posting (attorney, lawsuit, legal)

[compu795]

i have been posting comments to the fremont,ne. tribune. they seem to have a strange policy of not posting my posts if they may offend or upset anyone, especially their advertisers. i am totally disgusted with them. i have written and called the owner of the paper and gotten nowhere. i hope this site is not like that. i understand no threats, no profanity. but just because i call the mayor a moron, because he is one, i dont feel thats a good enough reason to not post my coments. please let me know if this site is like that. if it is then i will not use it. thanks.

[thatguy1]

Originally Posted by compu795

i have been posting comments to the fremont,ne. tribune. they seem to have a strange policy of not posting my posts if they may offend or upset anyone, especially their advertisers. i am totally disgusted with them. i have written and called the owner of the paper and gotten nowhere. i hope this site is not like that. i understand no threats, no profanity. but just because i call the mayor a moron, because he is one, i dont feel thats a good enough reason to not post my coments. please let me know if this site is like that. if it is then i will not use it. thanks.

Well most papers (I assume) are similar to this site in that they will not publish personal attacks. (Calling the Mayor a moron, whether he is or isn't)

[SCGranny]

Unless you have verifiable proof of the mayor's IQ that classifies him as a moron, you cannot say it in print. Papers can be sued, and so can individuals.

This site does not permit personal attacks, thank goodness. It keeps discussions from degenerating into kindergarten sandbox fights. If you learn how to write cohesively and precisely, and to respect others' opinions even if they are different than your own, and to discuss problems intelligently rather than making specious or unfounded accusations, you can make your points without calling names. If not... then yes this site is the same.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by SCGranny

Unless you have verifiable proof of the mayor's IQ that classifies him as a moron, you cannot say it in print. Papers can be sued, and so can individuals.

This site does not permit personal attacks, thank goodness. It keeps discussions from degenerating into kindergarten sandbox fights. If you learn how to write cohesively and precisely, and to respect others' opinions even if they are different than your own, and to discuss problems intelligently rather than making specious or unfounded accusations, you can make your points without calling names. If not... then yes this site is the same.

you are right, name calling is never going to accomplish anything. It worked well when we were in the third grade....

Nita

[Dave1215]

Just be civil... with the exception of a couple of people, this seems to be a community of posters that can have strong feelings on different sides of emotional issues, but good discussion occurs. Just play nicely and you'll be good - kind of like real life.

[mattpoulsen]

You can call anyone you want a moron without the risk of liability. "Opinion" is not subject to liability under libel and slander laws. So calling someone a moron will not get you sued - or at least successfully. What could get you sued is saying John Smith had an IQ of 75. Note I used "John Smith" because someone like the "mayor" would be deemed a public figure, making them exempt from libel and slander laws. Bottom line...it takes a lot to be subject to libel and slander liability.

That said, a newspaper and this site are private entities and have the right to publish (or not to publish) anything they choose. They don't do it out of the fear of liability they do it to maintain their reader base and to keep their content respectable in the public eye.

I mean think about it...how many times has Bush sued a newspaper because an editorial said he was a moron?? He can't for two reasons: 1) moron is an "opinion" and 2) the President is a public figure.

[SCGranny]

That may be true legally, but anyone can sue for anything, just to raise a stink. I used to write a political opinion column for several newspapers, and I never called anyone in politics a thief, a moron, or anything else. I simply wrote the facts in a calm and explanatory manner, explained the ramifications, and asked people to make a decision on their own. Even so, there was one guy in politics, who called my editor and my publisher at least once a month, demanding I be fired, and he actually hired an attorney to harass them and threaten legal action. One has to be very careful how one terms things.

And the "anonymity" of the Internet is no protection. There was also a recent discussion (before Christmas) elsewhere on CityData about people who posted on it getting into legal action, because they actually took the trouble to find out who people they disagreed with were, and started harassing them not only on C-D but in person.

All that aside, childishness and namecalling won't win people to any side the childish one espouses.

[mattpoulsen]

Granny,

I don't disagree with you on the "be civil" front. For the life of me I don't understand why people think they make any head way by calling people names.

That said, I just wanted to point out to people what is subject to liability and what isn't.

Further, I don't really know why the original poster is shocked that his post was deleted for calling someone a moron. He seems to think he has a first amendment right to post on a private website. I guess I just don't understand his complaint.

[SCGranny]

Ditto, Matt, and I agree with you, even about the legal ramifications.

I was just making the point that anyone can sue for anything - if they have the $$ and time - and most publications simply don't want to deal with that. A specious lawsuit is still costly! And publications won't like getting into that sort of thing because of someone's inability to communicate effectively. It is so much better to make other people think, "Geez, that guy's a moron!" by showing examples of his idiocy, rather than vituperously calling him a moron and thinking that by simply doing so, the writer proves it! There's ways to make one's points without calling names or singling people out - if you know the English language at all. Even though most people depend on emotion instead of reason to make decisions, reasonable debate can inspire emotion, and win people to your side.

[ercillor]

What could get you sued is saying John Smith had an IQ of 75.


Did he (John Smith) really have such a low IQ? How the heck did he manage to found such a large and successful religious movement?