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With that said, we cannot be everywhere, nor do we wish to be. We have only and will only review PM messages when we have grounds to suspect that the system is being misused, such as when another member makes an accusation of threats occurring within their PM conversation.
This particular incident occurred from a PM conversation between three members and an Administrator. It subsequently was broadened as a result of a member sending us quoted comments another member sent them via PM. To verify the authenticity of the claim, we had to verify with our own eyes to ensure there was no fabrication. We determined these were slanderous & offensive comments that had to be addressed. Again, regardless of the fact that Huskerboard is not legally responsible for what members post or say, we must protect ourselves from the threat of litigation. Further, we will not stand by and allow other members to be threatened or bullied and look the other way.
With that said, we have no interest in playing Big Brother and monitoring all PM conversations. We respect member privacy and will only take this step when verifiable proof is required to make a decision on an accusation or misconduct or abuse of the system, threats, or similar situations. I want most of my time consumed with talking Huskers.
To maximize members privacy, as we have always done, these actions will be recorded & securely logged by the owners of Huskerboard, but will not be shared with anyone for the sake of privacy unless legally compelled to do so, such as a subpoenaed in a court of law.
A formal privacy policy and update to the terms outlining these policies will be posted within the week.
Perhaps, going forward, you should consider changing the PM privacy policy to remove some of the perceived privacy rights. A person should have no expectation of privacy for a PM containing content that could get them banned. In a situation where a poster gets banned due to a PM, the Mod or Admin would then
have the option of publishing a portion of the offensive PM itself in The Village of the "Banned" thread in the Shed (assuming the content itself wasn't illegal; e.g., child porn). Alternatively, the Mod or Admin could, at his discretion, choose to post a synopsis of the offensive post (e.g., something like: "the banned person sent a PM that included a threat of violence."). Such a policy change would serve two purposes. It would provide a feedback loop to other members, informing them about a behavior that could get them banned, thus reinforcing the rules. And it would prevent the controversy and discord that results from others being upset over a poster getting banned due to unknown reasons. Just a suggestion.
Finally, most of us are a bit sad to see the ten or so members leave the board over this debacle. I'm sure you are as well. Nonetheless, we certainly appreciate your efforts to make HB a great Husker message board.
