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There are four categories courts use to help jurors [in civil lawsuits] in [deciding] if someone's reputation has been damaged because he or she has been brought into hatred, contempt or ridicule. They are:
1. Accusing someone of a crime...
2. Damaging a person in his or her public office, profession or occupation...
3. Accusing a person of serious immorality... Many states have statutes that make an accusation of unchastity a cause of action in a lawsuit.
4. Accusing someone of having a loathsome disease...
From: Brooks, Brian S., George Kennedy, Daryl R. Moen, and Don Ranly (The Missouri Group).
News Reporting and Writing, 5th edition. New York: St. Martin's Press. 1996. 448-449.
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Obviously, these are fairly broad interpretations of press law, but they act as a fair warning to people who would throw accusations around about other people, especially in regard to #1. Jumping on the internet and accusing a person of a serious crime (without any evidence whatsoever) can land you in civil court.
Yesterday, a member here was accused of a VERY serious crime (for which there was absolutely no evidence, just an out-of-left-field accusation, posted repeatedly throughout the forum), which is why I deleted those posts and banned the member who posted the accusations. These were accusations totally unrelated to poetry and writing and could have had serious legal and financial consequences for the member who was being accused.
I'm a firm believer of freedom of expression, but with that freedom comes a responsibility to use it wisely and NOT to smear another person without just cause or cause a riot in theater by yelling, "FIRE!" when there is no fire.
So here's the deal:
If this forum gets slapped with a subpoena for information about members who have stalked, accused others publicly of serious crimes, engaged in hate crimes via this forum. I will comply to the fullest extent.The offender's IP and other pertinent information will be handed over so fast, his or her head will spin so fast, like Linda Blair's in
The Exorcist.
That's it, my friends.
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