forum/chat room libel on radio 2

[beast5680]

jeremy vine will be discussing this subject in a bit on radio 2 which should prove interesting

[TimM]

I'm not going to be able to get myself in a position to listen live  

Can somebody let me know where it is likely to hide as a download afterwards  [-o<

[the loon]

also on BBC message borads

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbradio2/F2142824?thread=2557286

[TimM]

Had a quick read, cut throught he usual chatroom rubbish and it sounds like this is the £10,000 awarded to an MP who was slandered on the intenet.

If so it makes you think  

£10,000 roughly equals to  either, £4 per member, £1,000 per Moderator, £3,000 per admin/web, or just shut the door, and last one out turn off the lights - NO MORE MUD-CLUB  

Ladies and gentlemen, just bear this in mind next time you are posting  :?

[Brian the Sn@il]

guys it was the person who Made the Posts that had the fine, not the Forum Owner.

We need to remember that its what You and I type on here that is Liable and NOT the web site as this is a forum and not a Paged Website.

[Thrasher]

Brian.....the trouble is - who *are* you? We couldn't send you a letter, phone you ...

Now ... there are *some* people here that are locatable.

The law will grab *someone*

[the loon]

guys it was the person who Made the Posts that had the fine, not the Forum Owner.
We need to remember that its what You and I type on here that is Liable and NOT the web site as this is a forum and not a Paged Website.

I think it would be doddgy ground though.
It maybe the originator or the post who gets sued but if the moderators/forum owners didnt take action to distance themselves from this persons views could they not be leaving themselves open as well?
If the moderators/forum owners left the postings etc as open they could be picked up as guilt by association e.g. they are not doing anything to show this is not there view and by leaving a post open to all to view they are promoting it. If you can see what I'm saying.

[EvilEd]

By moderating the forums, you make yourselves responsible.

If you are asked to remove a post, the you have an obligation to do so or you would be responsible. If you leave them to post, don't offer a "Moderation" service and are never asked to remove the offending post, then you are not responsible! It has been made quite clear in this case.

EE :twisted:

[Dirty Gertie]

It was a UKIP fella; in a nutshell, some woman on a right wing forum board accused him of being a Nazi, a sex offender and other things, in return the guy is quoted as saying he will bankrupt her to get his 'damages'.
story here

[Brian the Sn@il]

the courts are not going to mess about after Moderators and / or the Forum Owners.
EVERYONE is detectable, and traced very easily.

It will always be the Person why TYPED the slander who gets into trouble.

For example YOU wrtie a letter, a really nasty letter to someone, and you ask your Sister to post it in the letter box.

YOur sister wont be in court for posting the letter would she ? :lol:  you will for writing it.

[Thrasher]

How can we prove *you* wrote that ^

We can only prove t came from your IP

[datalas]

How can we prove *you* wrote that ^

We can only prove t came from your IP

we can't really prove that either, we can only prove that it *looks* like it came from your IP...

If I wanted to forge something, I could, but I don't want to so I don't...

Either way you look at it there is actually precident for a forum being dragged over the coals.  Whilst it *might* end up with the originator of the post ending up in trouble, there is an important period of time where there is a lot of agro for the owners, "agro" in this sense meaning legal liablilty, work and costs...

[Disco Geordie]

Looking at IP's surely if someone is using a wireless laptop they could make it look almost like any random IP they like, A wi fi spot or just being outside someones home that has a unprotected wireless network.

Can't see how an IP can stand up as evidence in a case.

[datalas]

sometimes it can, sometimes it can't

In cases where it doesn't they go back to persecuting the people whose identities aren't as obscured.  Viz a viz the people that own the site.

[mark.yellow.series.3]

in this day and age, everyone gets blamed right up the line. there has been cases at work where a foreman has made the wrong decision and the manager, ops director, managing directer have all been punished.

so the rule of thumb is to keep us all safe is watch what you type.

[Dirty Gertie]

they go back to persecuting the people whose identities aren't as obscured.  

Hmmmm, I don't think you actually meant that, did you Daz??

Persecution is persistent mistreatment of an individual or group by another group. The most common forms are religious persecution and ethnic persecution. The terms have some overlap, as religion is an aspect of culture that can be a barrier.

The most common scenario is a majority group persecuting a minority group.

The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries adopting the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case against an individual suspected of breaking the law in a criminal trial.

definitions from Wikipedia

[pedant] so should the mods and admin ensure they are using the words they think they are using when advising the membership?? [/pedant] (and Law graduate!)

[datalas]

they go back to persecuting the people whose identities aren't as obscured.  

Hmmmm, I don't think you actually meant that, did you Daz??

I was having a bad day :)

[Eeyore]

guys it was the person who Made the Posts that had the fine, not the Forum Owner.

We need to remember that its what You and I type on here that is Liable and NOT the web site as this is a forum and not a Paged Website.

However (and usually), if a newspaper publishes an article subsequently deemed slanderous, offensive etc, it is the newpaper that gets collared, not the originating author. Despite claims and caveats the editors do have responsibility over what they allow to be published.

The interesting thing in the case highlighted here is the precendet it sets for this not being the case. The next newpaper slander case could be well worth watching!

cheers
 8)
Eeyore

[Brian the Sn@il]

Yep that's a good point mate, it is the newspaper that gets collared.

But everything is passed thought he editor to check.
Could the editor be equal to a Mod ??
And maybe the owner of the newspaper be equal to the owner of the Forum ?

This is all very interesting stuff that needs laws properly drawn up.

[Wanderer]

they go back to persecuting the people whose identities aren't as obscured.  

Hmmmm, I don't think you actually meant that, did you Daz??

I was having a bad day :)

I thought persecuting was actually more apt in the circumstances :lol:

At the end of the day it's better safe than sorry.

Ed