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The First Amendment guarantees the RIGHT to say whatever you want. It does NOT guarantee the means.

Posted by: JohnTEQP on Dec 02, 19:13 in response to RotoHockeyYTD2012's post Exceptional at reading. Small wonder they have to butter...

If you want to stand on a street corner and yell obscenities about your neighbor, go right ahead. If you want to write a novel on your own computer that slanders everyone you know, feel free. If you want to post nonsense on your own blog, you have a First Amendment RIGHT to do so. What the First Amendment does not guarantee is that you will have access to any particular MEANS for HOW you say it. You have the right to, for example, make a movie. You have the freedom to try to make your movie, but whether or not you make it is up to you. You do not have a right to the equipment, actors, etc. to make said movie. HSX is an example of the MEANS of saying what you want, not the RIGHT. You can write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, but they are under no obligation to publish it. You can write a screenplay, but studios are not under any obligation to produce your movie. HSX controls this space, just like a newspaper company controls the publication of the newspaper, or a studio controls what it produces. HSX provides you the MEANS by which you can post messages. But HSX is the company that controls access to that means, not you. If you want to write messages about HSX or any other user and post them to your own blog, HSX cannot tell you not to. But that would also mean that no one would listen to you, unless you can convince them to read your blog. Because that's another thing about the First Amendment: it guarantees you the right to say whatever you want. One of the other things it DOES NOT guarantee is whether or not anyone will listen to you.

I've been busy on other projects lately, but there are two new articles on HSXsanity. RogerMore Nov 30, 14:08

thx {nm} tealfan Nov 30, 15:17

Au contraire. What you say on HSX is protected by the First Amendment. RotoHockeyYTD2012 Nov 30, 17:24

I am not bound, nor protected, by First Amendment. So, I guess those rules don't apply to me. Good thing there is a CoC... {nm} PVL Admin Nov 30, 19:11

Who said anything about losing First Amendment rights? Not me. RogerMore Nov 30, 19:50

Are you a constitutional lawyer (whatever that means)? I am a lawyer whose practice includes the First Amendment. I have concluded that DTXbro Dec 01, 12:09

Yeah, it's not a perfect article. I really wanted to get across that what's said on the boards is governed by the Terms of Use, and the 1st Roger More Dec 01, 14:28

Already did. {nm} RotoHockeyYTD2012 Dec 01, 17:21

I appreciate what you do here. If I believed it appropriate to pick those nits, I would have done it when I first read the article. {nm} DTXbro Dec 01, 19:13

let me try to rephrase what HSXsanity was intending to say... RazorHawk Dec 02, 12:14

Had HSXsanity said exactly that, there would not have been any problem. (See inside). RotoHockeyYTD2012 Dec 02, 15:57

I haven't observed a debate like this about the law since my first year of law school . . . DTXbro Dec 02, 18:48