In a message dated 9/16/2007 1:20:26 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Hinge likes to accuse anyone with a differing opinion of "spamming" SPAM Etymology: from a skit on the British television series Monty Python's Flying Circus in which chanting of the word Spam (trademark for a canned meat product) overrides the other dialogue: unsolicited usually commercial e-mail sent to a large number of addresses. Incomplete etymology: It doesn't include changes and current usage. It's illegal to annoy: H.R. 3402 Covers "Flooding," or "Forum Spam," including anonymous annoyances or harassment. On January 5, 2006, the President signed into law H.R. 3402 making it illegal to anonymously annoy via internet services. The federal law states that when you annoy someone on the Internet, you must disclose your identity. Here's the relevant language: "Whoever...utilizes any device or software that can be used to originate telecommunications or other types of communications that are transmitted, in whole or in part, by the Internet... without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any person...who receives the communications...shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than two years, or both." =============================== TOS 1) Yahoo! may, in appropriate circumstances and in its sole discretion, remove or edit any content and/or terminate the accounts of users who appear to have violated the Terms and Conditions. Click here: Yahoo! Terms of Service <http://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/utos-173.html> disrupt the normal flow of dialogue, or otherwise act in a manner that negatively affects other users' ability to engage in real time exchanges; Click here: Yahoo! Groups Guidelines <http://groups.yahoo.com/local/guidelines.html> Yahoo! Groups give Yahoo! users a place to meet, interact, and share ideas with each other. Just like a real community, you may have different opinions than other Yahoo! Groups users. The Yahoo! Groups experience is best when people remember a few rules. Yahoo! sets out the terms and conditions of your use of our services in the Yahoo! Terms of Service <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> , our Guidelines, and in other rules that we may place on our site. For your use of Yahoo! Groups, some of the key things to remember are: You may not harass, ...You may not post content that is ...otherwise objectionable, ... Stay on topic. Although all groups are different, most groups appreciate it when you stay on topic. If you constantly stray from the topic you may be moderated or removed from a group altogether by its owner. You may not use Yahoo! Groups for commercial or advertising purposes. http://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/utos-173.html <http://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/utos-173.html> ========================================== 2) Click here: Computer Help - AOL Help <http://help.aol.com/help/siteLoginUrl.jsp?url=login&sitedomain=help.aol\ .com&authLev=1&siteState=OrigUrl%3D%2Flegal.do%3Fkcp%3Dcommguidelines&la\ ng=en&locale=us&mcAuth=%2FBcAG0bsuT8AAPd7AH8x5kbsuXsIuJygaS59ME4AAA%3D%3\ D> Respect the context and intended audience of the online areas you visit. Many services and communities carry additional standards. It is your responsibility to review and abide by those standards and to ensure that your activity, language and electronic transmissions are appropriate for any particular area. What is appropriate in some areas or contexts may not be appropriate in others. · The Member Agreement (AOL® Keyword: Member Agreement <http://help.aol.com/help/legal.do?kcp=memberagreement> ) contains the basic legal terms of an AOL membership. · The Community Guidelines (AOL Keyword: Community Guidelines <http://help.aol.com/help/legal.do?kcp=commguidelines> ) is the core code of conduct for the AOL community. Under the Service Agreement, AOL members are specifically prohibited from sending unsolicited ..., or spam, and from using their membership to harvest or collect any information, including the user names or the e-mail addresses, of other AOL members. AOL will terminate the account of any AOL member who violates the Service Agreement. The Service Agreement expressly reserves AOL's right to block unsolicited e-mail sent to its members from the Internet, even if the mail is sent by non-members. ======================================================= Click here: US CODE: Title 47,223. Obscene or harassing telephone calls in the District of Columbia or in interstate or foreig <http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode47/usc_sec_47_00000223----\ 000-.html> The provision takes language from an existing telephone-harassment law and applies it to the Internet. The law <http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode47/usc_sec_47_00000223----\ 000-.html> provides that anyone who makes a telephone call or uses a "telecommunications device" (now defined by the new federal cyberstalking law to include communications using the Internet) "without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any person" can be fined and imprisoned. (The Suggestion Box, which has its principal place of business in Scottsdale, Ariz., contends that the "intent to annoy" language violates the First Amendment because it criminalizes a vast range of anonymous, online expression. The company is not challenging the portion of the law dealing with anonymous expression that abuses, threatens or harasses individuals. But as of now, "the law makes it a crime to anonymously "annoy, abuse, threaten or harass" another person over the Internet.")
