Defaming people on the internet - Page 1

Just a little information piece warning those who live in the US about the possible consequences of defaming people on the internet. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-10-10-internet-defamation-case_x.htm

thanks for the tip how bout those living abroad must be like the TV Show "Truth or Consequences"

Hey Redcap, The key words in the article are: "unfairly criticize others on the Internet" TRUTH TRIUMPHS!!!

A Florida woman has been awarded $11.3 million in a defamation lawsuit against a Louisiana woman who posted messages on the Internet accusing her of being a "crook," a "con artist" and a "fraud." $11.3 is a little more than most of us have in checking! Those that bash and/or advise people to post on other sites should think very hard about this.

Funny how some people get their hackles up on this subject. If you get ripped of by someone you cannot be sued for telling others your experience, as long as it is true and correct. Making up faulse alligations is what will get you in trouble. I personaly want to know who makes a habbit out of ripping people off. Sometimes others have more info or ways to get it, that we may not have thought of. If somebody says this guys shady, I don't automaticly check him off the list. I open my eyes wider and look for myself. Possibly keeping me from making the same mistake someone else did. Nothing wrong with that! I also want to hear the positive stories of who I can do business with. However, nothing guarentees anything. Sometimes people feel ripped off by the good guy and others have a great experience with the crook.

Redcap, thank you for the post. the term "defamation" is quite broad, and can be used to cover false statements as well as continual harrassment. 4pack, an expansion on your post. I think that it was Will Rogers who made the (not verbatim) statement "If you hear someone call a man a jackass, pay no attention. However if several people call the same man a jackass, then he probably has a swinging tail." Some words of frontier logic that are still true in their spirit. I see nothing wrong with posting about the ILLEGAL bad breeder/broker/judge etc., provided ALL of the FACTS are just that-facts; and the research has been done to support those facts 100% without a shadow of doubt. Bob-O

I agree. Notice I don't get into the judges and show stuff. Not my world, I have no knowlede now do I care enough to look into it. I leave that to another crowd. It's the brokers and breeders I wanna know about. Have had to name a couple names on here myself, unfortunatly. Just a warning to others to open their eyes. This is my experience, learn from it! I hope others do the same and not cover for these people. Bad business is bad business, dogs or not. I think if we all share, instead of sweeping it under the carpet, things would improve. Let the bad apples be known and tossed aside to rot. Lets promote the good apples and do business with those people. I gladdly share my experiences with anybody, good or bad. I see no wrong in it. I also want to hear from others. If I do business with someone who takes care of me, I am going to give that guy tons of free advertisment.

I looked more into the lawsuit. It falls in to the whole employer thing, you know if you get fired for stealing, and the new company you applied for calls, all that the former employer can say is that they wount hire you again. They CANT say ANYTHING else. You can tell others about how you wouldnt use a breeder/trainer/judge again, but you cant say WHY. ANYTHING you say bad about that person publicly (mouth to mouth, like I call you and tell you about my bad experience) can be considered DEFAMATION. This is why I have stopped posting about people. I was just LOOKING for certian facts about a particular subject, which I got. Be careful though about the word of mouth thing, as if they are not FACTS, with PROOF, you can get a libelous, and defamation lawsuit against you should word get back to the originator...

Unfortunately that last post might be the most true. In most states a person can sue for any or no reason at all. The judge will decide whether their suit has merit after a defendant has engaged a lawyer and been compelled to defend themselves. Sadly the truth is no longer good enough for America.

Bottom line is : In court it all depends how many people stand for the defense side and how many for the prosecution side and any evidence you can present.That's it, and have said that a damn good attorney is always a plus.