Putting this in ATMB rather than the pit, where it was originally posted:
I did no such thing and I question your interpretation of my post. Here is what I said:
The intended emphasis was on the ‘messages primarily intended to promote a cause.’ Frankly Gfactor’s response really covers everything I would say here.
Do you think that the SDMB providing a forum for a pedophile to express his views on pedophilia, including changing legislation to make having sex with infants and children legal, could bring legal difficulties for the SDMB?
No. We have this thing called the first amendment that sort of protects speech.
How on earth could it? He can shout that directly at Congressmen if he likes.
edit - to Muffin’s question, not at ivn.
You’ll find the answer if you read the post I responded to.
Emphasis mine.
Like you, Muffin, I’m not a lawyer. Unlike some of us I presume no legal expertise. But I do know when someone is trying to create a legal problem for the board in order to prove a point, and I know how those things are generally dealt with, not to mention that posters are not supposed to use the board to start a campaign. So I thought it was wise to point out that this was not a good road to go down.
Thank you for proving my point that because there can be no legal problem for the board as a result of any reporting of Cesario, you should not censure a poster for encouraging such reporting.
Then why bother encouraging the reporting in the first place?
Cesario has been using the board to campaign for the legalization of the fucking of infants and children. You have failed to put a stop to his campaign, but you have taken care to put a stop to what you allege to be a campaign by SmartAleq. Time to get your priorities straight and deal with Cesario’s campaign.
If Cesario is know to the police, there is a better chance that he will eventually be caught.
This is the most fascinating thing that happened to this place since I’ve joined, by far. It’s like being around for a witch-burning. Things don’t even have to make a little sense.
Godspeed, Marley my man; talk about lose-lose. I’ve never envied your position, but my heart really goes out to you in this case.
Wrong. I am a lawyer. I see no reason in law why Cesario should or should not be reported. I see a very strong moral reason why he should be reported.
BTW, the SDMB has already lost one lawyer due to it’s position on Cesario.
Caught for doing what?
Talking?
Upsetting you?
What in ghod’s name would people be reporting him for?
Not true. We have a rule against using the board to organize a campaign, like “This politician said something offensive. Here’s his home address, let’s send him letters.” That applies whether the action is legal or illegal and it’s been the case for a long time. Cesario hasn’t done anything like that. He’s said he wants those laws to be changed.
What SmartAleq said definitely qualifies as a campaign; she encouraged people to take a specific action. And like I said - and you haven’t bothered to dispute - she was asking people to make a problem for the board because she doesn’t like the idea of letting Cesario start a thread.
Cesario has been on this board since August, and presumably people who have reporting obligations know their business. So if they were going to report him they probably did it six months ago. There’s no sense in any of this, and since I never discouraged anyone from doing their job (I discouraged someone from starting a protest over it), I don’t think you have any grounds for a complaint here.
Tell me about it. Either we can exercise prior restraint, which we practically never do and which nobody likes, or giving somebody permission to beg for attention while talking about how he’d like to rape children.
What kind of law do you practice, and what is your professional experience with these kinds of reporting obligations?
Promoting the fucking of infants and children.
Depending on how the authorities in his juristiction deal with pedophiles, it may (or in my juristiction certainly would) get him investigated and monitored, such that if he were actually carrying out what it is that he has promoted, there would be a greater chance that he would be nabbed.
It all starts with civics 101, by working with the authorities proactively, rather than sitting on your hands until something horrid happens.
So you would like us to release personal information about another poster to the general population, so that the authorities might question him for crimes for which he denies outright and for which there is no evidence.
I think that the most offensive part of your whole spiel is your use of the term “civil.”
Family law, child protection law, and previously also criminal law. I have had to deal with pedophiles in all three contexts, including the reporting obligations of my own profession.
Yes, report him to the authorities. Most resoundingly, yes.
For you to fail to do so, and to continue to provide a platform for his views, is truly pathetic.