What are the rules (limits) for publishing content?

I'm in the UK

[molloch]

People are posting explicit photos on my message board. I am removing them as I assume it is illegal to show these images without having a "enter/exit" option on the homepage. Can anyone send me a link to a page that explains what the agreed rules are for publishing adult material on the web. Also, I am based in the UK - are the rules country-specific?

[ukgimp]

Sounds like you need to remove the right to post images. Surely you can do in within the control panel. Ban the user who is doing it as well from theit IP.

Get tough on these people.

Welcome to WebmasterWorld by the way

[tigger]

>I am removing them as I assume it is illegal to show these images without having a "enter/exit" option on the homepage.

you should have some type of warning that the site has adult content

Can anyone send me a link to a page that explains what the agreed rules are for publishing adult material on the web

I can but the ones are only for adult related sites, so are you running an adult site

[engine]

Welcome to WebmasterWorld

There's quite a lot of information at the IWF (Internet Watch Foundation) [iwf.org.uk]

Some background one the Government white paper [communicationswhitepaper.gov.uk]

HTH

[rogerd]

Molloch, you may want to investigate the moderation features in your forum. Just about every forum I've ever seen that allows image posting has this problem when some disgruntled user or juvenile prankster decides to post explicit images. (I'm assuming from your initial comment that your site doesn't have an adult theme and that these images are undesirable.)

While you might be able to prevent most problems by aggressive moderation and quick banning of violators (by e-mail and IP, if practical), troublemakers will still sneak through from time to time. I'd recommend one of these options:
- Disable image posting completely. This will reduce your bandwidth dramatically, and eliminate the explicit image problem. Of course, if your forum depends on images for its discussion, that may not be practical.
- Require moderator approval for image posts. This could be time consuming, but would prevent your problem.
- Establish classes of users that are allowed to post images. It could be based on post volume or on specific moderator/admin action. This should control 99.9% of your problems, as your risk is now limited to an approved member going berserk before a mod shuts him down.

I'm not a COPPA expert, and I'm not sure if equivalent UK legislation exists, but I'd recommend you be sure your forum is compliant with child protection laws and that images are well-policed. The last thing you want is an underage visitor/member finding a bunch of explicit images followed by the parent reporting your site.

[molloch]

Thanks for the advices.

The site is the online version of a UK mag that features gorey photos and general freakery, so I'm not too bothered about members posting risque images. I'm just wondering where the line is drawn on this, and who would come knocking if you stepped over it.

Thanks for the links - I'm checking those out now