On Tuesday, 8 October 2013 at 15:42:25 UTC, Joseph Rushton
Wakeling wrote:
On 08/10/13 15:56, Chris wrote:
I see. A private person wouldn't possibly be able to moderate
the forum all the
time. However, mailing lists (a forum via email) might be a
different beast
altogether, because everyone is writing personal email
messages that are not
public in the same way this forum is. So if someone writes "I
think that Mr. XYZ
is a **** and a ****! **** you!", nobody could possibly sue
the one who founded
the email forum for these comments?
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, get your own legal advice, etc.
etc. (Should have written that in my previous email too. See
what a minefield this international legal thing is?:-)
Generally speaking it seems like the typical experience in the
UK is that if you have the means for people to report abusive
or libellous material posted on your forum, and you are
responsive to such reports, then it is very unlikely that any
legal suit will be coming your way.
But that is "unlikely", not "impossible". Someone who had a
bone to pick with you could probably still launch suit. In
some circumstances I wouldn't bet against that happening if
somebody's goal was to shut down a website.
Well, well, it's a sad story.
"Bloggers are also affected. The Society of Homeopaths, for
example, recently took offence at something written by Andy Lewis
on his Quackometer website. Lewis was prepared to stand firm over
his comments but, rather than sue him, the society instead
threatened the web-hosting company, which promptly took down his
blog."
http://www.digitalrights.ie/2010/02/28/irish-defamation-law-still-inadequate-for-internet/
