(no subject)
There's a few things, besides teh love, that I believe in with my whole soul. One of those things is the United States Constitution...more specifically THE BILL OF RIGHTS and the freedoms it bestows on us citizens. Freedoms that have been hammered out by Supreme Courts. Freedoms that have been fought for by great people. Freedoms that should not be taken lightly or given away freely.
Yesterday, when I read the letter that LJ's "general counsel" sent to the Better Business Bureau in response to a handful of complaints regarding the mess of late, I was livid. It's taken me a day to calm down so this didn't come across as ravings from a mad woman.
No one understands better than I do that 6A/LJ is a private company that can make it's own rules and regulations as it sees fit. When I discovered the TOS rule telling me to lock down any community with adult content, that is immediately what I did a year ago. I wasn't happy about it and I took quite a bit of heat for it, but their company, their server, their service, so their rules. It was a straightforward rule that I understood and that really doesn't leave much room for interpretation. Plus, it didn't involve any legal definitions.
However, what they've done this time is entirely different. In attempting to define LEGAL terms (and make no mistake that's what these are) and interpret the law, 6A/LJ is invoking the government as the reason for their new method of enforcing their TOS. It's not 6A/LJ's job to tell people what's criminal or to define it, that's the job of our legal system...our Courts.
In addition, IMO, their analysis of the laws they're quoting are incorrect. They have not ONCE correctly referenced a statute or caselaw that I have seen. They pick and choose sections that work to their advantage. That's not the way laws work. Statutes need to be read as a whole document because they contain inclusions and exclusions at every turn. This is a job for a professional, not an engineer or a customer service representative. It's insulting and illegal for them to give interpretations of the law...especially WRONG ones.
Furthermore, they're applying the law to enforce censorship. While I may not like what you write, draw, or create; while I might speak out against it, I will also defend your right to create it. That's what makes this so very wrong to me. 6A/LJ has made legal determinations as to what they deem a violation of the First Amendment. That is the job of our legal system...not private companies. I'd have more respect for them if they simply said: "We will not allow X."
However, by hiding behind legal terminology that scares people, like child pornography, terminology that people are afraid to support, they are shielding themselves from more outrage than if they just came out and said: "We're censoring X." And this is the top of a very slippery slope.
If private companies start sanctioning this thought pattern and no one opposes them, what's next? Invoking an incorrect legal definition of obscenity or interpreting caselaw or statutes with respect to copyright infringement or trademark law?
Make no mistake, as I said, they are a private company and they can do what they want, but ask yourself this: If that's the case, why attempt to invoke THE LAW (albeit incorrectly)? Because it lends credibility to their stance. Read the TOS, if they'd simply wanted to get rid of those journals or communities or posts, there are other rules they could have invoked to achieve their goal. IMO, there's something bigger going on here that hasn't yet been made clear and it makes my skin crawl.
So, while I understand that some people are afraid of leaving LJ or feel loyal or simply believe this has nothing to do with them, I cannot in good conscience support a company that is effectively labeling myself and others child pornographers, pedophiles and/or questions the acceptability of the material that we publish in our journals.
Yesterday, when I read the letter that LJ's "general counsel" sent to the Better Business Bureau in response to a handful of complaints regarding the mess of late, I was livid. It's taken me a day to calm down so this didn't come across as ravings from a mad woman.
No one understands better than I do that 6A/LJ is a private company that can make it's own rules and regulations as it sees fit. When I discovered the TOS rule telling me to lock down any community with adult content, that is immediately what I did a year ago. I wasn't happy about it and I took quite a bit of heat for it, but their company, their server, their service, so their rules. It was a straightforward rule that I understood and that really doesn't leave much room for interpretation. Plus, it didn't involve any legal definitions.
However, what they've done this time is entirely different. In attempting to define LEGAL terms (and make no mistake that's what these are) and interpret the law, 6A/LJ is invoking the government as the reason for their new method of enforcing their TOS. It's not 6A/LJ's job to tell people what's criminal or to define it, that's the job of our legal system...our Courts.
In addition, IMO, their analysis of the laws they're quoting are incorrect. They have not ONCE correctly referenced a statute or caselaw that I have seen. They pick and choose sections that work to their advantage. That's not the way laws work. Statutes need to be read as a whole document because they contain inclusions and exclusions at every turn. This is a job for a professional, not an engineer or a customer service representative. It's insulting and illegal for them to give interpretations of the law...especially WRONG ones.
Furthermore, they're applying the law to enforce censorship. While I may not like what you write, draw, or create; while I might speak out against it, I will also defend your right to create it. That's what makes this so very wrong to me. 6A/LJ has made legal determinations as to what they deem a violation of the First Amendment. That is the job of our legal system...not private companies. I'd have more respect for them if they simply said: "We will not allow X."
However, by hiding behind legal terminology that scares people, like child pornography, terminology that people are afraid to support, they are shielding themselves from more outrage than if they just came out and said: "We're censoring X." And this is the top of a very slippery slope.
If private companies start sanctioning this thought pattern and no one opposes them, what's next? Invoking an incorrect legal definition of obscenity or interpreting caselaw or statutes with respect to copyright infringement or trademark law?
Make no mistake, as I said, they are a private company and they can do what they want, but ask yourself this: If that's the case, why attempt to invoke THE LAW (albeit incorrectly)? Because it lends credibility to their stance. Read the TOS, if they'd simply wanted to get rid of those journals or communities or posts, there are other rules they could have invoked to achieve their goal. IMO, there's something bigger going on here that hasn't yet been made clear and it makes my skin crawl.
So, while I understand that some people are afraid of leaving LJ or feel loyal or simply believe this has nothing to do with them, I cannot in good conscience support a company that is effectively labeling myself and others child pornographers, pedophiles and/or questions the acceptability of the material that we publish in our journals.