Legality of the VIN POST

[explr1]

Please note that the Carfax info I posted on the closed thread was the basic model and year of the vehicle, LEGAL! Even if I bought the report I can do with it as I see fit!!! That info is PUBLIC RECORD, they just rip people off by doing the DMV search for you!!! Anyone can do a title and lean search on ANY vehicle through their DMV!!! It's public record!!! I bet no one is aware that you can also walk into the board of elections and pull anyones voter registration cards too, do you? Or the county clerks office to see property taxes paid by the guy next door, etc. Then theres the county court house for arrest and conviction records, divorce papers, child support payments, etc. Anyone heard of 1800SEARCH? This is another ripoff as they do the same public records search as well. All this information is PUBLIC RECORD and anyone can get it, all they have to do is ask!!!

 

[Robb]

the info you posted was from carfax.com, correct?

 

[Premier]

I came across the VIN post. Why(supposedly) can it not be posted here? Like explr1 said it IS a public record...

 

[explr1]

The info was a FREE make/model search. I know where your going with this and I do real property and other title searches for a living. There was no infringment to their copyright law. I did not copy, redistribute, retransmit, or commercially exploit any downloaded material. Hell, you can get the same info by entering the VIN number on Autozones site!!! YOU READ IT AND EDITED IT!!! YOU KNOW WHAT IT SAID!!! Maybe the original post should have been worded better than "run this VIN number for me." I took it as he found a nice used 93 Explorer 4 door and was wondering how many owners it's had over the years, or has it ever been wrecked or salvaged. I'm sure the guy isn't a stalker who just wanted to know where the "cute blonde" who was driving it lives, do you???

 

[Alec]

Then please next time specify what info you're looking for.

At this site we are sensitive to legal issues because we don't want this wonderful resource getting shut down for the activities of a few members. Please understand our concern.

Again, next time make your request more clear.

I appologize on behalf of the moderators for any inconvenience, but we prefer to err on the side of caution.

Just one reason this is the best Explorer site on the net!

 

[james t]

i locked the thread. sorry. it appeared to be yet another carfax request.

 

[stevedud]

SORRY

I apologize for all the trouble I have caused.
explr1 had it right, I saw a 93 for sale and was just looking for any info on it. I was able to do a search here and decipher the VIN, which gave me a little more info.

The last thing I want to do is cause any harm to this site, it in INVALUABLE.

Steve

 

[Robb]

IMO, the info you posted was directly copied and redistributed from Carfax.com. It was even described as being from Carfax.com. The post started with, "From Carfax.com,". This would violate Section 2 of Carfax's Terms Of Use.

How "public" the information is isn't the question, the point is that it was copied and pasted here directly from a copyrighted site.

Perhaps, in the future, simply advising members on where they can persue this type of information would be a good idea. If the information is public, and easy to obtain, let the members gather the info themselves with your guidance. Simply stating, "hey, you can go over to carfax.com and get all that information quickly and conveniently," would have been a better way of handling it.