This reader/writer empowerment happens in two ways: open bulletin boards and published articles. Both of these publishing methods carry their own set of legal and ethical implications, and they both create situations not accounted for by traditional journalistic ethics and practices. Let's start with the easy one - bulletin boards. In our bulletin board model at The Slant, any user can post essentially anything they want. The only postings we will editorially remove are those non-germane to the thread (such as an ad for typing services in the local music area) or those that we expire based on age alone. As long as we maintain this policy of non-interference with the content of postings on our site, we qualify for "common carrier" status - i.e. the newstand model (where the standkeeper is not liable for content within carried publications). However, as soon as we make a decision to edit any message based on its content, we become liable for every statement made in our bulletin board area. At The Slant, we take this surrender of control a huge step further by actually indexing the most recent postings on the front page of our site, and on each sectional index. Not only do we have to leave objectional postings alone, but we also have to accept that such statements may wind up on our front page. It is the goal of community building that members of the community will assume the task of governing, rather than the host.

It should be noted that individuals using their own name to post in a bulletin board can be held liable for any libel, slander, or any other defamatory statements against an individual, institution, or legal entity. This raises another issue: using an assumed identity or alias. There are many people with an equal number of reasons for choosing to post messages anonymously. Some may do so out of a general wish for privacy, while others want to avoid potential negative repercussions of their statements. Anonymous posters may gain credibility on the merit of their statements alone, but there are also numerous instances where responders will attack an anonymous poster (especially where a personal issue is concerned) for lacking the conviction to stand up for their statement. There is also a very slim chance that an investigator with a court order could trace a suspected user to the time and place of a slanderous posting through server logs, but it is unlikely that action would be initiated quickly enough for this to be effective.