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From: stephen@obed.UUCP
Newsgroups: news.admin,misc.legal
Subject: Re: Mark Ethan Smith: For real?
Message-ID: <182@pembina.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 6-Oct-87 21:13:33 EDT
Article-I.D.: pembina.182
Posted: Tue Oct  6 21:13:33 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 10-Oct-87 07:18:00 EDT
References: <378d6016.b8ab@apollo.uucp> <5261@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> <2050@kitty.UUCP> <2071@kitty.UUCP>
Organization: U. of Alberta: Biochemistry , Edmonton, AB
Lines: 39
Summary: If someone is paying to use a Public Access UNIX machine, HE/SHE is the publisher: USENET is the PRINTER (equivalent).
Xref: mnetor news.admin:1118 misc.legal:3010

In article <2071@kitty.UUCP>, larry@kitty.UUCP (Larry Lippman) writes:
: In article <1985@midas.TEK.COM>, darcic@midas.TEK.COM (darci chapman) writes:
: > I have to disagree vehemently: the sites do NOT bear legal responsibility
: > whatsoever for any articles posted by its users.
   ....
: 
: 	I hate to shatter your naivete, Ms. Chipman, but not only do sites
: have liability for the actions of their users, but disclaimers such as the
: above on a public access unix system are worthless.
: 
: 	Usenet is a publication, albeit an electronic one.  Usenet is a
: publication because it embodies elements including but not limited to:
    ....
: 	An author of a Usenet articles does not distribute (or in effect
: publish) the article; the Usenet SITE distributes (or in effect publishes)
: the article.  To quote from "Mass Communication Law" by Gillmor and Barron,
: "Actionable libel requires (1) defamation, (2) identification, and (3)
: publication".  In the case of Usenet, only the SITE "publishes", not the
: author.  Most libel suits name only the publisher as a defendant, and not
: the author; the issue of the author is secondary, and in some cases is
: immaterial.

I think that ESPECIALLY in the case where the author of an article is paying
for access to the system that the article is posted from, then it is the 
AUTHOR who is the publisher. Usenet is the MEDIUM. 

 One does not sue the news outlet that sells the newspaper, nor does one
sue the printer who sticks the ink to the paper (unless the printer and
publisher are the same). One basically sues whomever it was that decided 
the article was worth publishing. In the case of a newspaper this is, in
effect, the party with the legal title 'publisher'.

 In the case of Usenet, it is ultimately the POSTER who is responsible
(unless the poster is on a system that previews the mail).

 Assuming that I am correct, this would mean that sites which censor/preview
the stuff that goes thru them may in fact be making themselves MORE exposed
to the possibility of a libel suit, unless the articles that would otherwise
go thru them also have an alternate path onto the net.