Note the distinction in Cubby between a "distributor" and a "publisher". Particularly "...The requirement that a distributor must have knowledge of the contents of a publication before liability can be imposed for distributing that publication is deeply rooted in the First Amendment, made applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment."

If you publish you edit and liability can attach itself. If you are a distributor you have no knowledge of the material or content and are not liable. "CompuServe has no more editorial control over such a publication than does a public library, book store, or newsstand, and it would be no more feasible for CompuServe to examine every publication it carries for potentially defamatory statements than it would be for any other distributor to do so."

On CompuServe, where I sysoped for almost 20 years, we were taught that we should approach very delicately any message removal because this moved into editing and thus "publishing" of materials.

Now look at Stratton Oakmont v Prodigy. In this case Prodigy had scores of volunteers editing messages and moving them behind the scenes. They got clobbered.

This was a real hot button that has subsided of late. I've not kept up with the thinking. Maybe there's something newer that governs.

Eric