As long as the named insured does not own, host, or exercise control over the chatroom or bulletin board, you are correct about the CGL coverage. Of course, as you stated, there are other exclusions to consider but as long as none of them are applicable and the definition of personal and advertising injury is met, then the CGL form will apply.

This is a timely question in that lawsuits have arisen recently wherein businesses have sued individuals who have published complaints against those businesses. For example, in an article in the New York Times, it was reported that a towing company in Michigan sued a man who had created a Facebook page posting comments about his treatment by the company. The company claimed defamation and said the site was hurting business. Attorneys consider lawsuits like this to be examples of a legal maneuver called strategic lawsuit against public participation, or SLAPP.

These SLAPP lawsuits are usually filed by companies against individuals, but it is very conceivable that the same thing could happen against another company, a company that has a CGL form to cover its liability exposures. Should this happen (and preferably, before this happens), insured companies should know that the exclusions pertaining to coverage B in the CGL form need to be examined since there may be no coverage available for the insured.