Expert: Dan Pepper - 9/10/2008

Question
Hi, my question is about the use of private messaging on a fan club forum. A friend of mine was recently banned from a fan club forum to which we both belong.The moderator read her private messages and said my friend was making up stories about the band. The girl knows the band personally and was just sharing her story with some of her friends. The moderator posted the terms of use in the forum and it specifically says private messages are private. But then when you read further it says the moderator can move, edit or delete posts. Is this a contradiction and did the moderator have the right to ban my friend? No where in the terms of service does it say the moderator also has the right to read private messages. Thanks for your help.

Lauren

Answer
Without reading the terms of use, as well as the privacy policy (if any), it is difficult to give you a definitive answer.

However, the bigger question is what would your friend's recourse be even if the web site violated its own terms of use?  Did she suffer any damages?  Was she harmed in any way?  If not, it's probably not worth the time and trouble to pursue the matter.