Industry best practices for a site which accepts user generated/uploaded content?
 

I'm interested in hearing from ethical people not scumbags who think it's a free-for-all and that you should just move your servers to the Ukraine and be done with it.

What are some good practices for sites who will be accepting user generated content under DMCA law who still want to try to be ethical and not steal from others?

For example do you like Youtube's "3 strike" policy where after violating it the third time the user has all their content removed and they are banned?

Do you like email contacts for quick removal?

Limits on the length of user uploaded videos?

Is a site which allows you the content owner to ban any mention of your content or to automatically replace any mention with say an affiliate link doing something positive?

I'm especially interested in thoughts from people involved in anti-piracy organizations and what they think are positive things which site owners could be doing. Or do you think any user uploaded content is automatically a problem?

I'm 100% in favor of how Youtube does it. That is more than fair. 3 strikes you're out.

I wish hosting and billing companies would do that to sites. X amount of undisputed DMCA notices within a 30 day period and you're gone.

But we live in the real world where everyone wants to silently profit from piracy, so that's not going to happen. Drinks at the next show, yo!

Thanks DWB. Bump for more input.

except for the fact that youtube doesn't delete all the content after 3 strikes

they only remove the DMCA'ed content

you can find hundreds of videos that still exist in the rotation even though the parent account was banned for copyright infringement.

Can you provide some documentation for this being true or link to some banned accounts which still have their videos up? It's not what I have seen.

Wikipedia disagrees with you, gideongallery.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youtube...ghted_material

I read about a "copyright education" option which can in some instances give them a break but as far as I know once permanently banned or deleted all the videos are still removed. I've seen at least 100 instances of it in the last year.

If you want it to be porn, go for people with a website domain in the email address.

@pornsitename.com

If not make sure you know something about them, like the IP they use and it doesn't change. Even ask for a town and check it against the IP.

Other than that, one strike and you're out and all your content as well.

Of course it depends on what the site is about. We need more info.

Basically, there's no way to run a "honest" or "ethical" UCG video site in adult, because there's simply no real UCG content in quantities to speak of and to maintain bookmarkers. Nobody is going to shoot porn for nothing and upload it to your site - except maybe for guys who love filming their dicks, and an occasional exhibitionist amateur couple.

But if you want policy, here is the absolute minimum for an UGC site:

1. 3 strikes.
2. DFP (Vercury/Vobile).
3. MD5.

That will not make it "honest", but at least not that blatant at stealing.

Or you can run your site in the way old school "UCG" sites like TGP and MGP were run, i.e. providing accounts to pre-authorized "uploaders" only who're are either paysite owners or webmasters promoting paysites. That will keep your entire operation next to 100% legit, but of course it'll not get you one hell of a lot full length member area videos.