Hi, Also worth noting the many counter-points, like some mentioned in this blog: http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/03/1830230
quote:
"Most of these laws were written to protect the mainstream media and not the sidestream media. The mainstream media is hurting because of the blogosphere -- thank goodness. The laws that they wrote to protect them from tiny publishing houses are killing them now because the tiny publishing houses lost to the individual who can start publishing today, and should. Even if all you have to talk about is your dog and your girlfriend, do it. The more clutter that is out there, the more likely that some of that clutter will rise to the top because it has something new and unique to say, or it attracts a niche market that was otherwise ignored. Most of these laws are antiquated, written to create monopoly powers, and don't help the market in any way."

P.S. another quote from link above for those too busy to read the main article:
"A recap in two points
In a nutshell:
1. Don't steal. This includes trademarks, images, links, pay your taxes, and the other "gray" areas.
2. You are responsible for your content. Even the comments. And don't count on being counted as a journalist."

Many bloggers don't exhibit Bill's integrity, particularly the gold mining touts. I'm fully supportive of bloggers exercising full disclosure regarding payment and personal holdings. Also, if I were to publish a blog I'd certainly form a legal entity and get Commercial Liability insurance, including "ommissions and errors" coverage.

Fred

Good to know..very informative article. I'll definitely have to keep a more watchful eye on what i write and how i link to people on my blog.

The more successful you become the deeper you get into it. Things like liability / tinyurl / outlook crashes / etc., were not a big deal in the past but now take on more signifigance. One blogger whom I respect has a disclosure page for many of the topics discussed in the linked articles.

Barry Ritholtz, The Big Picture (http://bigpicture.typepad.com) disclosure (deep linked) page http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2007/02/disclosures.html
The section I especially liked was:

"3B: Comments by Trolls and Asshats:

This may be a free country, but The Big Picture is my personal fiefdom. I rule over all as benevolent dictator/philospher king/free safety/utility infielder. Fear my wrath, mortals!

I will ban anyone whom I choose from posting comments -- usually, for a damned good reason, but on rare occasions, for the exact same reason God created the platypus: because I feel like it.

I encourage a broad range of perspectives, philosophies, sexual orientations. Dissent is good. I want to see a debate of views, a battle in the market place of ideas. (Thomas Jefferson wasn't so dumb after all). You can post on nearly anything, so long as it is at least tangentially related to the topic at hand.

On occasion, I will "unpublish" a comment if I feel it is too impolite, harsh, inappropriate, or off-topic.

A few things that will get you permanently banned from The Big Picture:

- Knowingly posting false or malicious material;
- multiple postings under different names;
- generally engaging in troll-like behavior;
- misquoting your host/overlord;
- being impolite in the extreme;
- ad hominem attacks;
- being an asshole.

Right now, someone is reading this and saying to themselves "What does he mean, being an asshole?" If you actually wondered that to yourself, well then the odds strongly favor that you yourself have sphincter-like qualities. Thus, you should consider it likely that you will be banned from posting comments sometime in the future."