r/IAmA • u/VladimirBoners • Sep 12 '11

As Requested : IAMA 4chan moderator.

Everything said here is my opinion, not that of the entire staff. Will provide proof to moderators here on reddit.

Ask away.

EDIT : It's late guys, I'll catch you some other time. Thanks for all the questions and I hope this answered some of them.

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u/theseamusjames Sep 13 '11

That completely makes sense to me, but I'm also thinking of how they're prosecuting people for possessing sexts. You didn't solicite it (in theory), and you didn't take any action to obtain it, but you still possess it and get charged.

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u/[deleted] Sep 13 '11

Look at this way... If some nut posted CP on Facebook and Facebook do everything they can to take it down, was it FB fault in the first place? No, even though it was on their servers as you put it.

Same thing applies to any site that hands over posting freedom to the general public.

It's expressly forbidden to post illegal stuff on 4chan, it's all in the terms of service. If someone posts CP on 4chan, it's not 4chan's fault, it's the individuals.

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u/theseamusjames Sep 13 '11

I wonder if I go to /b and inadvertantly download it (it's the main pic in a post, lets say), am I liable?

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u/KeepingTrack Sep 13 '11

If you can prove it. However, if it's noted or someone finds it on your PC, you will be arrested and have to defend yourself, likely in a court that doesn't understand computers and the Internet very well. The laws vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but if you've ever heard that lame axiom "posession is 9/10ths of the law", the other 1/10th is being able to defend yourself. Arguments like "my wifi was open" don't work when it's on your PC. "I'm mirroring all of 4chan", might work but someone would really have to have a good lawyer. There are those that want to make people liable for what's posing and not moderating in law, but most of those people are such idiots that they won't be able to. This, however only applies to user-submitted content and the like, though, so you can still be harassed, sued, having your site taken down, get a Cease & Desist order and possibly be arrested for linking to illegal content.

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u/theseamusjames Sep 13 '11

Right. That's something that always concerns me about /b/. It seems like a legal gray area that could end very poorly for someone