1. Do open source boards allow you to use them for adult purposes? (if no, which ones don't?) I want to use SMF b/c it is free, and supposedly better than phpbb. 2. Also, there is a forum called li tero tica. com that has a section dedicated to ppl posting up amature pictures. It seemes pretty liberal and unragulated (as in the posters doubtfully are sending in evidence thta they are 18+). My question is; how do they get away with this? 3. is it possible to get into trouble if the text-content in the site is vulgar? (adult themes, etc..) My forum will by no means be a porn site, (nor do I plan to post pics....right now). Just a relationship discussion forum, which has little moderation when it comes to s ex related talk. thanks for info
1. Check with the board's terms and conditions 2. Laws vary in different countries - it depends on where they are based 3. See (2) above.
No one asked. But to the original poster, you should be fine. Just be sure to put up proper warnings and disclaimers.
Also, make sure that you take all proper precautions to make sure that they are 18, if you wanted to, you could even place it where an admin has to approve each member, and you could make them upload or link to a verification source (ie. drivers license) as istockphoto does. You might want to get a laywer to overlook all legal notices.
would having servers located in a country that is lenient simplify things (in terms of legal aspect) again; i dont plan on having galleries of nude pics. I just don't wanna get busted when someone posts a picture of a girls nipple
Get yourself a proper lawyer. You'll look a right plonker if you ever have to stand up in court and say "The users at digitalpoint said this would be OK"
for example, in my forum, I dont allow adult content, however, there are many boards that do, it varies from webmaster to webmaster. I would use phpbb, its much more customizable, and intagrate with smf or mkportal so you have a main portal as well. I use MKPortal and IPB
No, it's not going to matter where your server is located if you're still doing business and running your site in the U.S. Like everyone else said, consult a lawyer if you have concerns.
I believe apart of lawyers or software terms, what does really matter is the hosting service. Most sites do not allow adult content, even legal due to excessive bandwith consumption. Including some VPS and dedicated server providers.
I beg to differ. The US law states that if content is hosted on US based servers then proof has to be had of the age of the models and actors. Also, technically, running a forum could not be deemed as doing business in the US.
adult forum has to get their own hosting due to some hosting isue... it cost a lot of $ to make them.
Seriously? Where's that? 18 USC 2257 Anyway, it doesn't sound like you're trying to run a porn forum anyway, right? If your intent is not to serve pornogrophy, then I think the likelihood of you being targeted for inspection is very low.
the thing is i have no plans of it becoming a serious porn site. just a site w/ liberal discussions about adult topics. ....with a few pictures of topless chiks here and there
Then create a good terms of service that disallows material that violates the law. Adhere to your policy. Taking a look at whom the law has been applied against, it isn't an issue with someone that has some stray pictures posted by users that aren't flagged. It's typically abusers whom they have a case against that is strong.