Copyright - Posters rights

On message boards such as this

[Visit Thailand]

One website I manage is a message board similar to this although about entirely different topics.

We, like here, frown on external links, and try and cut down on self promotion and spam as much as possible.

We have just had one member, who in his first post ever on the board, straight after joining, posted a very, very, long post and then at the end posted his url.

The Mod deleted the url. In our terms and conditions we state that spam is not allowed and that the moderator is allowed to edit etc.

Well this poster came back and did it again, so the mod for the second time deleted the url.

Now he has come back and has threatened with legal action stating that he is a paid writer and that editing his post without the approval from the author is illegal.

He is now threatening to contact our host, all paid advertisers, and a legal body etc on this matter.

Does anyone know anything about this ? I would like especially to hear from anyone that knows anything about law and also the mods and admins here.

He is giving me ultimatums to meet and seven days before I have to comply.

[Knowles]

I would assume since he agreed to the TOS when he signed up he agreed to not post the URL and agreed to HAVE it edited. I dont know law that well so I could possibly be wrong. The other thing is the copy write laws of the country the board is on. I do beleive that would come into play as well. Hopefully someone else can give you a better answer.

[brotherhood of LAN]

I am no law expert..but he is posting into your "property" - the space you hire from your host or host yourself.

Even if he is in the right....I compare it to him walking into your house and sitting in your living room and forcing you to listen to what he has to say.

You could reply along the lines of banning his IP so that he doesn't entrap you with whatever law he tries to force on you. No one made your site public property IMO and he will be well aware of what your site is about before it is "brought upon by him" to post

[mivox]

he is a paid writer and that editing his post without the approval from the author is illegal

I am not a lawyer, but it seems that unless you're paying him for his writing, and/or you have an agreement about the editorial integrity of his writing, you've got nothing to worry about... Does the Terms of Service for your board state that posters' messages may be edited? Are his posts specifically violating your TOS?

I'd still run it by a lawyer though, if I were you... if you think he's serious about getting legal representation.

You could also ban him from your board (which I'd do either way, he sounds like more trouble than he's worth)... I've never heard of anyone being sucessfully sued for blocking someone from visiting or using a website.

[Key_Master]

Delete the post.

[TheDave]

That made me laugh. As if you threaten someone with legal action over that. This person must have some serious psycological problems.

[Visit Thailand]

Thanks all your input is really appreciated, I was just changing the terms of service as I noted that it did not really clearly state removal etc. But now it does and very clearly .

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The TOS was the standard :

Please remember that we are not responsible for any messages posted. We do not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message, and are not responsible for the contents of any message. The messages express the views of the author of the message, not necessarily the views of this BB. Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to contact us immediately by email. We have the ability to remove objectionable messages and we will make every effort to do so, within a reasonable time frame, if we determine that removal is necessary.
You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this BB to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise violative of any law. You agree not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or by this BB.
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The Dave - I agree and would love to tell him what he can do !

I actually get the impression that this has been done before, but I am unsure what he is hoping to get out of it. I wonder whether it is a new form of scam in some way.

He gave me one option which was to delete the post as long as I left a message saying it was removed because we were breaking the law.

Please do keep the thoughts coming.

[john316]

It sounds like he is playing a numbers game....threaten enough board operators and maybe some fruit($) falls off the tree.

I would just remove it, and disengage from any further contact.

TOS Language: "We reserve the right to remove any post for any reason we deem fit."

Should be enough to keep confusion to a minimum.

[pleeker]

GigaLaw.com is a great resource for legal information about Internet issues.

[bird]

You are under no obligation to publish someone elses writing on your site, unless he paid you for doing so (which usually involves a written and signed contract). Just remove his posts and you have nothing to fear in terms of copyright.

Whether other people pay him for writing in their publications is completely irrelevant in your context. He's just another visitor to your site, and even that only as long as you allow him to visit.

[Visit Thailand]

Yes thanks for all the input was not a nice way to wake up this morning ! I will ban him from the board and also the site.

[JayC]

I will ban him from the board and also the site.

Exactly. Ban him and if he emails you again simply ignore him. The large majority of people who threaten legal action have no grounds to stand on, and that seems to be especially true of people who make such threates on the net. Unless you are served with legal documents, treat him like the flake he clearly is and don't waste your time on him. Most likely he'll just move on to some other message board.