
Verizon can ban you for posting off-topic info on forums, chat rooms or facebook - vaksel
https://www.verizon.net/central/vzc.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=vzc_help_policies&id=AcceptableUse
======
jhancock
How does this effect Verizon's position as a neutral carrier? I was under the
impression you couldn't take a position like this without giving up safe
harbor. If my interpretation was correct that means any forum that moderates
can't claim safe harbor for illegal/libelous content. But that can't be right
since so many do moderate. Or would this only apply to those that control the
pipe and not those that control the site? Sometimes you think you know what's
legal and sometimes you have no clue...color me clueless at the moment.

~~~
wmf
Sigh. ISPs and Web sites have never been common carriers. Web sites are
covered by the CDA, but it doesn't have common carriage obligations.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_230_of_the_Communicatio...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_230_of_the_Communications_Decency_Act)

------
shrughes
Even more seriously:

 _(k) use the service in any fashion for the transmission or dissemination of
images containing child pornography or in a manner that is obscene, sexually
explicit, cruel or racist in nature or which espouses, promotes or incites
bigotry, hatred or racism_

------
Zak
I'm aware of the potential bad implications of a TOS item like this, but
realistically, this is so Verizon can more easily ban forum/comment/Myspace
spammers upon receiving complaints from the operators of those sites. We
(probably) want them to do that.

~~~
Locke1689
Agreed. I think this is probably a bit of (funny) unfortunately worded
legalese and not so much a dastardly plot by Verizon to crack down on your
Facebook stalking.

~~~
aerique
Giving a big organization / government too much control in the assumption that
they will be reasonable with it is _never_ a good solution. It will _always_
be abused.

------
vaksel
From their ToS:

    
    
       (e) post off-topic information on message boards, chat rooms or social networking 
       sites;
    

Had to massage it, to get it to fit in the title

------
sjs382
The slashdot thread for this story is funny.
[http://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/12/01/1743252/Verizon-
Chang...](http://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/12/01/1743252/Verizon-Changes-FiOS-
AUP--1-Offtopic)

------
wmf
Verizon claims that their AUP has always had that provision, it doesn't mean
what you think it means, and it will be changed. Not that anyone believes
them.

[http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-
peopl...](http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-
people/200912/msg00041.html)

------
wookiehangover
So that pretty much rules out 4chan, huh?

------
sli
What's scary is this might not be a violation of the 1st amendment, since it's
their network. But the FCC may (hopefully) say otherwise.

------
tokenadult
I suppose that means that Verizon would have to hire a crew of forum
moderators, and pay them enough to deal with the complaints they will surely
receive about moderation decisions. And then figure out how to produce enough
revenue to pay for all of that overhead. I'm not sure anyone has figured out
how to monetize forum moderation well enough to make it pay well enough for
moderators to enjoy it. I write this as someone who has been a forum moderator
since 1992 (starting out on the Prodigy proprietary online network) and who
still has volunteer moderation responsibilities in various places today. What
compensates me for moderating in the places where I do it is a good atmosphere
of informative discussion, and the chance to do something about making the
atmosphere better. But if have an Internet service provider account, I might
very well like knowing that the service provider disapproves of off-topic
messages, but I wouldn't like to be the person enforcing that, because
anywhere I visit on the Internet will still have visitors from other ISPs, and
thus the place I visit may still be full of off-topic messages, but if I work
for Verizon I have to deal with all the people complaining about my decisions
who visit all the sites I don't care a whit about. My best single way to get
the atmosphere I want now is to visit only sites (like HN, for instance) where
somehow there is a culture in which contributors outnumber pests. No one has
to pay me to help preserve that culture, and no one COULD pay me to attempt to
build that culture somewhere where it has already broken down.

