Important Announcement - Please Read!

[BLueRibbon]

Dear MAP Forum members,

Please take the time to read this important announcement.

Having taken into account new and proposed updates to relevant laws, and reflecting on our successes and challenges so far, our MAP Forum will introduce the following changes from March 15th.

UK IP addresses will be blocked

Due to legislative changes in the UK with which MAP Forum cannot possibly comply without jeopardizing member and operator anonymity, we have no choice but to block UK IP addresses from accessing our forum. Those visiting from a UK IP address will be redirected to an explanatory page on Mu's main website. The main website is not within the scope of the new legislation, and thus all articles will remain accessible.

* Users outside the UK using a VPN server based in the UK will need to select a different server to access our site.

Our rules will be refreshed

Our rules will be updated to reflect issues with AAM participation and role-playing, sharing of AI prompts, sharing of messenger IDs, and selecting suitable avatars. Changes are highlighted in bold.

Mu is an activism-focused forum available to people all around the world, with the exception of the UK. Users should keep the purpose in mind, although humor and lighthearted comments are welcome. Our rules exist to keep everyone safe, so please read them carefully.

1. Do not use the board to engage in, advocate, or facilitate illegal activity of any kind.

2. Erotica (whether photographic, artificially-generated, drawn, or written) is strictly prohibited. Links to such material, tips on where to find such material, and requests for such material, are not allowed. Do not provide tips or tools to assist with the production of AI erotica in any format.

3. Do not admit to any illegal activity for which you have not already been found guilty in court.

4.Do not reveal private information about other MAPs, our allies, or people under the age of 18.

5. Do not use your account to arrange meetings with other forum participants. Do not share private messenger IDs. Trusted members sharing e-mail addresses is accepted according to moderator discretion.

6. Do not use hateful language (e.g. racial slurs) or post extremist content. This includes expressions of support for violent sexual behavior. Do not post content that could easily be misrepresented to malign or endanger yourself, other participants, or the forum host.

7. Do not act in bad faith, such as by harassing posters you may dislike, or unnecessarily derailing productive discussions.

8. Political discussions need to stay in the Politics and Debates forum. Complaints should be presented to moderators in a report and not made in-thread (we reserve the right to warn and suspend users who repeatedly ignore this).

9. While Mu does not prohibit participation by legal minors, we do require participation to be in good faith. Individuals who identify as minors may not use our forum to engage in any kind of provocative or flirtatious behavior. This includes (but is not limited to) asking how to meet MAPs. Likewise, communications by MAPs toward those identifying as minors must remain beyond reproach.

10. As well as being legal, avatars (and usernames) should be tasteful and not erotic in nature. We want to create an atmosphere that supports serious discussion. Clothed photos of children are acceptable in avatars as long as they meet this standard.

11. Due to the Online Safety Act 2023, with which MAP Forum cannot comply unless it jeopardizes user and operator anonymity, we do not permit members based in the UK. We use geoblocking to prevent access from the UK, and those stating they are based in the UK will have their account suspended.

Please let us know if you have any questions or feedback.

The Mu Committee

[Grunko]

So if your based on UK, how do you connect with MU forum or suggests ideas?, would we still be able to see the forum but just not comment? That’s such a shame because being on this site helps deal with mental health issues or isolation etc. and we would be able to participate in activism. The forum was very useful when it came to research and understanding MAP’s but but now we won’t

[Jim Burton]

We have a contact form on the main site, and permit forum user participation from outside of the UK.

The method we use to police this is IP geoblocking and removing users who identify their location as the UK, should they be using methods to get around the block.

This does not extend to discussing UK news stories and UK legal issues, etc, from outside of the country, if you are not a subject. You might want to know about something or maintain an interest, because you are a non-UK subject who spends time in the country, or has a relative who is a UK subject.

We will of course keep track of these laws. They are likely to be challenged under human rights legislation and in the Supreme Court at some point, and may become null and void. But for now, we ask that users do not do anything that may put us in scope and endanger the provider/s of this service.

[PorcelainLark]

Is the rule about citizens of the UK or about just about UK jurisdiction? Are UK citizens who live outside of the UK allowed to participate? Also, what about people with dual UK citizenship?

[Outis]

My interpretation of the rules is that it applies more to the sites themselves rather than the citizens.
The UK is imposing rules that say that sites can't provide UK pedophiles with access to information that helps them to evade identification or trackimg. Sites can't also allow pedophiles private messaging.

The wording is intenitionally wooly to allow the state to interprete these rules however they like.
If you're a moderator or admin and in the UK, read the legislation, If you are a website provider, read the legislation. The state is pulling real stazi shit but against anything that could provide freedom or protection to UK citizens. I hate to say it but it's better to protect the service and cut the UK citizens loose to their leaders and look to provide them with just hints about how to protect themselves. Open source is the hero here, decentralize and protect in oppresive states.

[BLueRibbon]

Is the rule about citizens of the UK or about just about UK jurisdiction? Are UK citizens who live outside of the UK allowed to participate? Also, what about people with dual UK citizenship?

It applies to people physically based in the UK.

The new law attempts to give the UK's regulator Ofcom the power to demand identification of site operators in any country and of any nationality, in addition to requiring a monumental risk assessment for sites that could be deemed at risk of 'harm' to children. Mandatory reporting rules for UK users would also require admins/mods to determine the location of a person who posted anything questionable (yes, such posts are already against our rules) and report them to the UK authorities if they are based in the UK; this would threaten some of the measures we have in place to protect users from identification.

Most small international forums like this could simply ignore the UK's new law without any trouble, but we are concerned that as a MAP activist forum, the UK might try to weaponize the law against us. Would other countries co-operate and extradite? Maybe.

When complying and not complying both threaten site operator and user anonymity, the only solution is to geoblock the UK.

[PorcelainLark]

It applies to people physically based in the UK.

Nothing as wide reaching as the sections regarding sex tourism in the PROTECT Act, that's something at least.

The new law attempts to give the UK's regulator Ofcom the power to demand identification of site operators in any country and of any nationality, in addition to requiring a monumental risk assessment for sites that could be deemed at risk of 'harm' to children. Mandatory reporting rules for UK users would also require admins/mods to determine the location of a person who posted anything questionable (yes, such posts are already against our rules) and report them to the UK authorities if they are based in the UK; this would threaten some of the measures we have in place to protect users from identification.

Most small international forums like this could simply ignore the UK's new law without any trouble, but we are concerned that as a MAP activist forum, the UK might try to weaponize the law against us. Would other countries co-operate and extradite? Maybe.

When complying and not complying both threaten site operator and user anonymity, the only solution is to geoblock the UK.

Makes sense.

[Lennon72]

When complying and not complying both threaten site operator and user anonymity, the only solution is to geoblock the UK.

Does this mean that UK citizens will no longer be able to acess our site?

[Grunko]

We have a contact form on the main site, and permit forum user participation from outside of the UK.

The method we use to police this is IP geoblocking and removing users who identify their location as the UK, should they be using methods to get around the block.

This does not extend to discussing UK news stories and UK legal issues, etc, from outside of the country, if you are not a subject. You might want to know about something or maintain an interest, because you are a non-UK subject who spends time in the country, or has a relative who is a UK subject.

We will of course keep track of these laws. They are likely to be challenged under human rights legislation and in the Supreme Court at some point, and may become null and void. But for now, we ask that users do not do anything that may put us in scope and endanger the provider/s of this service.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_Safety_Act_2023

According the Wikipedia, the opposition section already says The international human rights organization Article 19 stated that they saw the Online Safety Act 2023 as a potential threat to human rights

[Outis]

But isn't the UK trying to withdraw from human rights laws and replace them with laws that presumably allow them to not respect human rights?

Those pesky human rights keep getting in the way of the British Stazi so they'll just scrap those rules.