Content liability and link legalities

[yump]

Am about to start running a site which is basically a hobby site. Looking for some examples /clues / information sources for the following if anyone can help please:

As part of the site, visitors will be able to post useful information, stories etc. Its not a forum/bulletin board format, more an archive - a bit like the travel sites have people's experiences of where they've been.

Will a simple disclaimer work to keep us protected from post content? If we say that we monitor the posted information, are we accepting some sort of legal obligation and would it be better to state that posters are solely responsible for published content? (Or are we deemed to be the publishers).
Or is is good enough to just remove any information that anyone complains about.

Secondly, we want to have lots of outgoing links to various sites, many of which will be personal ones. Is it just a matter of courtesy to get the OK for doing this from the sites, or are there potential legal issues. If a site doesn't reply to a request, is it risky to put the link in anyway. (We aren't saying anything about the links, they'll just have the site name/description).

Anyone been through this?

[Leosghost]

If I were you I'd read the tos here and see how Brett does it...
Don't know if he ever got a lawsuit or got threatened with one tho over anything posted here ...?

Brett ......?

[rogerd]

Yump, straight outbound links shouldn't be a concern. You can glance at the TOS of the sites you plan to link to, but (not legal advice) it's unlikely that anyone will complain, or that they would have much legal ground to stand on even if they wanted to. At worst, they'd probably ask you to remove the link.

Forums and similar sites with user generated content should probably do a few things to minimize potential copyright liabilities:
1) Have clear language in your TOS that prohibits users from posting copyrighted material. Make sure the users acknowledge the TOS when they register.
2) Have a reporting mechanism in place for copyright violations, i.e., provide e-mail and postal contacts for copyright owners or others to report infringement. Emphasize your desire to avoid copyright violations.
3) Respond very promptly to any such reports.
4) Be proactive - if something looks fishy (or a bit TOO good), search Google for unique text to be sure it hasn't been ripped off.

This won't entirely immunize you, but it will be sufficient in 99+% of the situations you'll encounter.

[yump]

Thanks - I hadn't really thought about the posters using copyrighted material - that could happen in this case.

Have just found some interesting TOS on a travel site where people send in reports, in the area of ownership / rights to use the posted information.

Looks like lots of grey areas, a lot of which can be dealt with by getting user agreement to TOS and a few which appear to have legal precedents (as you say the publishing of obviously copyrighted material).

[rogerd]

Yump, another area of potential is libel. For example, someone could post malicious and false information about a cruise ship company. Your TOS should make it clear that the opinions expressed are those of the poster. It might be good to label ALL posts as "opinion" in some way, as opinions offer considerable freedom (though not to make up lies). I'd also recommend removal of potentially libelous posts, and put in place a reporting mechanism so that both visitors and maligned parties can report problem posts. Watch out for posters with an agenda, e.g., who always promote or criticize a particular company. Once again, you may not achieve immunization from legal liability but you can prevent the vast majority of problems.