What is Legal: - GoFuckYourself.com

Pathfinder · 02-03-2002, 02:43 AM

I have been in this business for more than three years, although I left the business, and have just started out again about three months ago. During this period of time it has never been clear to me what federal law is about protecting an Adult Site from access by minors. From the online legal documents I have read; it is my understanding that Adult sites have to be protected and that a valid credit card has to be presented to enter an Adult Site (as the law presumes that a minor does not have a valid credit card). A couple of months ago I was watching C-Span and apparently COPA won some additional arguments via a Supreme Court ruling, that stiffens the law about protecting Adult Sites from access by minors (which included protecting link sites that have links to Adult Sites and of course would include TGP's).

Question: Does anyone have a link to a legal site that specifically addresses, in a definitive way, what Federal Law is regarding protecting Adult Sites from access by minors.

I have almost a hundred sites and all but two are either AVS protected or .htaccess protected (The two that are unprotected are a BB and a Webmaster Resource Site). Most of them are feeder sites, but because they are AVS protected, many link sites and directories will not even list them. In addition, even if they do list them, most surfers will, only click on the links for free sites, so as feeder sites; they are at a distinct disadvantage.

If in fact it is against the law to have unprotected sites and if in fact the Supreme Court did stiffen the law this summer, why then are the Webmasters operating unprotected sites still allowed to operate their sites? Unprotected sites cost all of us money so isn't there a legal way to get these free sites shut down?

BV · 02-03-2002, 10:08 AM

spacedog · 02-03-2002, 10:17 AM

Register your sites with the software filter companies...
like netnanny, cybersitter, etc....
they will add your site to their database, so that families that use those filters will not ever have access to your sites,..
Also, use the ratings systems like ICRA & safe surf...
this helps with your SE listings, as many SE's like AOL or Netscape will not list you without a rating from ICRA..

ICRA ratings can help your se listings & protct your site from minors because it helps the SE filters..
Many SE's utilize filters that filter out adult content for users who select to use the filtered search option..
Also, alot of these SE's have kids versions of their SE's & the ICRA ratings help these SE's to identify what sites to not include in the listings....

pr0 · 02-03-2002, 10:19 AM

i tink i saw a puddy tat

i didd i diiiiiidd!

neewwman · 02-03-2002, 10:31 AM

Here's what I think is the current status.

The Child Online Protective Act (COPA) contains provisions that say you can't allow a minor access to " "any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other communication that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory activities or organs."

COPA is not being enforced right now. In ACLU v. Reno, the Third Circuit affirmed an injunction against enforcement of COPA, finding it violated the First Amendment.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case but has not yet issued an opinion.

So basically, you have to worry about general obscenity laws, but not about COPA, but that could change.

How's that for that rarest of all things, a serious, useful answer on GFY?

UnseenWorld · 02-03-2002, 10:37 AM

One thing you can do is to have no explicit pornography there before the visitor proves adulthood through the use of a credit card. In other words, don't have an X-rated tour. I know webmasters who claim their sign-ups actually increased when they went from an X-rated to an R-rated (censored) tour.

neewwman · 02-03-2002, 10:38 AM

Fuck! I took all this time answering your question, then I re-read your post and you want to shut down my free sites!

Son of a bitch!

I've got news for you. The right wing and Ashxxxxx hate all of us, AVS protected or not. We all have to stand together and support the 1st amendment, not go around siccing Big Brother on our competition.

BTW, the way I read COPA, link sites are exempted (they were trying to protect Yahoo, etc., but the exemption seems to apply to all link sites)

Pathfinder · 02-03-2002, 12:07 PM

Spacedog:

When I first entered this business I did all of what you suggested that I do, and all of my sites are registered. Although I was unclear about Federal law I also used AVS protection from the word go. The exceptions were on my TGP and Adult Directory that I used to operate.

Neewwman:

"Here's what I think is the current status.

The Child Online Protective Act (COPA) contains provisions that say you can't allow a minor access to " "any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other communication that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory activities or organs."

COPA is not being enforced right now. In ACLU v. Reno, the Third Circuit affirmed an injunction against enforcement of COPA, finding it violated the First Amendment.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case but has not yet issued an opinion. "

I think you may very well be correct about COPA. I didn't see the entire discussion on C-Span when members of COPA were speaking. I thought they were celebrating a Supreme Court ruling in their favor; giving them all that they had asked for (which would include link sites and TGP's). It may have been that they were only celebrating that the Supreme Court had ruled to hear their case. I am unsure about this.

As to me wanting to shut down free sites. First off: My four children are all grown, but if they were not, I certainly would not want them to have the type of easy access to hardcore porn that exists on the net today. Without entering into all of the various arguments about this matter, my opinion is that a Webmaster should be required, by law, to do his/her part in protecting minors from having easy access to hardcore porn.

I have found various online legal documents that touch upon the current status of Federal law, but I have not found the definitive explanation of current Federal law, if one exists.

I will repeat: Does anyone have a link to a site that definitively defines the current status of Federal as reqards Webmasters protecting their sites (including link sites and TGP's)?

Sleepy · 02-03-2002, 03:19 PM

Heres a good cybersitter story for you.
I registered one site and within weeks members were complaining they couldnt access my site anymore. What they did was they added my URL to their software but they also sold my info to large companies ! I dont mind doing my part to keep kids out but if some CEO at a company wants to access my site thats his business. It completely screwed me (registering with them) because people who already signed up could no longer access the site.

Pathfinder · 02-04-2002, 02:16 AM

I will repeat: Does anyone have a link to a site that definitively defines the current status of Federal law as reqards Webmasters protecting their sites (including link sites and TGP's)?

Maybe one doesn't exist online.

02-03-2002, 02:43 AM	#1
Pathfinder theking of trailer parks Industry Role: Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Tehachapi, California Posts: 2,277	What is Legal: I have been in this business for more than three years, although I left the business, and have just started out again about three months ago. During this period of time it has never been clear to me what federal law is about protecting an Adult Site from access by minors. From the online legal documents I have read; it is my understanding that Adult sites have to be protected and that a valid credit card has to be presented to enter an Adult Site (as the law presumes that a minor does not have a valid credit card). A couple of months ago I was watching C-Span and apparently COPA won some additional arguments via a Supreme Court ruling, that stiffens the law about protecting Adult Sites from access by minors (which included protecting link sites that have links to Adult Sites and of course would include TGP's). Question: Does anyone have a link to a legal site that specifically addresses, in a definitive way, what Federal Law is regarding protecting Adult Sites from access by minors. I have almost a hundred sites and all but two are either AVS protected or .htaccess protected (The two that are unprotected are a BB and a Webmaster Resource Site). Most of them are feeder sites, but because they are AVS protected, many link sites and directories will not even list them. In addition, even if they do list them, most surfers will, only click on the links for free sites, so as feeder sites; they are at a distinct disadvantage. If in fact it is against the law to have unprotected sites and if in fact the Supreme Court did stiffen the law this summer, why then are the Webmasters operating unprotected sites still allowed to operate their sites? Unprotected sites cost all of us money so isn't there a legal way to get these free sites shut down? Last edited by Pathfinder; 02-03-2002 at 03:21 AM..

02-03-2002, 10:08 AM	#2
BV wtf Industry Role: Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Bikini State, FL USA Posts: 10,914	bump

02-03-2002, 10:31 AM	#5
neewwman Confirmed User Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA Posts: 1,737	Here's what I think is the current status. The Child Online Protective Act (COPA) contains provisions that say you can't allow a minor access to " "any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other communication that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory activities or organs." COPA is not being enforced right now. In ACLU v. Reno, the Third Circuit affirmed an injunction against enforcement of COPA, finding it violated the First Amendment. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case but has not yet issued an opinion. So basically, you have to worry about general obscenity laws, but not about COPA, but that could change. How's that for that rarest of all things, a serious, useful answer on GFY? __________________ Porn Wealth Everything the newbie adult webmaster needs to know. Buy it, or sell it through our 50% affiliate program!

02-03-2002, 10:37 AM	#6
UnseenWorld Confirmed User Join Date: May 2001 Location: Portland, OR, USA Posts: 5,279	One thing you can do is to have no explicit pornography there before the visitor proves adulthood through the use of a credit card. In other words, don't have an X-rated tour. I know webmasters who claim their sign-ups actually increased when they went from an X-rated to an R-rated (censored) tour. __________________ SIG TOO BIG! Maximum 120x60 button and no more than 3 text lines of DEFAULT SIZE and COLOR. Unless your sig is for a GFY top banner sponsor, then you may use a 624x80 instead of a 120x60.

02-03-2002, 10:38 AM	#7
neewwman Confirmed User Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA Posts: 1,737	Fuck! I took all this time answering your question, then I re-read your post and you want to shut down my free sites! Son of a bitch! I've got news for you. The right wing and Ashxxxxx hate all of us, AVS protected or not. We all have to stand together and support the 1st amendment, not go around siccing Big Brother on our competition. BTW, the way I read COPA, link sites are exempted (they were trying to protect Yahoo, etc., but the exemption seems to apply to all link sites) __________________ Porn Wealth Everything the newbie adult webmaster needs to know. Buy it, or sell it through our 50% affiliate program!

02-03-2002, 10:17 AM	#3
spacedog Yes that IS me. Bitch. Industry Role: Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 14,149	Register your sites with the software filter companies... like netnanny, cybersitter, etc.... they will add your site to their database, so that families that use those filters will not ever have access to your sites,.. Also, use the ratings systems like ICRA & safe surf... this helps with your SE listings, as many SE's like AOL or Netscape will not list you without a rating from ICRA.. ICRA ratings can help your se listings & protct your site from minors because it helps the SE filters.. Many SE's utilize filters that filter out adult content for users who select to use the filtered search option.. Also, alot of these SE's have kids versions of their SE's & the ICRA ratings help these SE's to identify what sites to not include in the listings....

02-03-2002, 10:19 AM	#4
pr0 rockin tha trailerpark Industry Role: Join Date: May 2001 Location: ~Coastal~ Posts: 23,088	i tink i saw a puddy tat i didd i diiiiiidd!

02-03-2002, 12:07 PM	#8
Pathfinder theking of trailer parks Industry Role: Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Tehachapi, California Posts: 2,277	Spacedog: When I first entered this business I did all of what you suggested that I do, and all of my sites are registered. Although I was unclear about Federal law I also used AVS protection from the word go. The exceptions were on my TGP and Adult Directory that I used to operate. Neewwman: "Here's what I think is the current status. The Child Online Protective Act (COPA) contains provisions that say you can't allow a minor access to " "any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other communication that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory activities or organs." COPA is not being enforced right now. In ACLU v. Reno, the Third Circuit affirmed an injunction against enforcement of COPA, finding it violated the First Amendment. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case but has not yet issued an opinion. " I think you may very well be correct about COPA. I didn't see the entire discussion on C-Span when members of COPA were speaking. I thought they were celebrating a Supreme Court ruling in their favor; giving them all that they had asked for (which would include link sites and TGP's). It may have been that they were only celebrating that the Supreme Court had ruled to hear their case. I am unsure about this. As to me wanting to shut down free sites. First off: My four children are all grown, but if they were not, I certainly would not want them to have the type of easy access to hardcore porn that exists on the net today. Without entering into all of the various arguments about this matter, my opinion is that a Webmaster should be required, by law, to do his/her part in protecting minors from having easy access to hardcore porn. I have found various online legal documents that touch upon the current status of Federal law, but I have not found the definitive explanation of current Federal law, if one exists. I will repeat: Does anyone have a link to a site that definitively defines the current status of Federal as reqards Webmasters protecting their sites (including link sites and TGP's)?

02-03-2002, 03:19 PM	#9
Sleepy Confirmed User Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Porn Peddler Posts: 679	Heres a good cybersitter story for you. I registered one site and within weeks members were complaining they couldnt access my site anymore. What they did was they added my URL to their software but they also sold my info to large companies ! I dont mind doing my part to keep kids out but if some CEO at a company wants to access my site thats his business. It completely screwed me (registering with them) because people who already signed up could no longer access the site.

02-04-2002, 02:16 AM	#10
Pathfinder theking of trailer parks Industry Role: Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Tehachapi, California Posts: 2,277	I will repeat: Does anyone have a link to a site that definitively defines the current status of Federal law as reqards Webmasters protecting their sites (including link sites and TGP's)? Maybe one doesn't exist online. Last edited by Pathfinder; 02-04-2002 at 11:32 AM..