If you joined the FSC as an INDIVIDUAL, better read this!

[Slade]

Just when you think things couldn't get more confusing, found this VERY interesting post:
-----------------------------
I just got off the phone with Jeffrey Douglas, FSC Board chair and attorney. He said, if you joined FSC as an individual, your websites are not covered. You have to sign up for membership as a company, and pay according to your annual sales volume, the dues for which can be found here:

http://www.freespeechcoalition.com/c...ypes=Corporate

What you want to make sure is that we have all you D/B/As and URLs. They can be compiled and emailed to execdir@freespeechcoalition.com.

If you have any questions, please send them my way and I'll try to get answers, but please understand that I'm overwhelmed with calls and interviews today and probably through the weekend. I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Tom Hymes
FSC Communications Director
tom@freespeechcoalition.com

[Slade]

I called the membership # of the FSC to see if I could get any more info on this and the person answering the phone said she could not give me any answer and directed me to call this # for that:

818-348-9373

It's been busy since I started calling!

[Slade]

So I'm guessing if you start any NEW sites between now and 9/7/05, you had better send those urls also.

But then, I'm only passing along second hand information on all of this. Best you get ahold of your lawyer on this just to be sure.

[Huskyhunks]

The suit was filed on behalf of it's members. The master list is composed of individuals and corporations. I joined on principle as an individual. As long as my name is there, then I'm covered because I am Huskyhunks.com and not a corporation.

[Slade]

The suit was filed on behalf of it's members. The master list is composed of individuals and corporations. I joined on principle as an individual. As long as my name is there, then I'm covered because I am Huskyhunks.com and not a corporation.

Understood..but APPARENTLY, or at least one school of thought seems to be that you need to send the FSC a compiled list of your websites that you own.

[Squirt]

Understood..but APPARENTLY, or at least one school of thought seems to be that you need to send the FSC a compiled list of your websites that you own.

Yes you are correct. If the DOJ comes to the FSC and asks if the www.123.com belongs to an FSC member.. the FSC will have to be able to link your membership with a domain.

That is why I said, in my other post, that I thought it was odd the FSC was taking members signups online through CCBill with nothing but the membership level and your name & CC.

It seems so few people are looking at the details here and are in some sort of hysteria, or follow the leader mode, regarding this situation.

It seems a lot of people are acting.. then asking important questions later.

[Dzinerbear]

Doesn't anyone else think this kind of smells of Warsaw circa 1939 ... require all Jews move to an pre-determined section of the city by a certain date and register. We all know what happened once everybody was inside and the Nazis had their lists.

At any rate, a friend of mine registered today with great pain. He started off saying he wanted to register under the $300 webmaster option, at the end of the call when he asked the guy to confirm everything, the guy had registered him as an individual. My friend asked about the webmaster option, and the guy basically said, "Oh you're fine, I don't want to have to fill out another form and start all over." My friend specifically asked, "Will all of my sites be covered for this $50?"

"Yes."

What a shambles.

dzinerbear

[MiamiB]

:eek: This is pathetic on so many levels it's hard to know where to start...first, that as an industry, we have no real leadership (i.e. something like a union) to centralize information and get rid of the gossip and speculation.

Second, that after we have been doing business for years and years that all of the sudden, we seem like amateurs...why...simple...MOST OF US HAVE BEEN DOING BUSINESS AS PROFESSIONALS AND THE GOVERNMENT DECIDES TO CHANGE THE RULES HALF WAY THRU THE GAME...Is that fare...NO!! Naturally this would cause confusion and panic...I mean, G. W. wants you and not in a good way...after 5 years of this SHIT who wouldn't be a little freaked out!!

The problem is that we typically entrepreneurs who don't join groups...we are rebels by definition. who don't attend meetings...and who hate paperwork. If we didn't we would be working in fucking offices!! HELLO

Now they are forcing an industry of rebels, to be totally "by-the book"...and not our book in 30 days or else!!

WTF

I started in this business 8 years ago and there was no book...we made it what it is and now these fucking assholes want to just step in and take over. I say, NO. You are not going to take away what we built from scratch for the past 10 years in 30 days...

FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS PEOPLE! I guess that the USA just not the same place we thought it was and now it is becoming very clear...

[shelmal]

Ok i hate to ask a dumb question but whats D/B/As?

[MiamiB]

What...not sure what you are referring to??

[gaystoryman]

dba refers to acronym for "doing business as" an example being Joe Shmoo dba www.mydomain.com or Joe Shmoo dba as shelmal ... simply acronym is all if you are not incorporatred or even if you are... where you have a numbered compnay doing business as (insert trade name here)...

hth
Ian

[Lee]

I have said all i have to say about the FSC.

Ill let them show their true colors over the coming weeks.

Regards,

Lee

[shelmal]

dba refers to acronym for "doing business as" an example being Joe Shmoo dba www.mydomain.com or Joe Shmoo dba as shelmal ... simply acronym is all if you are not incorporatred or even if you are... where you have a numbered compnay doing business as (insert trade name here)...

hth
Ian

AHH got it thanks Ian. By the way how did you know my real name was Joe Shmoo :joker:

[gaystoryman]

oops.. sorry bout that, :uhoh: call me a mind reader? :nerd:

[basschick]

MiamiB - there WAS a book 8 years ago, or 9 when i started. 2257 is TEN years old, and if you read the old version entire, you might be surprised at what was the law that most of us knew nothing about.

just because we all thought we were outlaws in the wild west doesn't mean it was true...

here's an example for you - when we started, most people got content off newsgroups, or from disks made only for personal use, or from other people's websites. but even though they didn't realize it at the time, those people were stealing - it wasn't legal even then to steal stuff from other sites or from companies.

and there were already obscenity laws in place, and laws that made things like fisting without the thumb showing illegal already. after all, porn movies had been around legally for over 20 years.

of course, it was hard back then to find a good lawyer who could really tell you how to be careful. i have a good friend who paid his regular attorney to consult with him on his new porn business in 1998. the lawyer told him porn was illegal in the u.s. :-/