Forum Safety + Defamation

Started by Jenee, February 01, 2008, 02:34:05 PM

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Jenee

General Information about Defamation

***Note: This is, by no means, the end-all, be-all of what is considered defamation. These are basic guidelines that the mods and admins have been asked to follow when reviewing posts. Each mod or admin uses their own discretion when posts enter that 'gray area' but we generally err on the side of caution.

Quote from: mediastar on December 21, 2007, 05:22:23 PM
Defamation is the act of injuring someone's character or reputation with false statements. In a court case under English law it would be for the defendant to prove the statement was true - not for the victim to prove it was untrue.


Quote from: mediastar on December 21, 2007, 09:29:24 PM
Freedom of speech doesn't really exist or it exists with exceptions including:
- defamation
- perjury
- contempt of court
- statements sub judice
- copyright infringement.


http://www.expertlaw.com/library/personal_injury/defamation.html

This article gives an idea on the areas of most risk:

    * Attacks on a person's professional character or standing
    * Allegations that an unmarried person is unchaste
    * Allegations that a person has had sex with someone other than their partner
    * Allegations that a person is infected with a sexually transmitted disease
    * Allegations that the person has committed a crime of moral turpitude

I have no idea which jurisdiction would apply if eg a member of Spanish royalty took offence about a comment posted by Spaniard on this forum which is hosted in the United States. But I think we should keep all defamatory comment off the forum. If members or mods think any defamation or comment is OK because of freedom of speech they are wrong - and probably wrong in all relevant jurisdictions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech

Defamatory posts made today and removed today are probably OK because we are doing what we can to take the post off the site. If they are left for days or weeks or month more people will be able to read the comment and we are at risk.

In summary, defamation puts us at risk. Abuse is against the rules and it is best if it is edited - and in some cases what looks like abuse could in fact be defamation. Criticism by itself is not a problem. And if a reference/link to a reputable source/s which made the original claim is provided then I think we are OK if we are just reporting the previous allegation. We are even safer if we add "allegedly" before the claim.

A note on "reputable sources"

We consider "reputable sources" to be actual publications (whether print + web, or just web). Websites that are strictly blogs are not considered "reputable sources". Publications that have blog areas are considered reputable sources. This is all "for the purposes of this forum" of course, and doesn't extend anywhere else on the web.

For example, The Sun is a print+web publication. Since they are a tabloid, some people do not consider them reputable because they generally don't bother to fact-check, however for the purposes described above, we would consider a link to a Sun article as support for a statement a "reputable source"

Now, take Monsters and Critics as another example - they are a web only publication, however they are still considered a reputable source, even though they don't offer their stories in print. If you view their "about" page, you'll see the owner's information, addresses, contact information, they have an official staff of writers, and run themselves as a business.

On the other hand, look at lilibetsroyalblog, the "official blog of QEII" - this is not a reputable source. I probably don't need to explain why! :laugh:

I think that where most people get confused, is in the issue of the tabloids. Sure, they may post drivel and fail to fact-check their stories, but they are publications run as businesses to provide a service to the public at large. That's all we are looking for in terms of 'reputable sources'; citing Joe Shmoe's Twitter post as back-up for an allegation likely won't protect us in a court of law.

Quote from: mediastar on January 13, 2008, 08:49:01 AM
Telegraph

Nigel Smith, the private shareholder activist, is suing four retail investors for allegedly publishing defamatory remarks about him on ADVFN's bulletin boards. He has already received £20,000 in damages and costs from three other individuals.

It's worth noting that defamation can apply to forum members as well as the subject of the topic!



http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/22/news.blogging

Warning to abusive bloggers as judge tells site to reveal names

Quote· Football fans may face expensive libel claims
· Defamation lawyers see growth area in cyberspace
"It does not do to dwell on dreams, and forget to live" -Dumbledore

Windsor

#1
A Message about Forum Safety.

Please don’t give out any personal information to anyone. This includes your last name, address, phone number or email address. The internet makes it very easy for strangers to find personal information about people-- phone numbers, addresses, personal records, etc. Please be careful when sending PMs to members, and never give out your personal information! Also, please keep in mind that this is a public forum and you do not have to be registered to read it. Please use caution when posting, as we have no way of sucessfully tracking visitors to the site who are not registered.


Very recently, there was a story about a girl who met a man online and was subsequently raped by him. While this is an extreme case of what can happen it’s important to realize that bad things can happen. Don’t let your guard down because someone promises you things.

Thank you for you help. If you have any questions please contact a member of the Forum Staff.