Hi Phil,
Sorry, but I just have to interject here...
The Communications Decency Act has very little to do with contract law as regards message boards, other than that, generally speaking, message board providers cannot be held legally responsible for what is posted/written by its membership.
Contract law would prevail in the dispute under consideration, that Bux has lost some ability to freely post on I-Hub for reasons that he (Bux) alleges are not clear to him. Unfortunately for Bux, the contract he agreed to allows for the message board operator (in this case, Matt) to determine at his (Matt's) sole discretion, exactly what does and what does not constitute a violation of the Terms of Use, which in effect is a part of the contract Bux agreed to when he subscribed to I-Hub.
While it is in Matt's and I-Hub's best interests as a viable business practice to accommodate all subscribers, and mediate disputes, again unfortunately, not all parties in the dispute will be satisfied with management's decisions.
It all boils down to simple contract law. I-Hub is a business. Bux is a customer. Matt is the proprietor/manager. The Terms of Use basically describes the contract. Think of it like a pinball machine. You pay to play. If you shake the machine too hard, it "TILT"s and it's game over. Insert another quarter to play again...
KJC |
