Be careful on what you put on Facebook...
 

In this week's edition of the UTC Echo, there is an article about UTC police browsing Facebook to catch underage drinkers....

http://www.utcecho.com/home/

How in the world could you arrest someone for this?

There can be a picture of you drinking out of a beer bottle, but there's no proof that it's beer in the bottle.

I don't think this is legal at all. They're just trying to freak people out.

We used to have an AIM screen name, UWMadisonParties, that people would send party addresses to, and anybody could view them and head over to that party. That stopped when the police figured out the name and started showing up at those parties too.

Thank god I'm over 21 now, haha.

Hmm...maybe I should reconsider leaving up the pix of me firing up my BONG.

...Or not.

I'll take down our party pics where we were doing lines off of naked hookers . .. The belly button is a perfect place to do a bump from.

Thanks for the heads up lol.

Same thing at WCU
 

At my school... an RA lost her job because of facebook.It's really crazy that they are goign to such dumb levels!

:(

You can get in trouble with my school if you have a facebook pic even just with cups in it :rolleyes: if you're under 21. It's absolutely the most ridiculous thing ever.

Don't campus police usually have something better to be doing that trying to bust a few kids off the internet? Geez, get out there and do you job instead of sitting on your can surfing the internet.

OK, we used to display empty bottles in our dorm rooms ("We didn't actually DRINK that! It just makes a good candleholder!") and we had to quit. I understand, that's university property.

But how in the world can anyone be punished for a picture on a non-university website, that can't even be proven? As I said, you may look like you're drinking beer, but unless they have the actual physical bottle and breathalyze you, there's no proof. This is a complete violation of rights and I hope the students do something about it rather than just bow to the pressure.

with us, it linked to webshots pictures, then to her reAl sisters pictures, which had drinking in her on campus apartment. and since she was an RA they dismissed her. And i was told when i joined facebook, not to join an alcohol related groups by my Resident Director.

It's a PICTURE.

Does everyone believe that when John Belushi chugged the bottle of Jack Daniels in Animal House, it was really Jack Daniels?

And your RD needs to step off. She/he cannot control what you do on a non-university website. Did they tell you not to join any political or sex or religion related groups either? Because that's next.

on a side note.. my uncle is in the blues brothers. i loveee john belushi!


and yeah.. i hear what your saying. he just said it for my own good. but bleh. it is dumb i know that.

I really don't understand how they can legally do this, either. It seems like they'd be opening up a can of worms if it turned out that they wrongly accused someone just because of a picture they posted on the internet.

I thought facebook was kind of cool in the beginning...now I hate it.

But, you can't scrap your account or people think you are being shady and trying to hide stuff...which is true. I still wish I hadn't signed up now.

This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. I don't hear about things like this at Canadian universities. I guess your rent-a-cops really don't have anything better to do than to surf the web and bust up parties.

I really believe that there would be less problems if your drinking age was lowered. I love how you can die for your country at 18 but can't have a beer.

Thanks god I don't have to deal with this crap anymore.

Invasion of privacy and freedom of speach?

Not since 9/11 and Home Land Security!

FBI Illegally tapping phones.

CIA is working in the USA inspite of Regulatiosn of being Foriegn Opperations only while the FBI is Domestic.

IRS called me and going to have an inspector come to store as I do Money Gram and Sell Money Orders. Dont ask Me why? But 9/11 and Homeland Security was thrown at Me!

Should be interesting to a say the least.:rolleyes:

I hated facebook in the beginning. And I still do. Of course, the reason I joined is a story in it's own. Problem is I'm addicted. Just like I'm addicted to GC.

It's not only drinking that's at issue. Groups on the campus where I'm an advisor have been brought before the Greek Senate Judicial Board for illegal recruitment because they had groups on Facebook for anyone who was interested in the groups activities (including philanthropies and other events that were open to the public)

Yeah..it's retarded...Leave college students alone! let them do whatever they want to because it's College! Its the only time in life when it's ok to be a little wild and not have to feel guilty about it.

Obviously ridiculous...

At Nebraska though, there are a ton of "I party at 1234 XYZ Street" or "I've got crunk at 99th and Main St." groups. I wonder how long it will take for "the Party Patrol" to start looking at facebook and targeting those houses.

Yep it is ridiculous, a lot of the people who have "I smoke Pot everyday" "alcohol is my life" or some silly variation of that (yep there's quite a few who are Greeks), I don't see them getting in trouble or anything. I did notice that some Greeks have taken it out of their profile though, and joined groups like "Can't Join any Drinking Groups Because I'm Greek" & etc. LOLz

now, Tommy, don't worry
 

yessirree, Tommy, don't worry 'bout the IRS. We have been
a-tryin' to teach you english and spellin' and grammer, so how
on earth would the feds expect to find a nefarious Earp family
representative to do anything wrong? You may not heed my plea
for spell check and you may not adopt a program to improve your
spelling, but you are still salt of the earth and a good guy and the
eastern girls who yearn for your supple body will just have to stand in line.
Yes...oh, yeah, are you descended from Newton Jasper Earp, one
of Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp's older brothers?
At any rate, your two thousand posts have helped to make this here site fun in spite of the erudite girls from the east and the I
still don't get it southern belles.
Am I done? Well, for a while. Meantime, I will monitor the sites
to see where in Canada the dashing Zetes are pioneering.

Nov. 20, 2005

UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI
UM newspaper defends controversial article

A campus paper at the University of Miami came under fire after publishing photos posted by a student on a popular website.
BY NOAH BIERMAN
nbierman@herald.com


The headline in The Miami Hurricane student newspaper screamed in large yellow type: 'CAUGHT ON FACEBOOK: `I'm a drunk idiot and went swimming in Lake Osceola.' ''

Curious students and faculty at the University of Miami snatched most of 10,000 copies of the Nov. 11 edition within hours. It had all the elements of a zesty yarn -- alcohol, photos of shirtless young men flexing and a campus investigation of a dip into a forbidden lake.

But it wasn't a case of snoopy reporters or paparazzi uncovering a secret party. The subjects of the story had outed themselves, posting details and photographs on a commercial website with their own label, ``I'm a drunk idiot and went swimming in Lake Osceola.''

Swimming is forbidden in Lake Osceola, in the center of campus, because two students have drowned there. The last case led to a costly lawsuit against a UM fraternity and a statewide anti-hazing law. More recently, an alligator was dragged out.

Many students -- and most of all, the subjects of the article -- were surprised that personal details posted on Facebook, the college-oriented website, could become part of the news. But the Hurricane story opened a window into how the rules and expectations of colleges' most popular online social clubs are still being defined.

On Facebook, students around the country form virtual communities by posting jokes, musings and photographs about themselves. Students, alumni and staff can view each others' information and communicate.

''Facebook will get you in trouble,'' said Teja Veal, a 21-year-old graphic design major who says the website is ``like an addiction.''

POPULAR SITE

Launched in February 2004, Facebook has quickly become one of the 10 most visited sites on the Internet, with 9.4 million visitors last month, according to company spokesman Chris Hughes.

It also has stirred up -- indirectly -- controversy elsewhere. In recent months, a resident assistant at North Carolina State caught nine students drinking in their dorm rooms after they posted on the site, Hughes said.

The Hurricane story was the first time Facebook led to a campus newspaper investigation, he said.

''Now there's this whole debate -- how far does Facebook go?'' said Joanna Davila, the Hurricane's arts and entertainment editor.

The reaction on campus was mixed. Some students laughed. Others equated the paper with a supermarket tabloid.

Facebook executives and the subjects of the article were irate. They said the photographs were used without permission.

Editors at the Hurricane say they were reporting a legitimate news story about campus safety and that the students' online boasts were a key part of that story.

The story began late on Nov. 5 after the Canes football team defeated Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. Back home, some students were celebrating at the Rathskellar, a campus watering hole next to Lake Osceola.

Sophomore Jacquiline Coleman, 20, took some photos of three of her friends who had jumped in and jumped out of the lake during the celebration, she said. It's not clear which friends chose to post the photos and ''drunk idiot'' label on Facebook.

Hurricane editor-in-chief Patricia Mazzei, 20, said her staff learned about the Web posting just before the Wednesday publishing deadline. By then, others on campus had seen it as well and reported it to the administration, according to Pat Whitely, vice president for student affairs.

''We all thought it was newsworthy and someone had already reported it to the administration,'' Mazzei said. The students who went into the lake ``put their names out there.''

The photos showed three wet, shirtless men. All were of legal drinking age. They were not photographed in the lake, though the captions suggested they had been there.

One of the three students, Nicholas Gonzalez, said the website piece proved nothing, according to the paper.

''I don't know if I jumped in the lake,'' he was quoted as saying, apparently facetiously.

The students quickly removed their Web posting, but were worried publicity from the article would lead to disciplinary action by the university, including expulsion.

The university has since taken action, but Whitely, citing confidentiality rules, would not reveal the punishment. Neither would the students, two of whom were reached by The Herald. They were not expelled, though.

Gonzalez and fellow ''drunk idiot'' Leo Swayze claimed the Hurricane reporters distorted the incident by misunderstanding a joke and exaggerating how much the group had to drink.

''That story made the newspaper look like the National Enquirer,'' Swayze said.

Coleman, the photographer, was not disciplined, but she said her photos were used without permission.

WEBSITE RESPONDS

Facebook lawyers also wrote a letter to the paper, stating the photos were used without permission.

''Students posting information on Facebook shouldn't have to think about themselves being in the headlines the following day,'' said Hughes, the company spokesman.

School of Communication professor Sig Splichal, the newspaper's advisor, said the Hurricane is still assessing Facebook's letter, but stands by the contents of the story.

So does Mazzei. She said the photos had news value and her faculty advisors were consulted before publication.

Sam Terilli, another journalism professor and the former general counsel for The Herald, said the paper had the legal and journalistic right to use the website's photos in its story.

''You had a matter that was newsworthy, plain and simple,'' he said. ``If people are posting things on the Internet and thinking that's private, they're wrong.''

Hughes suggests students use the option to limit access to the information they post.

Since the incident, Gonzalez has put up a new posting on Facebook. It displays a photo of the Hurricane article and commentary tinged with a mixture of pride and regret.

''Yep, I went in the lake,'' it reads. ``That's me on the front cover of the stupid paper.''

OK GC lawyers...please evaluate that statement.

I'm not a lawyer, but if you post a picture on the internet and it's downloadable/able to be copied/cut and pasted/etc, and it's not on a password protected site, isn't it public domain (or is that even the right word)? I understand copyright laws to say that I can't take someone elses picture off the web and claim that I was the photographer, but is there a law stopping me from copying that picture and posting it on other forums (*ahem*GC*ahem*) or using it on a presentation or just printing it out and hanging it in my office? Assume that I would give a proper credit line to the photographer or source of the photograph.

Personally, I think that if you post ANYTHING on a publically accessible site on the internet you run the risk of someone using it. That doesn't mean that I think we should be disciplining members for holding a cup in a picture, but if you're doing a keg stand in letters with your composite in the background of your dry chapter house, it definitely won't help your case.
The bottom line is to be smart about what you put out there.

PsychTau

Re: now, Tommy, don't worry
 

No E, Wyatts Fathers Brother! But, since I dont do Coffee I dont worrry about it!:D


If it is posted on an Open Site, it is Fair Game unless---- it is copy Rited!

So Friggen Sue Me as That is The HeyDay ToDay!:rolleyes:

Nope. Which is why such things aren't supposed to be posted here- like copies of articles- per GC's TOS. It's like the MP3's- just because you have an MP3 of a song doesn't mean that you can give it out to whoever you want (in theory, lol, i'm just trying to find something to compare it to). Just because you buy a book from a store doesnt mean you can copy it and give it out to friends. It's someone else's work, even if you give credit to that person, without permission to post it, it is technically illegal.

I do agree that if you post something on the web you're taking the risk that someone will use it. However, it IS illegal and if someone chose to persue it, they would win.

Bottom line, I guess, is that just because some people do it doesn't mean it's legal.

So the biggest news at U of Miami is drunk people swimming in a lake? That's sub-pathetic. If the Clarion newspaper would have written a story about the TONS of drunk people who have gone swimming in the river (clothed and unclothed) they would have been a laughingstock. Why they don't dry the lake up is beyond me if it's such a hazard.

And as to whether they can post things that were posted on another site - NO. Ex-Mr 33's band had a website with performance photos on it. To make things interesting, some were taken by the singer's wife, who is a professional photographer. That doesn't give (for example) the Post-Gazette the right to reprint these photos without permission beside a story about the state of the Pittsburgh music scene - even if they quoted some of the members of the band.

Another thing like this was the ex-editor of Glamour (who now is at the Star :rolleyes: ) put Catherine Zeta Jones on a cover and did a story that was cobbled together from other stories she'd done for the other mags that Conde Nast (Glamour's parent) publishes. CZJ did NOT give permission for her photo to be on this cover, and while technically it wasn't illegal, it's really frowned on and no journalist who wants to keep a good reputation would do it.

Yeah, we used to do the same thing... ours had to be cleaned out first.

We used to get so mad because the police were so busy trying to catch people underage drinking... but in the meantime pretty much everyone I knew had their car broken into (including me), there was someone kidnapped from a garage that supposedly had cameras, and there were many rapes in the same garage. It seems like this is the same deal... scary... if the cops are so busy searching facebook for someone drinking what could just be a Coke (yeah, I'm sure it's not, but it COULD be) than what real crimes are they missing?

CarolinaDG, was this at USC?? if so I am not surprised...I lost all faith in the USC PD the night it took them 10 minutes to open a door (and no I am not kidding...literally 10 freakin minutes to open 1 door).

Biggest facebook news at Nebraska recently was that Theta Nu Episilon (TNE) used facebook photos in they're semesterly newsletter. I didn't get to see it, but it apparently added a lot to the stereotypical jokes and upset freshmen girls who got labled as sluts.