4 Acronyms Bloggers Should Know

LLC
Limited Liability Company
“A limited liability company is a hybrid type of legal structure that provides the limited liability features of a corporation and the tax efficiencies and operational flexibility of a partnership.”
U.S. Small Business Administration: Chose Your Business Structure, Limited Liability Company

Is your blog a business? Do you hope for it be one in the future? Start now. Yes, you could hack your way through the forms on your own. Or you can pay about the same amount for a lawyer to get it right the first time.

SLAPP
Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation
“SLAPPs are lawsuits brought against those who communicate with their government or speak out on issues of public interest.”
Public Participation Project

Corporation X doesn’t like what you said about their restaurant in your online review. They threaten to sue. It’s a SLAPP. Can you afford the legal fees to prove they have no case? Or will you have to take down your review and walk away?

The PPP has a list of State Anti-SLAPP Laws, “Pertinent laws and judicial decisions are listed according to state.”

EFF
Electronic Frontier Foundation
“The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading nonprofit organization defending civil liberties in the digital world.”
EFF: About

Check out EFF’s Legal Guide for Bloggers

FTC
Federal Trade Commission
“Under the law, claims in advertisements must be truthful, cannot be deceptive or unfair, and must be evidence-based. ”
FTC: Advertising and Marketing Basics

Did you get a freebie? Is your notification clear and conspicuous? The FTC has disclosure guidelines.

Bonus phrase: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act
“No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider” (47 U.S.C. § 230). ”
EFF: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act

“Section 230 grants interactive online services of all types, including news websites, blogs, forums, and listservs, broad immunity from certain types of legal liability stemming from content created by others.”
Digital Media Law Project: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act

Protecting you from what happens in your comment section.

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Courtesy of a talk on “Keeping it Legit: Common Legal Issues Facing Bloggers” by Keith Lee, held last month at Desert Island Supply Company, hosted by Birmingham Bloggers. Mr. Lee is a lawyer with Hamer Law Group, Birmingham AL and blogs at Associate’s Mind. Any good suggestions are his. Any mistakes are mine. Neither suggestions nor mistakes were/are intended as legal advice.

Meanwhile Back at the Ranch 3.4.15

A commenter was kind enough to ask how Rodney has been doing [Queen].

I knew there had been a lot of saddle seat posts lately, but I didn’t realize how much other stuff as well. It has been a week since Milton appeared [Revisited, Feb 24] and two weeks since Rodney has [Gold Star, Feb 17]. In total, the backyard duo graced five posts in February: two above, two additional for Milton [Goldisnoot & Miseries], one joint [Shark Attack].

It hasn’t been a policy statement. More of a winter statement. I’ve been busy. It’s been cold. Daylight savings starts soon. Motivation is bound to follow

Everyone is fine. Outstanding even. Out. Standing. In the field. Ha. I crack myself up.

Weather
Everyone jeers at the South when we panic over an 1″ of snow or temps under 20oF. It’s all in what you are used to. When a city gets 2″ of snow on average [US Climate data], it doesn’t invest heavily in snow-moving equipment. Similarly, I’ve been colder here than in New England. I don’t have the clothes. Our house isn’t built for it. When I lived in New Hampshire, we rode all winter – in sturdy, indoor arenas.

The horses have been fine with it. No blankets. No problems. Last winter, we had to stop blanketing Rodney when we realized he was shocking himself [Zap]. However, he was coming in at night to keep Mathilda company. The two of them kept the barn toasty, once we closed out the drafts [Windbreak].

With free-range, naked horses, we’ve been on a learning curve for feed and hay. Both have been climbing all winter.

Rodney
Rodney has been awesome. We’ve been able to put him back on oil [The Oily Truth] for the static and to increase his feed without ballistics. In past winters, Rodney has backslid. He would get spooky and be unable to concentrate. Does cold make his back uncomfortable? Does he stress over possible shocks? Who knows. In the past, we’ve had to mentally put him up on blocks & come back in the spring.

The fact that we are working with him at all, much less making tiny progress, is excellent. OTOH, ‘Guess what, my horse didn’t fling his head up in the air like a giraffe when I tried to brush his face.’ doesn’t make riveting blog narrative.

Milton
I take Milton on my walks around the field. It’s not much, but it does interfere with his day and require that he respond to me. My barn help groundworks Milton on the weekends. I have intentions of working Milton during the week, but then it rains, or snows, or does a little of both.

Onwards
There is still lingering despair coloring my attitude. I’m hoping that heat and light and birdsong give me the momentum to capitalize on the positive progress and ignore the soul-sucking negatives.

I’m not wishing my life away. Just waiting for winter to be over. Quickly.
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Gratuitous Pasture Picture

Milton, Rodney, Blue
Milton, Rodney, Blue

Show Today: CALMHS, Montgomery, AL

I’m going to a horse show today. It’s a live show. It has horses. It doesn’t have live horses.

Okay, enough cuteness.

I will be competing in my first model horse show: Central Alabama Live Model Horse Show. It’s a “live” show in that people bring their models to a physical location. The alternative is a photo show, where photos are mailed in while competitors stay home.

How are the models judged? How are the classes run? How will I know where to be when? Haven’t a clue. I’ve talked to folks. I’ve seen pictures of tables in show reports on Braymere Custom Saddlery. I’ve read “The ‘ABC’s’ of Model Horse Showing” by Tracy Tariska on the Breyer site as recommended by the show organizer. Still lost. Bearing peppermints, I shall respectfully throw myself on the mercy of the organizer and other competitors. I foresee no problems with this plan. These are my people. Horse folks are always willing to talk.

Who’s coming? Of mine, Spotted (actually a clean stunt double) and Mr. Spot. The are both Knabstruppers from the Schleich line. I’m also bringing about a dozen or so of the herd sent to me by a friend [Surprise]. This is the equivalent of pulling horses out of the field and saying, ‘Eventing sounds like fun. Let’s go.’

My goal is to have an adventure and get a blog post out of it. Win/win. If I do well, I will have a good time. If Spotted & I get thrown out on our ears for breaking every rule in the book, I will have a great story.

One thing I’ve learned already, getting the horses loaded is a lot less traumatic:

mh box backseat

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Other model horses on Rodney’s Saga: All Hail Augustus Invictus, A Guest Post