This is intended to clarify what we mean by several sections of the TOS and rules.
The bans on 'illegal content' in the TOS are specifically referring to content that in and of itself is illegal and opens the site to legal liability. This is interpreted very strictly, as in general speech in and of itself is not illegal in the United States. Likewise, the bans on incitement to violence is limited to 'true threats', as defined by the courts.
As an example. A post that reads "Hey, tomorrow X is going to be speaking at Y, let's go and beat X up because Z, A, B, and C' would be an incitement to violence. 'Hey, X is a total jerkwad and somebody should beat him up' is not a true threat, and thus would not count as incitement to violence.
'We should go hunt down Politician X and <insert ultra-violence here>' *may* be a threat, and in general will be treated as a civility violation. 'Politicians who support X should be shot' is *not* legally a threat, and in general will be treated as spicy language that should be responded to with reasonable debate.
In the US for something to be considered, legally, a true threat it has to be A) Specific, B) Timely, and C) a reasonable person should view it as being possible to carry out. Simply saying 'I'm gonna kill you' is not a true threat, saying 'I'm gonna kill you' while posting the recipients current location and posting an image of you with a gun *is* a true threat.
The bans on 'illegal content' in the TOS are specifically referring to content that in and of itself is illegal and opens the site to legal liability. This is interpreted very strictly, as in general speech in and of itself is not illegal in the United States. Likewise, the bans on incitement to violence is limited to 'true threats', as defined by the courts.
As an example. A post that reads "Hey, tomorrow X is going to be speaking at Y, let's go and beat X up because Z, A, B, and C' would be an incitement to violence. 'Hey, X is a total jerkwad and somebody should beat him up' is not a true threat, and thus would not count as incitement to violence.
'We should go hunt down Politician X and <insert ultra-violence here>' *may* be a threat, and in general will be treated as a civility violation. 'Politicians who support X should be shot' is *not* legally a threat, and in general will be treated as spicy language that should be responded to with reasonable debate.
In the US for something to be considered, legally, a true threat it has to be A) Specific, B) Timely, and C) a reasonable person should view it as being possible to carry out. Simply saying 'I'm gonna kill you' is not a true threat, saying 'I'm gonna kill you' while posting the recipients current location and posting an image of you with a gun *is* a true threat.