please i want your suggestions . i started a forum to name and shame.i'm i putting myself in trouble.whats your opinion.
What do you mean by "shame". Depending on exactly what you are saying and whether or not it is true you could risk getting sued for libel/slander.
Melogknaj i mean naming and shaming Fraudsters, Scammers ,Spammers,Business,Politicians,Government .....
[edit]I think he wants to set up a forum with rants/imposed shame on other companies or maybe celebrities, as long as it is opinion based I don't think he will have any legal problems. As for suggestions, I don't know because most of your audience will have to have knowledge already of what they are ranting, focus on that audience.[/edit] Edit: nm, in that case be presistent with review sites & backlink from there, those types of sites also benefit from squidoo & digg (google them).
It really depends on where you are and where your server is located. The laws vary a lot from country to country. For example, in the UK libel law favors the person who claims to have been libeled. See, for example, the woman who had to pay 10,000 for comments made in a chat room : http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2006/mar/22/news.uknews You need to find out the law in your particular situation.
If it becomes well known which i guess your aiming for then prepare for DDoS and secure every hole in your server.
I think you should be fine as long as you have a disclaimer AND don't make any serious statements from your own account.
Well, this is one of the few cases where you are going to WANT to obtain hosting in the United States - as the USA has the strongest free speech laws compared to other countries. You can try FirstAmendmentHosting or something similar. Anyways, as long as they are only opinions - you will be fine. The only situations that cause legal issues is when people start false rumors and such
As long as you are prepared to do some work researching complaints and dealing with angry people you'll be fine. The only problem with sites like this is companies and individuals who are being slammed crying foul when they feel an ex employee, client, etc. is just trying to cause trouble. Sadly there are PLENTY of people that just love to cause trouble for others out there. One forum I've been a member of for years had to ban the discussion of certain companies because legal threats and issues.
First off, I ran a forum like this for a couple of years and never had any huge problems. 1) Have hosting in the US. The safe harbor provision will protect you. 2) Do some research on the ripoff report and how they avoid problems. 3) It's important that you or your moderators don't make claims that could land you in hot water. 4) Use a maildrop with your real name for your whois info. If someone is going to threaten, it's better that it go to the maildrop rather than the ISP or Domain Reigstrar. 5) Edit out names of individuals. If someone wants to say Joe Harvey is an SOB, consider xxx'ing out the name. Remember, there is a difference in libel when it concerns a famous person or business and a person who publicly unknown. So disparaging the clerk behind the counter at McDonald's by his full name might be considered libel, but may not be when directed at McDonald's itself. 6) Good luck, you'll need it. Your biggest problem won't be the businesses shamed on your site, it will be the bozos who refuse to let you rein in their "free speech."
Well you may not make many friends with this niche but if your hosted in the US your content falls under the 1st amendment - freedom of speech and opinion. However - slander may come into play if you start attacking the reputation of others with no evidence or backing, but that's a risk you'll have to take.
It is interesting to see how different the speech laws in countries notorious for lack of DMCA enforcement are so effective when it comes to controversial material like this
Son, a DMCA and the 1st amendment are a tad different from each other. In fact they have absolutely nothing to do with each other. The US First Amendment protects freedom of speech and opinion - it does not protect you if you copy, plagiarize, or do anything else warranting a DMCA Notification. The Amendments are set in place to protect the rights of the US people, not help cyber crime. How about doing a little research next time before making such idiotic statements. **translating that run on sentence was hard, I hope I didn't mistranslate it. Proper Grammar wouldn't be asking too much either....*