However, the emergence of virtual worlds like The Sims Online and Second Life has brought the issue to the forefront again with several much-publicized cases. Santa Clara University Assistant Professor Eric Goldman has covered this in his 2005 paper, "Speech Showdowns at the Virtual Corral", in which he writes:
Neither free speech rights nor private property and contract rights are absolute. Where they intersect in the physical world, confusing legal doctrines usually emerge, such as the U.S. Supreme Court cases addressing private speech at privately-owned company towns and shopping centers. Though a bright-line rule has emerged—the First Amendment pertains only to state actors—the rule provides little prospective guidance because private actors can be characterized as state actors in some circumstances. In the online world, the speech/rights dichotomy also raises complex issues. Online private actors routinely use their private property (such as computers and networks) to create virtual spaces designed for speech, though speaker access is usually controlled by contract. An online provider exercising its property or contract rights inevitably squelches a speaker's rights. Nevertheless, despite online providers' capacity to exercise their rights capriciously, courts so far have unanimously held that private online providers are not state actors for First Amendment purposes.
So when you find yourself bumping up against the boundaries of behavior in an online community, you might want to consider whether that community is really the right community for you. If so, then you can either adapt your behavior to the code of conduct or you can use persuasive means to try to change the code of conduct. But don't make cries of "Censorship!" -- you gave up that right when you joined.
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