"ADD" a new dive op in Cozumel, investment opportunity.... Add Diving....

[Mossman]

What if I just ask for cash donations to an openly obviously non-existent fund? People offend too easy today.....and it just seems to be getting worse. It is to the point that people are reporting posts that disagree with their POV (or so I recall reading on here).

I dunno. People with thin skins should put on their 7mm suits before getting online. I've always found ScubaBoard to be too non-offensive for my taste, but I tolerate it. The only posts I've ever reported were blatant spam. Spam does offend me, but Darol's post was clearly humor (unless he really was spamming for an investment, in which case I'm offended!), and IMO should be given more "offensiveness" leeway as long as it's not maliciously-intended and doesn't target racial or ethnic backgrounds, etc. (Though I believe some of the other "protected classes" should be fair game, how else to laugh at women divers who insist on putting on their nail polish underwater, or laugh at Italian divers who try smoking cigarettes underwater, etc.?)

Asking for cash donations to a fund doesn't seem to violate ToS since it happens all the time when there's an injured diver that needs help with medical bills, etc., or even a board operator who needs help with legal fees. It shouldn't violate federal or state laws (though I'm not making a professional determination that's the case) since it's not soliciting an investment, it's just asking for money. As long as there's no fraud in the inducement, it should be fine. For example, if I were to ask for donations to help my poor 8 year old daughter who got bent on a 250' dive yesterday, that would be fraud since I don't have a 8-year-old daughter, and if I did, I'd obviously restrict her to the 130' safe diving limit. On the other hand, if I merely solicit money for my vacation fund, that should be OK. Let's find out:

Please help with a poor diver's vacation fund. Cash donations accepted gratefully. Please send money to Mossman, c/o NetDoc, at whatever contact address is listed for ScubaBoard. No refunds. NetDoc is hereby authorized to keep 50% of the receipts for his legal fund, and will hopefully send the remainder to whatever address he has on file for me, or if not, at least please e-mail me and I'll give him my address. Canadian currency happily accepted, but please double the amount so it's worth converting it into real money. Thank you all for your kindness and generosity.

There, it's done. If I get arrested or booted off ScubaBoard as a result, you'll know it's somehow inappropriate. On the other hand, I might make a fortune!

 

[cvchief]

(If someone were actually trolling this ScubaBoard forum for investors, forget about ToS, it would likely violate a host of federal and state securities laws as well, at least if Darol is American. If he's Canadian, probably the same since they've copied most of our laws by now.)

That isn't very 'free.'

 

[Mossman]

That isn't very 'free.'

Stop that. You got us kicked over to the Pub last time. My poor diver fund won't work as well there.

Aw, what the heck. I'll respond to your blatant trolling because otherwise I'll feel mocked by your offensive hopping green banana thing. Freedom stops where it impinges on another's freedom. That's why we're not allowed to kidnap people and turn them into sex slaves, for instance. Lots of Americans are very gullible. That's been proven time and again, from PT Barnum's "there's a sucker born every minute" to the election of George W. Bush. It impinges on the freedom of a gullible American to take all his money from him just because he's dumb enough to sign up for a sucker investment or fraudulent cause. Therefore, we have to draw the line somewhere. So we are free to ask for money as long as we don't promise anything in return, and if we do promise something in return, it has to be something immediate and not an investment, and we have to deliver on that something and not abscond with the money or deliver something else in its place. (I think that covers fraud and commercial and securities law in a nutshell.)

You're right, in a totally free society, not only would I be allowed to go to Cuba, but I could burn my neighbor's house down when his stereo is cranked up too high. The difference is, it doesn't hurt anyone if I go to Cuba, but my neighbors might not be happy if their house burnt down (or maybe they would be happy if they've overinsured, who knows?). Actually, it might technically hurt Cubans if I go there, as it helps support the evil Castro regime, but since when are we Americans supposed to worry about anyone else but ourselves?

 

[cvchief]

Moss,

DON"T draw attention to it... jeez.... Surely THIS thread must have a little more leeway....

Nothing to see here, please move along.....

 

[ggunn]

That isn't very 'free.'

Seen on Jeopardy! sometime in the 70's (paraphrased):

A: The country which has the most laws on the books which can land you in jail for breaking them.

Q: What is The United States of America?

Who says you can't learn something from watching TV?