Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
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Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 23, 2011 15:16:34 GMT -5
All of the cases cited are instances where the plaintiff is being attacked by name (and most likely in rich personal detail) by a defendant who owned a blog and didn't take any measures to dissociate the blog from his/herself.
I'd wager that in all of the cases, the plaintiff also knew the defendant personally (or knew who the defendant was) before pursuing a case.
I maintain that no half-sane judge would set a precedent that if two usernames got into a war of words on a message board, they could sue each other for libel. Libel, as palmbeachpaul aptly pointed out, requires that the plaintiff demonstrate he/she has suffered financial damages. You cannot 'damage' an anonymous Internet personality.
Heaven help us if some judge ever sets a precedent otherwise. At that point, I could write "Mickey Mouse sucks." and have Disney hunt me down.
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billisonboard
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Post by billisonboard on Mar 23, 2011 15:22:12 GMT -5
If that does happen, I hear that if you call Goofy he will confirm it as fact.
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billisonboard
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Post by billisonboard on Mar 23, 2011 17:47:47 GMT -5
Of course, if I was the judge, I would ask ... "why are you such a doody head?"
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Post by privateinvestor on Mar 23, 2011 20:28:00 GMT -5
See, that's the problem, I actually think that when you contribute to a discussion that is potentially fiery in nature, you should not be faint of heart. Cyberstalking has become epidemic in the USA and there are very few resources to deal with the plethora of laws and remedies for those who use the Internet for evil purposes. However with that being said we have two members here who have been involved in defamation, libel and/or slander cases on the P&M Message Boards and one did address this (ref: reply #24) and I don't think the other member here would appreciate it if his case was discussed. It may not have been settled yet and involves MSN.. Quite possibly he may just read this thread and want to join in this discussion..??
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Post by privateinvestor on Mar 23, 2011 20:47:58 GMT -5
Of course, if I was the judge, I would ask why someone chose to participate in a controversial bulletin board such as one on religion or politics if one was easily offended. Talk about asking for it. Before most of these cases go before a Judge they are pretty well screened and reviewed by legal teams who also now employee computer whiz kids as their legal aids to obtain names and addresses on the internet blogs or message boards. And some cases are for megabucks and well prepared before going to court. I know of libel cases that were about Facebook and political blogs with anonymous names as the defendants in these cases..
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Post by privateinvestor on Mar 23, 2011 20:54:44 GMT -5
I wish our member of this Message Board would add his comments again because I am interested to know how his case went...I was somewhat involved since I used to work for the MSN Community Asst Manager @ 4 years ago who I think was also named in that law suit or if not her then her Boss was, I think?? OK I just sent him a PM and asked if he would like to join us in this discussion and add his expertise..because I am still just learning about a subject that I find very interesting ..along with the Barry Bonds perjury case in SF CA...
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Post by commentator on Mar 24, 2011 8:52:05 GMT -5
I found JoeBanker lickety split and he shut right the hell up. JoeBanker was defaming someone? Well, imagine that.
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Post by commentator on Mar 24, 2011 8:55:50 GMT -5
I wish our member of this Message Board would add his comments again because I am interested to know how his case went...I was somewhat involved since I used to work for the MSN Community Asst Manager @ 4 years ago who I think was also named in that law suit or if not her then her Boss was, I think?? OK I just sent him a PM and asked if he would like to join us in this discussion and add his expertise..because I am still just learning about a subject that I find very interesting ..along with the Barry Bonds perjury case in SF CA... PI, since I got a PM from you I'm wondering if you're talking about me. If so, feel free to offer any facts or conjecture (just be sure to lable them appropriately) you have to offer. If you aren't talking about me, offer any facts or conjecture you have about MSN and me, anyway.
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Post by privateinvestor on Mar 24, 2011 9:01:39 GMT -5
.
If you aren't talking about me, offer any facts or conjecture you have about MSN and me, anyway.
Hey Commentator thanx for joining this discussion.....do you have anything to add re: message boards members being sued for libel, defamation, or slander??...I know we discussed this @ four years ago..
I thought you threatened to bring a law suit against Arbutus Pacific for his constant demeaning and degrading of your Dad who was a WW2 B-17 Pilot and flew bombing runs over Dresden Germany..??
Not 100% sure if that was the case or not?? But I did discuss it with the MSN Asst Community Manager when I was a Moderator..and at that time in 2007 your case was in the initial litigation process, I think?? I was curious because ArbutusPacific lived in Switzerland and was not a US Citizen...anyhow I though that was very interesting at the time
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Post by commentator on Mar 24, 2011 9:08:06 GMT -5
P.I., if you and I talked about message board members being sued for libel, it must have been a general discussion. I have not been involved as a party on either side of a suit involving an allegation of defamation, libel or slander. Maybe MSN talked about taking legal action against me but they never did (or, perhaps I should say, they haven't so far). Instead, they merely attempted to destroy my professional life but that's another story.
As for AP, if I threatened to sue him, I was blowing smoke. And, while he was a B-17 crew member, my dad was a radio operator, not a pilot.
BTW, in my opinion, AP was a self-serving, trouble making liar from a similar but not identical mold as bobndc.
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Post by privateinvestor on Mar 24, 2011 9:15:47 GMT -5
OK I thought you were preparing or thinking about suing Arbutus Pacific and we discussed it.....But unfortunately he had been permanently banned @2006?? And I could not find his email address for you when I was a Moderator on the P&M Message Board in 2007... If you wanted to sue AP I would have written you a check to help with your legal costs.. AP started a Thread about the Dresden Bombing in WW2 and tried to make the case that the AF Pilots should be tried as war criminals and that thread became one of the most heated we ever had on the P&M Message Board..and he really went after you, your Dad and anyone who disagreed with his warped sense of history
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Post by commentator on Mar 24, 2011 9:18:31 GMT -5
On the original topic of this thread, I will say that I have erred by giving out too much personal information to too many people. In particular, a couple of former moderators at MoneyCentral know way more about me than I am comfortable having them know.
My advice to all readers is to be very slow to share personal information with strangers on the Internet.
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Post by privateinvestor on Mar 24, 2011 9:23:29 GMT -5
My advice to all readers is to be very slow to share personal information with strangers on the Internet.
Especially your name or email address.
However Computer Whiz kids( & reformed computer hackers) just need a URL address to locate you ..
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Post by magichat on Mar 24, 2011 9:25:01 GMT -5
Ed1066 once threatened to sue Seachange on the Horizon, not sure that anything ever came of it. Maybe Ed can shed some light on the topic if he wishes.
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Post by privateinvestor on Mar 24, 2011 9:30:19 GMT -5
This message has been deleted.
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Post by magichat on Mar 24, 2011 9:35:41 GMT -5
Ed1066 once threatened to sue Seachange on the Horizon, not sure that anything ever came of it. Maybe Ed can shed some light on the topic if he wishes. Yea you are right But I think SCOH apoligized to Ed..and all was well for awhile..but ED should speak to that one..?? You very well may be right. Seachange seemed to have disappeared long before the move to the new board, not sure what ever happened to him.
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Post by privateinvestor on Mar 24, 2011 9:38:33 GMT -5
I really don't know and should not comment..but very upset to learn today that ole ArbutusPacific was NOT sued for defamation, libel or slander because if ever there was a case that would be one..IMHO
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Post by commentator on Mar 24, 2011 9:44:10 GMT -5
Seachange was screwed over by the right wing moderators because they didn't like his over-the-top ultra left wing rhetoric. For example, diver once explicitly stated he had deleted one of seachange's posts because he (diver) disagreed with it. Diver also stated that if seachange posted something like that again, diver would ban him.
The posters of over-the-top ultra right wing rhetoric received considerably more slack from the moderators (even from left wing moderators like lucvulgaris and deminmaine).
Just my opinion.
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Post by privateinvestor on Mar 24, 2011 9:48:34 GMT -5
]
Comm we are not supposed to discuss Mods here on this board.. That is an Impeachable Offense and is considered to be Mod Bashing...and with two Mod Bashing Deletes on your record you are gone and soon forgotten,to then end up in the scrap heap of history on this board..
Mod Bashing is a violation of the CofC but member bashing is ok and not a violation of the CofC...I think??
Suggest you delete your comment before you get a "Mod Bashing" strike against you....believe me on this one.OK??
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Post by commentator on Mar 24, 2011 9:58:50 GMT -5
Thanks but no thanks. I'm not the one who brought up discussion of the old board and I'm not going to delete a post that logically follows in a thread someone else started.
I wouldn't even have known about this thread if YOU hadn't invited me here. Oh, you're the one who started it, too.
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Post by privateinvestor on Mar 24, 2011 10:03:09 GMT -5
Ok but I am becoming an authority on Mod Bashing lately... If you have been found guilt of "Mod Bashing" you have to go to jail and don't even stop but just go..
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Post by commentator on Mar 24, 2011 10:04:33 GMT -5
In an aside, if "no mod bashing" means the mods have carte blanc to say and do anything on these boards without the rest of us being allowed to respond on these boards, then too bad for everyone concerned.
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Post by commentator on Mar 24, 2011 10:17:46 GMT -5
Ok but I am becoming an authority on Mod Bashing lately... If you have been found guilt of "Mod Bashing" you have to go to jail and don't even stop but just go.. There was a time when I presumed that anyone I was meeting for the first time to be a generous, honest person until they proved me wrong. Now I have two exceptions to that general rule - anyone who works for MSN and any moderator. Anyone who works for MSN has to satisfy me that they are not both self-serving and dishonest before I'll willingly have anything to do with them. I'm not as down on an unknown moderator but I'm not willing to assume their motives are pure, either. If that attitude is "mod bashing," so be it.
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AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP
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Post by AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP on Mar 24, 2011 10:18:32 GMT -5
Of course, if I was the judge, I would ask why someone chose to participate in a controversial bulletin board such as one on religion or politics if one was easily offended. Talk about asking for it. We aren't talking about being offended. We are talking about being libeled. We are talking about, for example, having $400,000 in loans out from private parties, and someone telling them and everyone else who might do business with you that you're a liar, a fraud, and you have declared bankruptcy when those facts are not true. If those false statements cost you, you're entitled to seek damages from the person that libeled you. Period. Still a tough case to make, because you have to demonstrate that it cost you. Maybe it did, but it's not easy to get someone that doesn't trust you and won't do business with you in the first place, to then actually participate in suing the party they relied on for that information, now isn't it? And if you can't get a witness, how do you make your case?
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Post by privateinvestor on Mar 24, 2011 10:28:49 GMT -5
Still a tough case to make, because you have to demonstrate that it cost you. Maybe it did, but it's not easy to get someone that doesn't trust you and won't do business with you in the first place, to then actually participate in suing the party they relied on for that information, now isn't it? And if you can't get a witness, how do you make your case?
Not too sure because I know you can sue for stalking on a message board if it's continous and incessant and leads to severe mental anquish and in a few cases suicide...we had one or two of those when the P&M Message Board started in 2004..
I put together a file of messages that were all sick and twisted personal insults from one member on the P&M Message Board and emailed them to my lawyer for her opinion....after several months I got a reply, that stated .. yes!! those messages would probably be classified in legal terms as slander..but to prove injury in a court of law and intent to injure is very difficult, but if you file suit you can always settle some cases out of court.. But there are so many of these cases lately it is tough to say what will be prosecuted and what will not..each one is different....and just being served with a law suit will put the fear of God in some stalkers which is being done lately in small claims court for only @$5000 - $7500 but these are mostly small businesses whose reputations were being denigrated by some weirdos on message boards..
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Post by commentator on Mar 24, 2011 10:33:07 GMT -5
"I have nothing but love and admiration for tax protestors. Today's jail birds are tomorrow's heroes"
As far as I know, "tax protesters" and "illegal tax protesters" are two different groups.
It is one thing to believe the current tax structure is unfair or too complicated or just not the way it should be. It is another thing to falsely claim the Internal Revenue Code is unconstitutional or that only federal employees have to pay income taxes or that wages aren't really income. Illegal tax protesters claim the law is illegal for reasons like those in the preceding sentence. Other tax protesters want the law changed because they believe it could be made better than it currently is.
As for my disdain for the con artists who make up a large part of the illegal tax protester group, take a look at what their lies did for Wesley Snipes.
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AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP
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Post by AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP on Mar 24, 2011 10:39:39 GMT -5
Just having some fun with you, commentator. Believe me when I say that I HATE the people charging money to put people into tax scams that land the people being sold in jail while the salesman is safely offshore, following the tax laws they are encouraging others to break, or otherwise indemnified.
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Post by privateinvestor on Mar 24, 2011 11:03:56 GMT -5
PBP Ole Commentator and I go way back on the MSN P&M Message Board and he gave me a "neutral grade" for when I was a Moderator, probably because I was AWOL most of the time..
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Post by commentator on Mar 24, 2011 11:10:11 GMT -5
PBP Ole Commentator and I go way back on the MSN P&M Message Board and he gave me a "neutral grade" for when I was a Moderator, probably because I was AWOL most of the time.. If there were two who received a higher grade than neutral, then I don't remember the other one.
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Post by privateinvestor on Mar 24, 2011 11:15:46 GMT -5
PBP Ole Commentator and I go way back on the MSN P&M Message Board and he gave me a "neutral grade" for when I was a Moderator, probably because I was AWOL most of the time.. If there were two who received a higher grade than neutral, then I don't remember the other one. LongSam?? Solarman 2005?? What grade = neutral ?? @ D+??
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