Perry writes:
1) The ECPA *DOES* apply to the BBSes whether they want it to or not. All the hoping in the world doesn't make a statute go away. Merely declaring that the ECPA doesn't apply to you doesn't work -- try declaring the tax laws don't apply to you some time and see if that works.
That said, it should be noted that sysops can contract with users for users to waive their privacy rights under ECPA. But I think sysops should do this *explicitly*, and should not justify doing so because of vague perceptions of vaguely understood legal liability. I also have to take exception to the statement by some people here that sysops never allow private e-mail. I knew sysops who routinely did so when I lived in Austin. But maybe Austin is more enlightened than the rest of the country.
2) The BBS operators are NOT liable UNLESS they censor the mail. If they censor the mail, they are liable for anything they fail to censor. If they do not censor, they are common carriers, and have no liability.
I wouldn't say this quite so strongly, but Perry has the gist of it right. If you take on the duty of monitoring e-mail, you risk creating liability for yourself if something problematic doesn't get censored. And the sysops here generally admit that they don't real *all* e-mail. --Mike