Information on Ozrodders.com

[Jon]

I just wanted to welcome everyone, and to provide a little more information on the people and organizations that helped make Ozrodders.com possible.

First of all, thanks go to Greg for leading HRI. And to Dave for expert handling of a difficult international-political-automotive-cyberlaw-predicament. Thanks also to klassik, who alerted us to the situation at HRI, and designed the new Ozrodders.com logo.

We're grateful to several organizations that assisted us as we dealt with this situation. The Electronic Frontier Foundation was especially helpful. Since 1990, the EFF has been the leading group responsible for defending free speech on the internet. We wouldn't be here without their support.

We'd also like to thank Marc Perkel of Computer Tyme for providing specialty free speech hosting services for Ozrodders.com, and for his assistance in preserving the entire database of Australian hotrodding knowledge.

A debt of gratitude is owed to the Rodding Roundtable for providing a temporary home for HRI refugees. And, I'd like to thank the members of Hotrodders.com for their patience while we diverted our resources to resolve this situation.

----

It's important to recognize that the takedown of the original HRI forum is a classic example of an attempt to stifle free speech online. When free speech is threatened, people often hesitate to voice their opinions, for fear of punishment. The wave of silence that results from this fear, also known as a "chilling effect", is something that we are here to prevent.

Also, while most American hotrodding sites prefer to filter out certain words that are perceived as offensive, I know that Australians have different customs. Just as on the original HRI forum, you'll find that there is no censorship here.

Of course, you are always personally responsible for your communication, both online and off. Nevertheless, Ozrodders.com is:

• free of censorship
• hosted on a specialty free speech web host
• supported by American hotrodding and free speech organizations
• hosted in one of the friendliest regions to free speech in the world

Congratulations, you're now one of the free-est forums on the internet. As long as you're honest and nonviolent, you can say whatever the fuck you want.

----

Ozrodders.com is administered and supported by Hotrodders.com in the USA.

This online community is designed for Australian hotrodders, and will be shaped by Australian hotrodding knowledge and culture. Please feel free to submit any suggestions to Ozrodders.com moderators, or contact me anytime at jon@ozrodders.com.

[rx4ord]

Does this mean that my post 'Bugger it.I'll ask" can now get some answers and not just lookers?I think the fear factor is still running very high.Can we still be sued on this site?

[Dave]

Can we still be sued on this site?

The way I read it you are personally responsbile for whatever you post and you can be sued by someone in Australia if the article appears in Australia and you can be identified. It is not possible to sue someone anonymous and very hard to sue someone that is outside the country (which is why this site is now U.S. owned and administered). You cannot be sued for posting something that is true and you cannot be sued for your own personal opinion however you can be sued if you make personal comments about someone which are false and cause harm or loss of reputation. Some people are best left to cause 'loss of reputation' by their own actions!

Whilst there is no censorship on this site per se, the moderators or administrators will remove or edit anything deemed personally offensive, racist, violent or way outside normal moral boundaries. Remember children and young persons have access to and read this site (including my own 9 year old hotrodding daughter). The thing we ask on this site is that you play the ball, not the man (a good Aussie expression) and keep your posts in good spirit, If someone says something that personally offends you contact one of the listed moderators but we hope that will never happen. We will often disagree with each others viewpoints but we often have to agree to disagree. As long as we all remain passionate about Hotrods and Kustoms and respect each other that is all that matters.

[Jon]

That's my read on it too. While it's not impossible to be sued, we've taken the forum from a very vulnerable legal position, to a very strong legal position. If you're honest and nonviolent, you're most likely going to be very safe. An Australian-American-international-anonymous-user-internet-lawsuit would be quite an undertaking, the first of its kind. Any potential legal action from Australian entities would have to include an uphill battle in an American jurisdiction that is heavily in favor of online free speech.

Like Dave said, the acceptable standard for board behavior will be established by the moderators. As in any online community, standard practices of respectful communication will apply. The advantage we have here is that the decision as to what can and can't be said will not be dictated by external political or legal pressure.

[rx4ord]

Sounds fair and equitable to me.Thanks Dave and Jon.Dave

[Mike]

Thanks for the explanation and thanks for the mountain of work you fellas musta put in to get this happening .. we the rank n file do appreciate your efforts.

What happened certainly changed Aussie Rodding forever, but we've managed to pull through in a typical Aussie way ... never let the bastards beat ya !!

A few more changes to the direction our NCC is heading and things will turn out ok ... we have a few issues being adressed, but time is needed to bring most to fruition.

HRI has banded a great bunch of long time , new , and very young Rodders together .. every single member here has been welcomed , not once have i seen a contributor condeming another for their choice of car ,be it a rice burner a VW or a 32 Vicky .. hell even a Rugby was accepted !!

We the members have a huge amount of input in the direction Aussie Rodding is heading because be assured we are monitored much more than you'd care to know .

[Brett.C]

Thankyou jon, dave, member #456 and everyone else involved in getting this site back up and running.
Can't wait to read the A$RF's mail out to all members stating the "facts" about what happened.
Somebody will have to post here, we need a good larf

[Outback]

thanks fella's,

It really is muchly appreciated, it's humbleing to know how much effort so many people put into this, just so a bunch of 'mostly' Aussies can hang crap on each other and talk about rods & kustoms to boot!

Cheers

Outback

[Dave]

A few more changes to the direction our NCC is heading and things will turn out ok ... we have a few issues being adressed, but time is needed to bring most to fruition.

As stated elsewhere one fairly simple initial change would probably get me back as a member! Then we could concentrate on the direction! Time wil tell. One thing is for sure, they will know that we are back and that we are not just some geeky minority that can be trampled on.

HRI has banded a great bunch of long time , new , and very young Rodders together .. every single member here has been welcomed , not once have i seen a contributor condeming another for their choice of car ,be it a rice burner a VW or a 32 Vicky .. hell even a Rugby was accepted !!

You got that right Mike! What is amazing is the mix of old and young, experienced and inexperienced who get on here and share their knowledge and experiences, good and bad. What the older guys know in some areas is complimented by what the younger guys know in others. One thing that does amaze me is how technologically advanced (computers, EFI etc,) the younger guys are, yet many are building some of the most traditional cars I have seen in years! I just love that. I think it says a bit about the exciting future of our hobby but these guys are currently 'lost' to existing rod organisations and that needs to be changed. Sadly we could have helped achieve that. Maybe when things settle down we still can! Oh and we do accept anyone with an interest in Hotrodding regardless of their current ride!

Can't wait to read the A$RF's mail out to all members stating the "facts" about what happened.

I can' t wait to be shown it either. Sometimes different people have a different idea about the 'facts' but hopefuly we can all move on.

[Roddess1932]

As long as we all remain passionate about Hotrods and Kustoms and respect each other that is all that matters.

Couldnt have said it better myself. If you think that someone may get offended - why say it? I dont think there is any site where it is acceptable to make derogative, personal remarks about any individual. Lets keep it about hot rodding!


Thanx to those who are responsible for the site. Well done.

[Pep]

Yeah..I echo the sentiments above by all.....well done and much appreciated.

[Mr Cool]

Thanks to all who have put in a mountain of effort to get this forum back online.

I guess we can still hang it on people who put a suede purple poofy interior in their car though? But we cant mention any names, or we can still be sued. right?

[Cool23]

I've just read the comments ( pages ) leading in from the old HRI page.
If you have not read them I suggest you do so. All very good comments and leads back to a topic I posted before the forum was shut down.

What is the future of the Forum ?

Thank you to all involved in Raising the forum back to where it can be used and of value to those that make use of.

[choco]

I guess we can still hang it on people who put a suede purple poofy interior in their car though? But we cant mention any names, or we can still be sued. right?

Wipe your chin.

[Cool23]

I guess we can still hang it on people who put a suede purple poofy interior in their car though? But we cant mention any names, or we can still be sued. right?

Wipe your chin.

So Whats wrong with Purple ? The interior color of Choco's Coupe looks good. I'm using Purple colors - fittings on the engine in the F4 Truck.