On 07-16-05, Scott Adams said...
 
SA>  -=> Quoting Darryl Perry to All <=-
SA> 
SA>  DP> I am considering opening a new BBS, one that is adult oriented.  I
SA>  DP> know that there are alot of long-time sysops who read this echo, so I
SA>  DP> thought I'd pick your brains on the right-way/wrong-way of doing such
SA>  DP> thing.  I want to protect myself as much as possible.
SA> 
SA>  DP> I've been sysoping for 15 years, and except for my first 2-3 years of
SA>  DP> doing so, I never offered any adult material.  I was just flying unde
SA>  DP> the radar then, didn't give a lot of attention to the news about the
SA>  DP> Rusty and Eddie debacle.
SA> 
SA>  DP> Anyways, what are your thoughts on the best way to ensure that all th
SA>  DP> users are of appropriate age and such?
SA> 
SA>      Well problem is the market.  Is there enough demand just for
SA>      this niche.  A decade ago I'd say yes.  If your going for
SA>      mostly adult folks they tend to be on no bbses in the
SA>      first place like porn sites :)  Its clear the day of specialized
SA>      boards is gone.  To meet the low supply of users one must
SA>      diversify into general areas.  Course with that said.  Give
SA>      it a try.  Who knows.  You could always advertise in adult
SA>      oriented places like adult porn sites or adult magazines.
SA> 
SA>      Personally I never covered the stuff.  Never liked much of it.
SA>      See one movie see them all kinda thing :).  I specialize
SA>      in other areas.  I have covered adult echos though but those
SA>      are tame compared to some out there.

I agree, that's why I wouldn't ordinarily be carrying any such thing.

SA>      As to protecting.  Theres call back doors that require caller
SA>      ID and some form of id like a mailed in or faxed ID proof
SA>      of age.  There might be porn site type verifiers out there for
SA>      bbses as well.  The honor sysem is always out there but you
SA>      can cover yourself with a good disclaimer or two on the board.
SA> 
SA>      Legal wise as long as you have enough disclaimer that the user
SA>      says he is 18 then that's fine.  Course you should check with
SA>      your state laws and a lawyer if you have one.  If you carry
SA>      just plain old porn then you should not even be cared abo
SA>      to get into trouble.  Its when you carry things like child porn
SA>      which I know you won't or som ultra stuff (rape, animals, gore, etc.)
SA>      You might get attention.  I do recall the Rusty stuff.  Boy that's
SA>      been a long time.  I forgot the details though.  

I don't expect to carry any porn, except for text files and stories.   My
plan isn't to really have a porn site, but rather a user interactive site.

SA>      You won't be able to get away with charging like bbses did
SA>      a decade ago for porn.  Why should a user pay you money when
SA>      they can go to any porn site for free.  No.  It should be
SA>      unique stuff like exclusive material, adult cartoons or adult
SA>      oriented echomail areas that are more fun than spam oriented
SA>      Newsgroups.

I don't expect to charge, except for one way of insuring proper user age. 
One suggestion I heard about was to have the user mail in a check for $1. 
Have all the same address information on the check as the user account on
the BBS, and have the user sign the check.  I would hold on to the check and
never cash it.   However, with this age of identity theft, I don't see that
as being an option.  We prolly can't even have them send in copies of their
DL's any more.

Gryphon, aka Darryl Perry
Sysop of Cyberia BBS, Kingwood, TX.
telnet://cyberia.darktech.org

--- Mystic BBS v1.07.3 (Linux)