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> It protects literally everyone on the internet in the USA. I think this is the kind of knee-jerk hyperbole I want people to really think deeply about. > Tha

> It protects literally everyone on the internet in the USA. I think this is the kind of knee-jerk hyperbole I want people to really think deeply about. > Thanks to this law you can't be held liable if you have a blog with a comment section. Maybe that should not be protected. If I am unable/unwilling to moderate the comment section of a blog I host then maybe I should't have one. I do not believe a completely open free-speech comment section is a requirement of a good or successful blog. Also, there is a business opportunity for those who want comment sections to pay for moderation services. > I must inform you that you are very, very wrong. This kind of patronizing is neither useful nor conducive to mature discussion. Aggregate user-generated-content sites aren't some kind of holy thing, forums, comment sections or otherwise. I want people to consider the fact that we may all be fine without them at all. Nothing stops people from posting whatever content they want on their own site. It just discourages aggregation of other people's content.

save_ferris 6y ago
> If I am unable/unwilling to moderate the comment section of a blog I host then maybe I should't have one. I completely agree, it’s clear that a successful business model around content moderation cannot exist in the internet’s current form, and there are very few consequences for people who post malicious content.
originalvichy 6y ago
>Maybe that should not be protected. If I am unable/unwilling to moderate the comment section of a blog I host then maybe I should't have one. I do not believe a completely open free-speech comment section is a requirement of a good or successful blog. It's not about having to moderate a completely free speech comment section. It's about being able to even have one and to be able to host good people and good comments without having to be liable for the time when people act terribly. Where I'm from I don't think a bar owner can be held liable if a patron starts a fight and wounds another patron. You don't open a bar with the explicit intent of it being an amateur boxing arena, but a nice place for people to enjoy drinks and conversation. If a user online decides to breach trust and common courtesy by posting vile stuff on my site I shouldn't be held liable for their actions as I did not force or coerce them to do it. >Nothing stops people from posting whatever content they want on their own site. It just discourages aggregation of other people's content. Yes, nothing is stopping them. But 230 is allowing you to do more with the internet other than just post things on your own site. That blog even describes an instance where replying/forwarding an email - in which you are repeating what rule/law breaking thing another person said to be able to reply/comment on said thing - you are protected against liability. If you dismiss these liability rules you are effectively removing everything from chatrooms to comment sections from the internet, effectively making the internet into a snailmail/bulletin board service.
- reggieband 6y ago
  > If you dismiss these liability rules you are effectively removing everything from chatrooms to comment sections from the internet, effectively making the internet into a snailmail/bulletin board service. Yes, I am pondering exactly this. How much of the Internet do I consider valuable that would be lost? I mean, lost in the sense it would be completely irreplaceable without Section 230 protection. To be fair to my position, the vacuum of unmoderated spaces would be filled one way or another. Maybe people are surprised by such a position, but I don't actually see enough inherent value in unmoderated comment sections on private blogs or even all of the 1990's era phpbb forums to worry about their loss. In fact, when I consider the negative effects of the massive companies hiding behind Section 230 they really seem to heavily outweigh whatever positive effect comments on my personal blog could ever bring. It seems these things keep coming up: public comments on personal blogs and anonymous forums. I want people to deeply think about whether or not these things are really valuable and even more so whether or not the are irreplaceable without Section 230.

save_ferris 6y ago

> If I am unable/unwilling to moderate the comment section of a blog I host then maybe I should't have one. I completely agree, it’s clear that a successful business model around content moderation cannot exist in the internet’s current form, and there are very few consequences for people who post malicious content.

originalvichy 6y ago

>Maybe that should not be protected. If I am unable/unwilling to moderate the comment section of a blog I host then maybe I should't have one. I do not believe a completely open free-speech comment section is a requirement of a good or successful blog. It's not about having to moderate a completely free speech comment section. It's about being able to even have one and to be able to host good people and good comments without having to be liable for the time when people act terribly. Where I'm from I don't think a bar owner can be held liable if a patron starts a fight and wounds another patron. You don't open a bar with the explicit intent of it being an amateur boxing arena, but a nice place for people to enjoy drinks and conversation. If a user online decides to breach trust and common courtesy by posting vile stuff on my site I shouldn't be held liable for their actions as I did not force or coerce them to do it. >Nothing stops people from posting whatever content they want on their own site. It just discourages aggregation of other people's content. Yes, nothing is stopping them. But 230 is allowing you to do more with the internet other than just post things on your own site. That blog even describes an instance where replying/forwarding an email - in which you are repeating what rule/law breaking thing another person said to be able to reply/comment on said thing - you are protected against liability. If you dismiss these liability rules you are effectively removing everything from chatrooms to comment sections from the internet, effectively making the internet into a snailmail/bulletin board service.

reggieband 6y ago
> If you dismiss these liability rules you are effectively removing everything from chatrooms to comment sections from the internet, effectively making the internet into a snailmail/bulletin board service. Yes, I am pondering exactly this. How much of the Internet do I consider valuable that would be lost? I mean, lost in the sense it would be completely irreplaceable without Section 230 protection. To be fair to my position, the vacuum of unmoderated spaces would be filled one way or another. Maybe people are surprised by such a position, but I don't actually see enough inherent value in unmoderated comment sections on private blogs or even all of the 1990's era phpbb forums to worry about their loss. In fact, when I consider the negative effects of the massive companies hiding behind Section 230 they really seem to heavily outweigh whatever positive effect comments on my personal blog could ever bring. It seems these things keep coming up: public comments on personal blogs and anonymous forums. I want people to deeply think about whether or not these things are really valuable and even more so whether or not the are irreplaceable without Section 230.