On 15/03/07, Guettarda guettarda@gmail.com wrote:
I am curious about the practicality of trying to prosecute someone for vandalism of a wiki. Andrew Schlafly seems to think it's possible, given the warning on the Conservapedia main page.
"Conservapedia claims that posting obscene material or vandalizing the site is illegal, and could result in a jail sentence of ten years. It makes these claims on the basis of Title 18 of the United States Code, specifically 18 USC § 1470 (with respect to obscenity) and 18 USC § 1030 (with respect to vandalism)."
(From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservapedia)
How would the courts look at vandalism when you have given someone the ability to edit the site? Unlike Wikipedia, Conservapedia only allows logged-in editing. Does that mean that we have a stronger case to complain about vandalism (since, literally, anyone can edit, so we aren't "approving" the vandals) or a weaker case (since, literally, anyone can edit)?
Probably not the best approach to making the wiki a comfortable place for people to edit.
If you don't get 10 years for vandalising public places obscenely, why would you get 10 years for vandalising a wiki? The latter is far easier and less expensive to reverse.
Do they have a user agreement that specifically states that vandals will be prosecuted?