Slander on message boards

[spiderfrommars]

Can you get sued for slander/libel on message boards? Any known cases?

[Predabot]

Depends on what country you're based in. For instance, that law them siilly yanks passed recently makes it illegal to hide behind a taken name on a message-board, but we have no such NONSENSE here in sweden.

I personally have never heard of any case anywhere about someone suing someone else for internet-slander btw. And the only guy I've ever seen being interested in doing such, is Don Murphy....

[spiderfrommars]

I've actually found loads of examples thanks to google.

stuupid yanks

No need for that.

[Brendocon]

Crying out loud. If you're going to call somebody stupid, at least spell it right.

See no reason why MB posts can't be construed as libel. Spread of character-damaging misinformation in a public area...

[Predabot]

No need for that.

All right, sorted. After reading about their laws recently on http://www.dumblaws.com/ one does get a tilted view no doubt...

Crying out loud. If you're going to call somebody stupid, at least spell it right.

I put the extra U in there on purpose, after catching a glance of some british parenting-show, showcasing a pair of truly obnoxious children. One of them who cried out to his mother when she was disciplining him: "You stuuupid git!" It was awesome.

[spiderfrommars]

If I said loads of damaging untrue things about Preds, but I was untraceable, would BF be liable?

[Legion]

If I said loads of damaging untrue things about Preds, but I was untraceable, would BF be liable?

what do you mean If?

[Metal Vendetta]

If I said loads of damaging untrue things about Preds, but I was untraceable, would BF be liable?

How untraceable is Marsh Gibbon, Mr. I-have-your-home-address?

[spiderfrommars]

It exists within a vortex outside of time and space.

Anyway, I'm moving.

[Impactor returns 2.0]

Technically the message board owner would have to take some responsiblity I presume - but slander is only slander when the effect is wide spread.

for example - I think the Queen is a pedophile, isnt going to be heard by many ppl if I write it here, and a Judge would take that into account, where as, if daily tabloid were to write it, the message would reach millions of ppl and is 'slanderous'

I guess its got somthing to do with how influencial you are to your target.

[Metal Vendetta]

for example - I think the Queen is a pedophile, isnt going to be heard by many ppl if I write it here, and a Judge would take that into account, where as, if daily tabloid were to write it, the message would reach millions of ppl and is 'slanderous'

I guess its got somthing to do with how influencial you are to your target.

If you say "I think the Queen is a paedophile" then does that count as slander? Surely the "I think" means that it's only your opinion, and not an intended statement of fact. Most message boards would have some sort of disclaimer that states whatever is posted is the poster's own opinion and that the site is not responsible for the content anyway, right?

It would be sad if Besty's flat was burned down because someone posted a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed on here though.

[Legion]

Interestingly, our disclaimer/forum rules don't really say anything about the content of user's posts not (necessarily) being the opinion of the moderators/admins...

but then again, as we're all Brend anyway (99% of us anyway), i guess that would be kind of redudant...

[Guest]

Technically the message board owner would have to take some responsiblity I presume - but slander is only slander when the effect is wide spread.

for example - I think the Queen is a pedophile, isnt going to be heard by many ppl if I write it here, and a Judge would take that into account, where as, if daily tabloid were to write it, the message would reach millions of ppl and is 'slanderous'

I guess its got somthing to do with how influencial you are to your target.

Slander is spoken, Libel is written/printed. The only grey area, IMO, is where someone is quoted in print as saying something, however that is most likely to be classed as slander, as it is something that was said, then later printed.

In the case of libel on a message board, or any website, for that matter, the ultimate responsibility is to the owner of the content.

If someone posts something offensive on a message board, and someone decides to take legal action against it, the board owner is the first point of contact and they are then charged with contacting the poster. If no legal action can be taken against the poster within a reasonable period, then the action is taken against the board owner. Depending on the severity of the offending article and the administrative regulations, the action can result in anything from the removal of the offending article, to the removal of the offending user, or in extreme cases, the removal of the message board itself.

I have seen this most extreme case first-hand on a youth organisation's website where the anonymity of the internet, due to the lack of administrative abilities, resulted in a flurry of offensive comments about other users and the website was removed.

Another example is the FriendReunited website, where instead of removing it, the administration installed new tools and self-governing options to prevent their members running wild.

But in general, most well-run websites and message boards would remove offending posts/members long before anything went legal.

[Metal Vendetta]

Don Murphy's a wanker

[Legion]

Don Murphy's a wanker

Now that is the truth.

[Best First]

good job i have hidden my identity through a carefully constructed disguise.

[Denyer]

Don Murphy's a wanker

How many men, women and mammals in general aren't?

[Metal Vendetta]

Don Murphy's a wanker

How many men, women and mammals in general aren't?

Hence, not libellous, unless he can provide evidence that he never has.

[Best First]

Don Murphy's a wanker

How many men, women and mammals in general aren't?

that's a rubbish venn diagram.