oh bugger that for a lark....

[lagilman]

Have you heard about the New Rules According to Six Apart's Morality Police?

"Thousands of LiveJournal customers are rebelling against the company's recent decision to censor hundreds of sex-themed discussion groups, a broad swath that has led to the removal of literary critiques and fan-written fiction about Harry Potter.

LiveJournal, which is owned by San Francisco-based Six Apart, confirmed Wednesday that it deleted around 500 journals this week in hopes of better "protecting children." It said the deletion was prompted by activist groups, including one called Warriors for Innocence that claims to track sites promoting pedophilia, the sexual abuse of minors, and other illegal activities."

The article then goes on to point out that

"Legal experts say LiveJournal is clearly not liable for fictional stories and related discussions posted by its users, thanks to a 1996 federal law immunizing Web-based discussion forums from lawsuits. 'If the content is otherwise legal, then LiveJournal has no obligation to police its site or remove any legal content it finds,' said Eric Goldman, who teaches at the Santa Clara University School of Law. "

(emphasis mine)

EtA: mind you, if something crosses the boundries into illegality, I agree it should go. But using a broadsword instead of a scalpel just proves you're a moron, and defending the broadsword means you're a moron without a PR person.

etA2: this post hasn't been verified yet, but it suggests that the so-called "Warriors For Innocence" have ties to several radical and extremely racists 'Christian militia" groups. You know, the kind that say if you're anything other than Them, you're a god-hating, child-abusing, liberal-voting, devil-worshiping....

hey. Has anyone told this group that LJ's mascot is a goat? And that they're based in San Francisco?



Anyone else really tempted to list "highly sexualized goat-pr0n" as an interest, to see how long it takes to get their account deleted as being "bad for the CHILdren?"

I'm not going to jump ship just yet -- I'm digging in and fighting back the only way I know how -- with words here, and a hit to their wallet there. I encourage everyone else to do the same. Leaving just makes these anally troubled organizations think they've taken the field without resistence. Hell no, I won't go. And if it takes posting explicit pr0n to this journal to make a point, well, my family's always been a big fan of civil disobedience....

Comments

[nycdeb.livejournal.com]

Lordy, I have a copy of Justone somewhere. Now where did I put it . . .

[nycdeb.livejournal.com]

Justine, that is

[debg.livejournal.com]

I've already been seriously, profanely, grotesquely rude about the moron in charge of this mess, and the likelihood that he's having it off with a member of the Fundy Purity Brigade or whatever they are, in my own lj.

I feel like blasting Queen's "Tie Your Mother Down" at warp eleven. Or plugging in one of my guitars and playing my own version.

GOD, I am furious.

[redstarrobot.livejournal.com]

I feel like blasting Queen's "Tie Your Mother Down" at warp eleven.

There's a Brian May song for all occasions. Truth.

[debg.livejournal.com]

Dude, I've got eleven axes and a Mesa Boogie three feet away. If I wasn't trying to finish up a chapter section in new book - which has already lost a shitload of time to this mess today - I'd be rattling the wineglasses at the other end of my house.

Damn it.