UK Online Safety Laws - I, and therefore the site, are at risk (1 Viewer)

[GPGeorge]

Spoiler:

The people who think they know best about how things should be run, went around you.

Now that they’ve won, they feel emboldened.

Spoiler:

I have no doubt this will continue regardless of the subject matter or who’s moderating. That was never the real issue. The issue has always been that the owner wouldn’t bend to their will, everything else is just an excuse in my opinion.

You have hit the nail on the head.

 

[AccessBlaster]

This should probably be left to Jon. He's the only one with skin in the game.

Arguably the best quote of the day.

 

[DHookom]

I recall someone in this thread bringing politics into a technical forum. I should have reported it. Thankfully this has happened only once. Some technical threads get a bit dicey since most of us are stuck in our ways and OPs won’t head to our advice.

I hope for my sake, getting a bit snarky isn’t grounds for expulsion.

 

[BlueSpruce]

I recall someone in this thread bringing politics into a technical forum. I should have reported it. Thankfully this has happened only once. Some technical threads get a bit dicey since most of us are stuck in our ways and OPs won’t head to our advice.

I hope for my sake, getting a bit snarky isn’t grounds for expulsion.

I can anticipate more political and religious posts contaminating the tech forums if the watercooler is shutdown. I have already noticed trolls in tech forums intentionally creating controversy to inflame the atmosphere. Without warning, I will simply ignore anyone I perceive to be haughty and hostile.

 

[Isaac]

You can be held responsible if you knowingly allow illegal content to remain

It does indeed seem like that right there is the main 'meat' of the OSA law. I don't think they're going to jump on you as soon as someone posts something in violation, but rather, if you let it remain there. How picky they'll be about stuff that remained there for a good while but you didn't realize it was there is hard to predict, but the guardian recently reported:
1) a man was notified by the police that he had to remove a sign in his shop that said "due to scumbag thieves, you will need a key to access that merchandise". "Scumbag" might offend thieves, so the sign had to go.
2) not to change the subject, but I've heard the UK has gotten so anti-self-defense that if you so much as carry gardening equipment (which includes a knife) from the store to your house, you can be hassled by the police, because you might be carrying a weapon.

Is it just me or is the UK gone mad? the criminals are the good guys and the good guys are the bad guys. so many thigns these days have been turned upside-down, with the one called the other and the other called the one. Reminds me of Isaiah 5:20

 

[Minty]

The UK or to be more accurate the Media and Reporting from the UK has become almost as polarised as the US.
It is very difficult to find neutral reporting.

A lot of it is clickbait headlines, and biased.

We do still have free speech, contrary to some reports, but in too many circumstances we appear to be heading down the route of "extreme wokeness" where any tiny minority, or more accurately someone claiming they represent the tiny minority, stirs up a load of "opinion" that someone is "Offended/prejudiced/discriminated/belittled/ignored" pick one, there are at least another 20 adjectives that could be used.

When you dig into it (through a number of sources) most of it is bunkum and nothing comes of it, but it's added to the background noise.

Unfortunately, as most of our politicians have the common sense of a deranged baboon and are led by their noses by soothsayers and snake oil salesmen, they think they need to legislate to help the "oppressed", without having the first clue about the consequences or implications.

@Isaac we have had very strict laws about carrying knifes for a long time. They must be below a certain size and shape or considered a offensive weapon. This does mean that some gardening implements fall into that description, and an over zealous policeman might take you to task over it. It doesn't stop 14 year olds stabbing each other though.

To the matter in hand - I've ignored the watercooler for some time. The affliction of TDS (which appears to afflict both supporters and haters in equal measure from the rhetoric and general gibberish involved) and never the twain shall meet stances mean it holds zero interest, so its removal would not affect me from a reading perspective.
However, if it affects the small income stream that keeps the site afloat, then we need some method of keeping those that stoke its fires enabled, and I suspect strong moderation is the only answer.

There... I've managed to avoid answering any of the questions directly, so must now stand as an MP.

 

[NauticalGent]

The affliction of TDS (which appears to afflict both supporters and haters in equal measure from the rhetoric and general gibberish involved) and never the twain shall meet

Brillant!

 

[BlueSpruce]

Does TDS stand for Testosterone Deficiency Syndrome?

 

[AccessBlaster]

However, if it affects the small income stream that keeps the site afloat, then we need some method of keeping those that stoke its fires enabled, and I suspect strong moderation is the only answer.

That is the rub, if the watercooler is over regulated then fewer people participate, presumably less clicks. Less regulation and we run a foul of the safety act.

 

[BlueSpruce]

The optics of UK's efforts to censor the internet looks flimsy. I doubt they would prevail in levying fines and prosecuting stakeholders outside of their jurisdiction. At most, they could ban access to foreign sites, but a vpn can workaround that obstacle.

 

[Isaac]

never the twain shall meet stances mean it holds zero interest

This is profound. Indeed, the most interesting of all cases is when you find two people from opposing sides either finding some common ground or becoming willing to empathize in a meaningful way, and perhaps even move their stakes. That being quite rare, I can understand what you mean about finding it uninteresting. I engage partly because it actually has taught me a thing or two, and partly for no good reason other than a compulsion

 

[Isaac]

That is the rub, if the watercooler is over regulated then fewer people participate, presumably less clicks. Less regulation and we run a foul of the safety act.

True point, however, I think the watercooler-type forums could still maintain a fairly good traffic if heavily moderated.
Now we'd just need to find more people willing to do the moderation.
And I for one, (and I say this 100 percent honestly), I'd be a bit confused about which posts needed to come down. Obviously some would be easy to determine, but I suspect many would not, with reasonable people on both sides of the opinion of 'does this violate the act or not'.

Defaming? Ok, I understand that, but would we delve into the legal (usa or uk) definitions of that? What if I just said "So-and-so is a nutcase".
Offending? Heck, that's an incredibly wide net. Any Democrat would hate most of what I say, and many Republicans would hate much of what I've said in the last few months. But it's not blanket statements that degrade a person based on race or gender etc., I don't think.

I can see moderating it being pretty confusing. NOT that I am voting for a complete shut down, that would ruin the fun and by the way, there is plenty of non-technical forum discussions that are not political or social issues - ranging from google voice to linux to plenty of random stuff, and I'd hate to get rid of the baby with the bathwater.