Running a BBS

[CATHY KONAS]

Gracious, but I think you've gone a bit beyond the scope of what ANYONE
was saying in terms of BBS maintenance. I think the bottom line is
that a sysop needs to determine his/her comfort level and then deal
with his/her liabilities if and when the situation presents itself.
Since it's the sysops equipment/ass that will be in a sling in a worst
case scenario, I think it's only right that the sysop let his/her
callers know the rules/regulations of his/her BBS upfront -- then, it's
up to the individual caller to decide whether the BBS meets his/her
comfort level as well. If not, the caller may simply take his/her
business elsewhere. Doesn't this come under the heading of chocolate
and vanilla? Whatever your pleasure.
  Re monitoring messages before clearing them for public viewing -- I
know for a fact that the IBM BBS for user groups used this technique,
per advice of their legal counsel. Finally, folks in the user group
officer section convinced the sysop that perhaps their particular area
could be cleared right away, since they were presumably knowledgeable
about BBS no-no's. While this could be yet another case for IBM
bashing, frankly I think that IBM could be construed as having DEEP
POCKETS, so who could blame them for being especially careful,
especially since they undoubtedly pay good money for advice of legal
counsel. Folks still had the choice of simply NOT CALLING the IBM BBS
if they found the policy offensive.