On Mon, 28 Jun 1999, B. Diamond wrote: > We have banned a subscriber from our list who is now threatening legal > action for denying him access. I always understood that while a > listserver was liable to other laws that cover a public medium (like > libel, copyright law, etc.) that listservs are actually privately held > and we can thus permit or deny access to whomever we choose. > > As it is currently worded in our introduction, our list is "sponsored > by" an professional association (with dues-paying members) and "hosted > by" our university. Technically, the list is "owned by" me. My > questions are as follows: > > 1. Do we have the "right" to ban individuals, even if they are > students and/or members of the professional organization mentioned above? > > 2. As the list owner, am I somehow liable/responsible for lawsuits? > > 3. How have others handled this situation? I handled the situation the same as you did. Any legal questions about the actions of Listserv owners here are referred to our legal counsel so I suggest you refer your legal issues to your university's legal counsel.