The critical blog, with edits, and 39 comments: http://www.tiny.cc/BEiGK
My two cents: A non-encumbered, simple opinion critical blog is non-actionable. However, as a means of potential mass communication, there is a responsibility of the blogger to act ethically. For instance, had the blogger sought compensation in some form for a potential positive blog about the restaurant, he would be liable for damages were he to write a negative blog had his offer of a positive blog been refused by the restaurant. What appears to be simple opinion could actually be a form of retaliation for refusal to cooperate with an attempt at extortion. -Mainstream --- In [email protected], "Alex Stanley" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > http://tinyurl.com/2e7h59 > > Owner of Fairfield's Vivo Restaurant Hires Attorney > > I have never gotten a thank you from anyone who owns a restaurant > which serves food I have celebrated. On the other hand, I did just get > a call from an attorney hired by the owner of Vivo, a restaurant that > served me four meals that I found not to my liking, and blogged about it. > > I never expect a thank you from positive reviews. The question is, > what do I expect from a negative review? Honestly, I never expected a > response from the owner of Vivo. And perhaps that is due to my > ignorance of living in a small town - I assume I am still living in a > larger urban environment where my blog, like most peoples online > presence, is lost in the chatter. There are over 50 million non > "A-list" blogs - what are the chances that any owner of a restaurant I > write about will read my comments on their food? Answer: the owner of > restaurant in a small town. > > If a newspaper says good things about a restaurant, the owners of that > restaurant will cut that article out and frame it in their entryway. > If a newspaper says bad things about a restaurant, I doubt the owners > hire an attorney. I have yet to see a restaurant display a positive > review from a blog, nor have I heard of a blog's negative food review > drawing the attention of an attorney (these are just my perceptions - > they could be completely inaccurate). I assume the reason for this is > because aside from some sort of A-list food critic blog, the attention > doesn't really mean much. It's just some blogger with an opinion - and > you know what they say about opinions . . . > > So back to Vivo. Last week the owner called me and asked if I would > take down the article. I said I would edit it. I've made a couple > edits in an attempt to make the review less harsh and I have asked > friends if the article is mean or defamatory. The response I've gotten > is that the article is about a bad food experience, and not an attack > on anyone or business. > > This morning I get a call from an attorney representing the owner of > Vivo. He told me that the article was malicious and requested that it > be taken down. I asked him what was malicious about it. He said the > tone was malicious. I said, send me an email or letter stating what > should be changed to make the article not malicious and I will make > those changes. He refused to do that or cooperate/work with me in any > way. His purpose in this matter is to get the article removed, and in > my perception, silence my opinion. I ended the call once it was clear > he was not going to work with me to edit the parts perceived as malicious. > > To be clear, when someone uses the word malicious, I take that to mean > "intent to cause harm to another". The article was not intended to > cause anyone harm. It's a food review - a bad food review. Nothing more. > > I've thought a lot about it lately. I mean, I don't want to cause > anyone distress - this is certainly not my intent. So why not remove > the article? Well, on one hand that would be so easy, but on the other > hand it feels like not being honest. My blog is an online diary plain > and simple. I write about what's on my mind when I have time. Do I > only write about the good stuff? What's my responsibility as a > blogger? What's my responsibility as a blogger in a small town? >
