[I am cross posting to the old and new chat lists, but anyone who has
not yet shifted over to the new chat mailing list should do so ASAP]
I recently discovered something called the "anti-SLAPP" statute - which
right now exists in California (useful for me, since that is where I
live, but also contains a disproportionate number of Internet nodes). A
SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation and is
basically a civil action taken against someone to curtail their free
speech - even if the civil action doesn't win (and few have any legal
merit), the do have the effect of shutting people up as most individuals
cannot affort to defend a case.
The good news is that in California this problem has been recognised and
there is now an anti-SLAPP statute which allows a judge to dismiss a
SLAPP while forcing the bad-guys to pay the bill.
Find out more at http://www.casp.net/
Ian.
PGP signature
