I don't need to be lectured by you about corporate greed, animal rights, or any of the other issues which McSpotlight supports, and with which I wholeheartedly agree. Get off your high horse.: My personal belief is that whether something is legal or illegal is largely irrelevant, what's far more important is whether its morally right or justifiable. At the end of the day the only time oppressive laws get removed is when people start defying them in large numbers.
Oh really? And if somebody were to take the advice on this board, shut off a gas spigot, and cause an explosion or gas leak which killed people, would you still feel righteous because the ends justify the means?
Well, let's say you agree with this Shining Path mentality. Or let's just say, as I assume the case to be, that you really don't want anyone to get hurt, but you'd still like to strike a blow for our side. If I as a lawyer tell you that your anticipated strategy could result in jail time, huge fines, or a prolonged trial which you might win in the end, but be bankrupted in during the process, would you walk away in a huff because I told you some unpleasant facts? Maybe you would, but I'd be doing you a disservice if I didn't point out the ugly truth to you.
Now, I'm obviously not McSpotlight's laywer, but as I said, I support McSpotlight and wish to see it thrive and prosper. I believe that the risk of publishing (via the Internet) calls for illegal activity which could lead to death or injury outweigh whatever free discussion benefits might accrue, because (and this is where you really ought to pay attention), if an individual committed the act described on McSpotlight's bulletin board, and if this act resulted in death or injury, you can damn well be sure that in the resulting criminal or civil prosecution, McSpotlight will be dragged in and accused of being either criminally culpable or civilly liable in aiding and abetting the violence, especially since the Establishment sees this website as the embodiment of loony left wing activism. Yes, McSpotlight might win in the end, given its free speech protections and the vagueness of tying a message which happened to be posted on its board to the actions of the perpetrator, but the litigation would be long, expensive, and draining both physically and emotionally (sound familiar?). Win or lose, it could destroy this bulletin board, and that, volunteer Jill, is why I counsel against hosting such messages.
Shooting the messenger may be satisying, but it achieves nothing.
