Question about TOS, regarding illegal drugs

[philacc196]

Hi!

I'm just hoping I can get some clarification on this issue. My friend is keen to start up a blog featuring cited links to images, articles, poems, etc, which he deems would be interesting to people who have got high. His proposed name is also a pun featuring the word "High" in it. He has told me that the connection with cannabis would be implicit but not explicit, with disclaimers regarding the use of illegal substances and no direct mention of the act of smoking cannabis.

My question is, would this be allowed under the TOS which states that no website may "promote illegal drugs"? Obviously he plans to focus more on the content than on the drug it is related to, and obviously no encouragement or promotion of drug use (the website would be for people who would presumably already use the drug), although I can see how this is a massive grey area when it comes to definitions of the "promotion" of drugs. I can see how it is arguable that the website may promote drugs because it could link to something like an image of people smoking, or simply just through the viewer's own connections made in their head.

Any answers would be much appreciated

Phil

Edit: if I could have answers for both free AND paid hosting, that'd be great.

 

[SierraAR]

Hello,

By the sounds of it, this wouldn't be allowed, as your target audience is drug users. That in itself may imply support of the drug. However, I'll pass this thread on to our abuse compliance officer to get a definite answer.

 

[Livewire]

Wish I could get a 100% definite on this one; it's a gray area, as you had described, although I'll admit it's closer to the "not allowed" side than it is allowed. With it being in the gray zone, there's no defined "yes" or "no" to it, but I'd personally think this would ago against the Acceptable Use Policy itself more than the ToS.

While I can't give a definitive on it, I don't personally think it would work on our current hosting setup. It's worth contacting the premium support team via http://x10premium.com/contact though, as the Premium TOS is not the same as free, and might not have as large of a problem with it.