However this does not set a major stance as to how websites are held accountable for the content that is posted by users on their forums or chat areas. Basically, at the moment, this is an ethical question left up to the organization as to wether they:
a) screen and edit all discussion boards and chat rooms
b) exercise no control over what users say
or
c) provide no room for user input and discussion.
I think that clearly the third option (c) is outdated and moves against the grain of the progressive web. That would be a backwards step.
I think the first choice is the best. However with all the layoffs and redundancies that are already happening in the industry, it does not seem as though these websites could afford to hire more people to monitor and edit these interactive sections. The question also leads to, who has the right to say what should and should not be edited off a website?
These are all ideas not to be taken lightly, as in the United States, convicted crimes can reach up to millions of dollars in damages and have carried up to 5 years jail time.
It is an extremely tough topic. And although this new found level of interactivity between generator and user we have on the web is a great thing, i think these public forums can also be extremely damaging. I was recently made aware of a college gossip website forum called Juicy Campus, after perusing the site, it becomes distressingly obvious that this anonymous website just fosters defamation and bullying to happen on a cyber level.
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