Text 479, 87 rader
Skriven 2007-02-24 09:44:00 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
    Kommentar till text 476 av PETER COGGON (1:123/140)
Ärende: Offensive Topics
========================
Hello PETER!

On Friday February 23 2007 19:55, you wrote to me:

 PC>>    So if this is monitored, then the sysop of the local BBS who
 PC>> carrys the message with this content is also "yellow carded"?

 MVDV>> I am not sure what you mean. Local BBS? We are talking packet
 MVDV>> here are we?

 PC>   Yes, I am talking Packet Radio.   I say Local BBS, as I connect to
 PC> a on-air Packet BBS station located some miles to the south <40miles>
 PC> FBB BBS software  VE3YRA BBS in Aurora Ontario Canada.

Ah, a packet radio BBS. Yes of course why didn't I think of that. (Probably
because over hgere the Internet all killed them...)

 PC> While the packet station is owned by the local Ham Radio Club, there
 PC> is a sysop, and when the packet station transmits messages, and I
 PC> download them,  well if I believe there are rules for sysops, and
 PC> I know the sysop DOES monitor what is posted, would not the originator
 PC> of the message and the sysop be "yellow carded" for issueing the
 PC> offensive illegal message, as well the sysop for allowing the station
 PC> under his/her care to transmit it.

Yes. But... Tne normal way of operating a packet BBS in unmanned. And for the
we have special licenses. If you run an unmanned station, such as a packet BBS
or an FM repeater, you need a special lisence because a normal lisence requires
you to be present at the station at all times that it is on the air. The
special license does not require constant presence and absolves the licensee
from responsibility for the content of the transmission. On the downside there
are additional restrictions such as the use of the assigned frequency, limited
power, height and gain of antenne, etc, etc.

But in case of a packet radio BBS or an FM repeater or similar operating under
such a special lisence, only the originator of the offending message would be
held resposible for the content.

 PC> So often over here, we read postings from sysops, that they had to
 PC> purge, delete messages they did not deem fit to be on their BBS ...

The sysop still has that choice of course. It is his system, he can delete what
he wants.

There have been cases here where the authorities requested the owner of an FM
repeater to shut it down for a limited period of time because of excessive
abuse. As the owners always honoured the request there never evolved a "case"
around it. I suspect if an owner would refuse, the end result would have been a
suspension of the special license, but it was never put to the test.

 PC>>   <Sorry it reminds me of football as the world knows it...or
 PC>> Soccer as they call it in NA...>

 MVDV>> Yep football (European) is where the term comes form. Yellow
 MVDV>> card = warning. Red card -> out.

 PC>     Aaw yes...my wife loves FOOTBALL as the world knows it.  She
 PC> is big fan, and just goes nuts here in the home following her
 PC> favourite team <*GRIN*>     Our agency here sends the licencee here a
 PC> registered letter, informing them of the offence...usually a warning,
 PC> but sometimes requesting an answer.   I do like the card idea ...

Actually I do not know if it is just a figure of speech. Yes, in football the
referee hold up a yellow card for all to see, but I do not know if an offender
of the radio regulations also actually gets a yellow card. I never got a
warning, and gellow hams usually do not brag about getting official warnings,
so I never saw the "yellow card". It coul very well just be an ordinary letter.
"getting a yellow card" has become a general term for getting a warning.


 MVDV>> I fail to see how pleading freedom of speech would help. It is
 MVDV>> in the license conditions. The licensee accepted those
 MVDV>> conditions when accepting the license.

 PC>   Well his Freedom of Speech is ok for the UK,

Freedom of speech does not mean that one can say anything one wants anywhere
anytime. I think even in the UK it would be unwise to shout "FIRE" in a crowded
theatre. Unless of course there actually is a fire...

In addition to that, freedom of speech does not imply an obligation to provide
someone wanting to say something with a soapbox.

Cheers, Michiel

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