Can you provide case law applying products liability law to a website in a similar context? That might be one way to start a legal debate on this, but I guess we should take it offline if we wish to continue. I haven't seen anything along those lines, but would be quite interested to learn of it.
No.
And I'm really not interested in debating (or researching) the likelihood that a lawsuit might be successful (in product liability or otherwise). Tort law is not my favorite. Suffice it to say that I believe that it is something DI should research thoroughly to determine the risk before adding on the service (which really is what I mean when I say that there is a liability issue).
Do people here give out their addresses? If so, I was unaware of that. That alone could make someone a target for a stalker. But if so, all that would be required is a search function based on the already available address information. I was thinking of something based on the town at the most specific. In addition, in order for an exchange of user IDs in preparation for a first meetup, one wouldn't have to know any part of the other user's hidden information. But these are design/implementation details for an idea with which I know you just won't agree.
Well, no, I haven't seen people give out addresses (schools, though, which is almost as scary). But once you arrange to meet a stranger, even if it's just at the park, they can often use that meeting to find out where you live and what you look like.
I think it's a side issue what the Davidson Institute does for its DYS families. There are users of this website not in the DYS program, and I still think it would be a useful feature for any parent-oriented website with a user base. We have a difference of opinion, but I think it won't be resolved here.
I think this bulletin board is probably the tiniest little bit of what DI does. It seems pretty insignificant compared to the rest of DI's services.
We certainly do disagree a lot, don't we.
