Frowning Budah

If you read my posts you know I am pretty law abiding. I have never done drugs and I am even afraid to down load off KaZaa for fear of getting caught by the RIAA. We also know fellow TFPers who admit to doing drugs, down loading music and sharing software and other illegal activities. From what I can see, we collectively accept that behavior without much comment, but I was wondering what our level of tolerance is? Just suppose someone in our forum confessed to liking Child Porn or was planning on killing someone. What would be our response? Where do we draw the line between acceptable and not acceptable and how far are we willing to go to stop what is unacceptable?

Peetster

This would be where your friendly mods and admins would run interference for you. There is nothing illegal about discussing some otherwise illegal activities. The discussions themselves are legal and, as the magazine "High Times" proved in multiple court cases, even protected by the First Amendment.

Other topics, however, are not. We pull these threads off to the side, discuss them, and decide if they will expose you to an unacceptable level of legal risk. In many cases, you never see the post.

sixate

Oddly enough I'm 100% against drug use and I think everyone who does drugs should be locked up and never let out, but I download music and software like a motherfucker. I bet I have at least $20,000 worth of software installed on my PC that I haven't paid a dime for, and I could care less. One thing we don't do here is allow talk about where to get warez and things like that. This isn't the place for it.

As Peetser said, sometimes we get rid of posts, and people who start a thread about a fucked up topic, such as child porn.

Holo

Disclaimer: this is not bitching

Two things you cannot discuss here are pedophilia unless condemning it and anything dealing with vBulletin board software. These are the only things I've posted that have been deleted. I was told in no uncertain terms in PM that the pedophilia thread "would never see the light of day". I must say I was very disappointed, as I've done the topic at another flame and derail prone forum and it stayed on topic for over 100 posts and I valued much of the input this forum could've given on the subject (for the record it was NOT pro-pedophilia or child molestation) and I even stopped posting for a few days out of disappointment. Let it be known the mod who said this to me is one I still hold in high regard, and I hold no ill will towards them. Why did I come back? The same exact reason I posted the thread here in the first place; The Userbase. I like the fact that this forum has enforced flame control and doesn't derail threads to oblivion like many threads at other forums, and that many smart people are willing to discuss things using their minds for the most part. The things I can't do here I'll just do at other forums.

__________________
I happen to like the words "fuck", "cock", "pussy", "tits", "cunt", "twat", "shit" and even "bitch". As long as I am not using them to describe you, don't go telling me whether or not I can/should use them...that is, if you want me to continue refraining from using them to describe you. ~Prince

redravin40

I don't discus members posts outside of TFP.
If there is something that might cause physical harm to another person or breaks the few rules we have here then I will pull it.
The mods and admins discuss these decisions and there are times when something is so borderline that we ultimately differ to the boss on how he wants the board.
The trust people have in TFP and the sense of safety is very important to me.

Halx

The whole idea is to avoid having to use the first amendment as defense in the first place. Ya dig?

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feelgood

I can pretty much put up with anything

*look at his family*

Except em

But seriously, the internet is a place where you can express your freedom of speech without really having the fear of being indicated. Sure you have the same freedom in the real world but the problem is, how would people that knows you would really feel? That's why I never really express my true opinions in the real world compared to online.

__________________
Looking out the window, that's an act of war. Staring at my shoes, that's an act of war. Committing an act of war? Oh you better believe that's an act of war

MSD

If you're planning on killing someone or molesting a kid, and posting it on a public forum, someone, even if it isn't the staff, will report you. Out of thousands of users, there will be at least one good samaritan who just doesn't want another person to die, or a kid to be hurt like that.

raeanna74

I believe the difference is that in child porn or murder you are actually harming some other human being. If you want to screw up your life with drugs that's more or less your choice. What you do personally that is illegal is one thing. What you do that harms others is not appreciated in the least.

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"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

i8one2

A peoples revolution has formed because of the napster/kazaa style that has now reformed the way the music industry does business...What used to be called stealing now gets unknown musicians heard, has provided the music industry with a business model that is thriving(Imusic-pay for downloads) and has reduced ridiculously high CD prices.

The manner one wants to present themselves and the thoughts and activities one wants to share with other can speak volumes.
However when it has to do with Harming-children, animals or others...Not only should they be reported, I'd be more than willing to be the first to NARC them out! I have a zero tolerance for it...

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LEATHER, LATEX and LACE "SSC"
"Nothing That Gives Pleasure is Bad"

Quality is for those who know
what they want and are at peace with what they have.

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Frowning Budah

That is exactly my point. Why are we OK with something and down on others. Or is it the old "Its OK if I do it but not if some else is doing it".

ratbastid

It's funny, there IS a double standard, isn't there?

I know I'd let a confession of a victimless crime slide. Drug use, for instance. I don't condone it or approve of it, but it's not my job to keep you clean.

Certain kinds of theft, I wouldn't have a problem with. A thread like "what have you shoplifted" would be sort of underground and fun, and I wouldn't feel morally obliged to call up the authorities in each jurisdiction represented and let them know.

Something that involves physical or psychological harm to another person is another matter entirely. To the extent of my ability I'd try to prevent that. In fact, in threads where people have posted about cheating on their spouses and stuff, TFP has rallied to the side of right. Not because it's the legal and moral thing, but because of the harm we know such people are causing themselves and others.

So I guess the standard is: it hurts another person and that hurt rises to a level of urgency to take some action about it.

phaedrus

I'd hope the mods would forward the IP address of anyone posting about liking child porn or planning a murder along with the quoted posts to the authorities (FBI in the States.)

Frowning Budah

Should we be letting the Mods act as our moral conscience. I am not knocking what the Mods do. I am thankful they are there to intervene, but how have we arrived as a group as to what is acceptable and what is not? Don't get me wrong I don't rat out my Friends that do drugs or other "minor" crimes either. I am not getting moralistic here. Just curious why we accept things that are suppose to be illegal. I believe we allow behavior we don't think should have been criminalized in the first place.

phaedrus

It's not a matter of acting as our moral conscience, but of protecting us. If we discuss with someone their plans for murder, we could be prosecuted (at least in the States.) It is a crime to plot murder. Conspiracy and assessory before the fact are the two most common crimes we could be charged with. As to the child porn, let's just say anyone into that shit deserves far worse than being turned into the authorities.