A Guide to Safe Sysop-ing: The Church of Scientology, Sysops & On-Line Service Providers
Amy E. Weaver · Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication · 2006
In the past two years, computer bulletin board (BBS) system operators ("sysops") have been repeatedly held liable for the civil and criminal violations of their BBS users. The emerging cases have created three different standards of liability depending on the underlying complaint – copyright or defamation – and the court's jurisdiction. One of the more interesting cases involved the Church of Scientology suing an alleged copyright infringer, the sysop of the BBS where the message was posted, and the Internet provider. The article argues that this case blurs the distinction between copyright and defamation and does not fit easily within any of the current modes of analysis.