mar 1997, Karen Strauss wrote:

> Hi. I'm hoping that someone might be able to help me with some problems on
> my list.
>
> I've been running a list for the past six months (I'm also the site
> manager) for people with a chronic illness. I thought I had been through
> everything -- the usual bickering and flaming (which seems to go in
> cycles), the usual set of people of can't handle the list commands, and
> that kind of stuff. But the latest round is from a group of people (about
> 15) who seem to think that the First Amendment extends to my list and that
> they can post anything they want to the list about anything -- the most
> recent being that the formed a "church" on my list and have been
> essentially spamming the list with prayers. I suspended posting privileges
> but others come along and post the messages for those people and add
> personal attacks against me. There are about 225 other people who are not
> involved in this.
>
> Yesterday someone posted this message to the list
> > This is an open forum.  Everyone who posts to this list server (as of
> > this date anyway, the topic is under discussion by interested parties)
> > is covered by his or her First Amendment Rights of the United States
> > Constitution!
>
> I understood that I'd have some problems to deal with when I started the
> list and I think I've done reasonably well with them until now, but I'm
> looking for some suggestions on how I an tell the people on the list that
> there are no First Amendment privileges on my list because it is a
> privately run and privately funded enterprise without alienating the people
> that I want to keep on the list.
>
> Also, I am interested in what posting policies that others have developed
> for their lists in regards to flaming, prayer, copyrighted materials, etc.
> and I'd really like to read the guidelines that others post to their lists.
>
> Thanks very much for the help,
> Karen Strauss
> [log in to unmask]
>