Just Because You Don't Like What Someone Says Online, Doesn't Mean You Get To Find Out Who They Are
from the as-it-should-be dept
We were just pointing out how common it is for people to be total jerks online -- but didn't touch on the bad reaction some people have to being targeted in online attacks. Since flame wars tend to escalate to ridiculous levels, it's not uncommon for some to resort to the law to help them out when they feel victimized. Over in Israel, apparently a provider of alternative medical treatments got so upset by posts on a message board attacking him that he demanded an ISP reveal the anonymous commenter. However, an Israeli court has turned down the request, noting that (as in the US), the ISP shouldn't be liable for the statements and has not obligation to turn over such information. There's a great quote from the judge summarizing the case: "The proper balance between freedom of expression on the Internet and the uniqueness of the Internet as an institution for democracy does not justify the exposure of surfers' details."
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Offended
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Re: Offended
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Re: Re: Re: Offended
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Jay and Silent Bob
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Alright
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I am also totally offended...
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Re:
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Re:
6542 NW 32 ST
New York, NY 54912
and you're the tool
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Flaming people you know
The kid reported our group to the police as posting death threats against him, the police notified the University, and we were forced to do community service as punishment to restore funding.
The poster is now registered with the police department as having threatened someone's life.
Moral of the story: Just because it's the Internet, private, and clearly sarcastic doesn't mean you won't get bitten in the ass by it.
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Re: Flaming people you know
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Just perfect!
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Just perfect!
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Self-image
It speaks volumes about people who constantly want to lower other people's self-esteem (bosses, bloggers, bystanders, et al.) because it only promotes retaliatory behaviour; everybody dons their armor and gets out their sword & shield and the fight doth commence.
I'm not any better. I have my bad days where EVERYTHING is getting on my nerves and I'm just as liable to take it out on someone I don't know as someone I do but that's still no excuse.
I'm going to try to adopt a little more class or a least remember that everybody else could be having a bad day, too.
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Furthermore
The people who could make sure this happens are the people who run these forums/blogs/chatrooms. I believe a great many of them do have some sort of policy in place but lack the time to enforce it. People can be blocked and comments can be read or scanned before inclusion. Some people can recognize who the offenders are and report them to their respective boards. If the information comes back that they were right, the board should do something about it. Whether they will or not is another question.
Finally, if no action is forthcoming, rest assured that what goes around, comes around.
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Re: consider simply running behind their mommy's s
Remember, what goes around comes around.
I guarantee you, your statement is going to come back and bite you in the ass!
(Not by me, I don't waste that kind of energy on the destruction of others)
Mark my words.
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Too Bad Forum Boards aren't as Resolute?
Still, interesting to me how many posters will get banned by the Forum Moderator. Techdirt seems to be very tolerant whereas other forums I have visited seem to accept only a vary narrow range of responses. Not talking about constant abuse or inanity but certain points of view.
Presumably, its all people doing the best job they know how, but I wonder what percentage are pushing a certain viewpoint/value?
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For those of you serious about this subject
This from Reference.com
Whether the charge is libel or slander is important. Most libels are deemed injurious and give immediate ground for suit. However, only certain types of statements are slanderous per se and do not require proof of pecuniary damages; these include imputation of crime, of loathsome disease, or of professional or occupational incapacity. In other cases, there may not be any recovery unless the pecuniary loss caused by the injury is proved. The award to the successful plaintiff in a suit for defamation will usually include punitive, as well as compensatory, damages if the defendant willfully lied or published the defamation repeatedly.
On crowd wisdom:
http://blog.sciam.com/index.php?title=most_hated_digg_comment_proves_part_of_j&more=1 &c=1&tb=1&pb=1&ref=rss
And finally, I read something a while back about how easy it is to destroy someone on the internet (I can't find the link, I know I have it). "Flaming" over personal issues aside, some people go out of their way to just wreck other's lives. It gives them a feeling of power, I guess. Fuzzy has a lot to lose when his reputation is sullied, and I think it is appropriate to follow the trail to who would do this. Otherwise, we all could be victims of some very bad people.
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ISP and libel in Israel
This repeats earlier cases where judges already repeated those declarations.
Yet there are other cases in Israel where ISPs asked to be removed completely from the claim before the hearing of the actual case and their motion got rejected, meaning - they might still find themseklves liable.
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