Libel Laws & Forum Posts - Be Careful With Comments

:hot: The following is an extract from the "Wikipedia" website which members of this and other forums would be well advised to note:......................

"The common law (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_law) origins of defamation lie in the *torts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tort) (civil wrongs)of slander (harmful statement in a transitory form, especially speech) and libel[4] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defamation#cite_note-3)[5] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defamation#cite_note-4) (harmful statement in a fixed medium, especially writing but also a picture, sign, or electronic broadcast), each of which gives a common law right of action.

"Defamation" is the general term used internationally, and is used in this article where it is not necessary to distinguish between "slander" and "libel". Libel and slander both require publication.[6] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defamation#cite_note-5) The fundamental distinction between libel and slander lies solely in the form in which the defamatory matter is published. If the offending material is published in some fleeting form, as by spoken words or sounds, sign language, gestures and the like, then this is slander. If it is published in more durable form, for example in written words, film, compact disc (CD), DVD, blogging and the like, then it is considered libel."


In this litigous day and age, we need to avoid expressing a view in either oral or written form that may be seen as defamatory to another person especially when it is likely to affect that person's future prospects unless the comments can be backed by hard evidence.


NO INSURANCE POLICY WILL PROTECT YOU FROM THIS TYPE OF LEGAL ACTION.

[MrJan]

Did defamation as part of my degree, wasn't really paying attention. Essentially though the burden of proof is on the defendant, not the prosecuting side. If, for example, you were to say that Valentino Rossi was a big gay and his lawyers subsequently took offence you would then have to prove that he was indeed 'a big gay'. However it must be proved by Rossi that his reputation was in some way damaged in the public eye. If everyone on the forum were to agree that he was a big gay then I think you'd get away with it :D

There are certain ways of getting around it, certainly in Journalism, which involve reporting it as someone elses words. E.g When the Max Mosely scandal broke most newspapers reported that the story had been printed elsewhere ('a tabloid newspaper claims bla bla bla nancy boy spanking...') By careful choices of words and syntax you can skirt around it quite nicely.

Ultimately though you have to consider how likely it is that people's lawyers are trawling the internet looking for defamatory remarks which they can use to sue people :D









Rossi's gay ;)

[Rollo]

Do you realise a) how difficult it actually is to prove whether you've actually suffered a distinct loss of reputation and b) how much benefit would actually be gained from doing so?

Suppose Rossi took Mr Yeo to court for the statements above. Yes they have been published, but in the general scheme of things, has Rossi's reputation suffered a distinct amount of damage as a result of this? Hardly.
Secondly, if Rossi was actually to bother to sue Mr Yeo for defamation, would he even be able to recover the value of his court costs in the decision? Again, I doubt it.

Even if Mr Yeo were to call Valentino Rossi a big ****in ****in ****in gay **** head **** face ****, then in all likelyhood very little if anything would be done about it at all.

[maxu05]

Firstly, Is Rossi Gay ? :) He would certainly gain some fans from the Gay Community :laugh: Secondly, we at this forum would testify that Mr Jan Yeo is mentally unstable and doesn't know what the **** he is typing :p : and thirdly, if he posted that Rossi was a ****in***in***in gay, he would be banned from the forums for life. :cheese:

[Mach24]

What if you said:

Allegedly, Rossi is as gay as a row of tents!

Would the fact that you prefaced with 'allegedly' stop you from going to prison and becoming someones b**ch?

[NinjaMaster]

Ah, good ol' 'allegedly', the journo's best friend.

Incidentally, has anyone on an internet forum ever been done for libel?

[MrJan]

What if you said:

Allegedly, Rossi is as gay as a row of tents!

Would the fact that you prefaced with 'allegedly' stop you from going to prison and becoming someones b**ch?

The fact that it's a tort would prevent you from going to prison :D You would have to compensate him to the tune of money lost by the damage to his reputation.

But the 'allegedly' does help quite a lot too

[leopard]

Unluckily, in giving opinion wherever it was, frequently slander and libel have their positions transparent or in subtle gradation. We may sometimes do it without any intention, although as far as possible we try to be objective it could happen by its nature, just because when we support someone it would always mean we bring the opponents down.

I'd rather think that opinions are characterized by its essence whether or not it was a proper material for others or public consumption, besides words used when writing the said opinion. A not-less-important factor is the state, the emotional condition of the reader at that relevant time.

We may see an object is something different according to which side we look at it. Each person have their perception translating the traffic. ;)

Incidentally, has anyone on an internet forum ever been done for libel?

Yep, but I've not yet seen a decision against a person over moderate, off-the-cuff opinions or obviously jocular comments about petty stuff and consider that unlikely to happen.

References to a few more serious matters are on the internet. Gutnick v Dow Jones (Melbourne-Aus) resulted in a $180k payout and $400k in legal expenses.

Taking reasonable care to avoid a hazard is far better than unnecessarily exposing yourself to it. :bomb:

[Mach24]

By the letter of the law most comments in the should Melandri be dropped thread could also end the author up in court.

Lets not get to serious now.....

[MrJan]

Mr Jan Yeo is mentally unstable and doesn't know what the **** he is typing

Careful with that defamation there ;) :D


By the letter of the law most comments in the should Melandri be dropped thread could also end the author up in court.

Nah, defamation has to result in the person's image being tarnished and Marco is doing a better job than any of us could by being rubbish :D

[patnicholls]

I quite like this thread, because of all the sections of Motorsport Forums, this section is the only one where people aren't calling each other {expletives deleted} s... :p

[ArmchairBikeFan]

So I can't say that Marco is a ****ing useless sack of ****, Casey is a whining little **** when he isn't winning, Dani is a boring ****, Jorge is an arrogant **** and Foggy is all of the above? :)

[MrJan]

Foggy is all of the above

And then some more :D The words t*** c*** and ****head were invented purely to describe Foggy ;)

[patnicholls]

I'm hovering over the 'delete thread' button, it's not quite too silly yet but nearly there... [that's not an invitation! :p ]

[MrJan]

Pat you are a Gent for letting it go on for this long :D I know many a forum mod who wouldn't have the stones to leave it open but as you say, it's nice that it's not aimed at forum members like elsewhere :up:



And you've got to admit that a certain British bike rider who may have run a team is a bit of a **** :p : (For all you know those stars could be censoring 'male' or ummmmmmmmm, nope can't think of another 4 letter word that isn't rude :D )

[leopard]

imo, I see this is general condition without any tendency being aimed at certain people, but rather a reminder and enrich our knowledge in taking part at any forum, unless clearly specified that a forum is dedicated to those are eager in open debate or freedom of speech.

I think the interesting part of discussion is diversity of opinion, joke, banter and sometimes insults may be found here and there to add the flavor into the discussion. Keep them in right balance, to put flavor more than their proportion wouldn't produce nice food.

[Roby44]

imo, I see this is general condition without any tendency being aimed at certain people, but rather a reminder and enrich our knowledge in taking part at any forum, unless clearly specified that a forum is dedicated to those are eager in open debate or freedom of speech.

I think the interesting part of discussion is diversity of opinion, joke, banter and sometimes insults may be found here and there to add the flavor into the discussion. Keep them in right balance, to put flavor more than their proportion wouldn't produce nice food.



Ditto!!

[leopard]

Ditto!!

good, Give credit where it's due :)

[Roby44]

good, Give credit where it's due :)

I can't get in trouble with the laws with a "Ditto " can I!!! :)

[MrJan]

I can't get in trouble with the laws with a "Ditto " can I!!!

I just misread 'ditto' as something completely different :eek: Let's just call it a ermmmmmmmmmm.. marital aid ;) :erm: And to answer your question Roby......depends if it's in public ;) :p :

[leopard]

Each forum have their own standard, here is not an exception. We don't hope this thread frightens you from posting, feel free to express opinions. ;)

I think once members are out of the right line, having defamation tendency against someone, they will have an advice to get back at the right way, forum cares for members. :)

[Roby44]

I just misread 'ditto' as something completely different :eek: Let's just call it a ermmmmmmmmmm.. marital aid ;) :erm: And to answer your question Roby......depends if it's in public ;) :p :

Oh no!!

Is larger font call for!! LOL..

[Mach24]

On Nooooooooo.

I have just realised, if Rossi wins in Germany I won't be able to go with my headline:

Rossi wins Sex-in-Ring!

[Roby44]

On Nooooooooo.

I have just realised, if Rossi wins in Germany I won't be able to go with my headline:

Rossi wins Sex-in-Ring!


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