Lack of respect has become libel

Read the JU Terms of Service

By ASaxyGirl Posted May 4, 2008 09:40:26External Link

So it seems that a JU poster has committed libel against another poster. I have linked the article for your reference.

Erathoniel wrote:

I know some of you hate me (Ock, talkin' to you here)

According to the legal definitions found on nolo.com, libel is defined as the following:

libel

An untruthful statement about a person, published in writing or through broadcast media, that injures the person's reputation or standing in the community. Because libel is a tort (a civil wrong), the injured person can bring a lawsuit against the person who made the false statement. Libel is a form of defamation , as is slander (an untruthful statement that is spoken, but not published in writing or broadcast through the media).

The JU Terms of Service, 3. Member Conduct, states:

(j) make malicious personal attacks, statements of libel, or other behavior deemed unacceptable by administrators.

Ock has never stated that he "hates" this poster. To assign and associate a word of such intolerance is libel and a direct act of defamation.

I truly hope that other bloggers at JU and the admins take notice of this behavior. Zoomba, I appreciate your response in regards to the TOS/TOU. The issue of libel, however, was not addressed.

As a whole, we JU bloggers are usually able to police our own actions. Unfortunately this blatant act of making a false statement has the potential to injure on a professional level, aside from being completely repugnant personally. The military takes any accusations of intolerance, hate in this case, seriously. To many the accusation spouted by this user can be merely brushed aside and ignored. When it comes time for promotion in the Navy, any question regarding character is enough to pass over a good candidate.

+20 Karma 204 Replies 2 Referrals

Holy.

Caca.

I didn't even think about that.

Wow...attention to detail you have.

Hmm, what shall become of this, I wonder...

~Zoo

Holy.

Caca.

I didn't even think about that.

Yeah... It doesn't cross many person's radar unless you are witness to this sort of comment ruining a person's career. Of course it can be argued that in the end the truth will emerge, and I do agree with that comment. The problem is the board only sees your package for promotion once each year and you are not always guaranteed to be selected to submit a package. If the controversy cannot be resolved in the short few weeks when the board meets then the person is passed over. If they're at a milestone where a promotion means the option to serve longer or retire then they retire.

I have to agree... Holy caca!

If the controversy cannot be resolved in the short few weeks when the board meets then the person is passed over. If they're at a milestone where a promotion means the option to serve longer or retire then they retire.

JU isn't worth that and sweating Erathoniel's junk certainly isn't worth that!

attention to detail you have.

Part of being a scientist.

Hmm, what shall become of this, I wonder...

We shall see... I have not always agreed with the decisions handed down by Admin but I do respect the reasoning.

JU isn't worth that and sweating Erathoniel's junk certainly isn't worth that!

You're right, thus my concern.

All of us have the choice to scroll past Erathoniel's posts. My concern now is if he is permitted to libel another JU contributor then the choice has to be made to stay or leave by the person who is the target. That choice should not have to be made.

I am not advocating the banning or exile of Erathoniel What I am asking is that if he is going to participate as a JU contributor that he be held to the same standard as the rest of us. He's been counseled, advised and warned...with no change and it has now escalated.

JU is a place for creativity, fun, sharing...pick your pleasure. It is sad to see the actions of one person deflate that "fun factor" for so many.

Part of being a scientist.

Haha! Indeed it is.

~Zoo

Lets look at the difference between three statements:

"Joe hates me."

"Joe is a thief."

"Joe is a jerk."

The first is a statement of what something thinks Joe feels about them.

The second is a statement about Joe directly.

The third is an statement of opinion about Joe.

If you actually took those three statements into court, only one would stand up as libel. Can you pick out which one?

Please note that I am not trying to defend Erath in anyway with my posts this morning. His post flooding frankly annoys me too.

A point I'm trying to get across to folks here is that we don't remove folks just for being annoying, or for pissing off the wrong folks in the community.

Also, I don't think anyone on this site wants us to start strictly enforcing the ToS across the board. I can think of very few people on JoeUser who would be left if we did so.

The second statement is the one that would be upheld in court.

In the military any hint of character not of the highest standard in its leaders is cause for concern...and can cause the loss of a well deserved promotion. Both statement 1 and 2 are damaging.

Your site, your rules, your choice to enforce or not enforce what you see fit based upon your opinion.

ASaxyGirl,

When it comes to the libel clause, we reserve that one for very clear cut and serious accusations. We're not interested in policing every post for the chance that someone says something mean about another person.

Technically, any statement about any other individual ever written on this site could be potential libel if it wasn't somehow qualified with a statement like "in my opinion". If we were to go for the strictest enforcement of the libel clause, 99% of the users on this site would be exiled.

We, as the admins, are not here to police the entirety of the site seeking out anything that could potentially be bad if the wrong people looked at it. Users, when they come here, or when they post on any public forum for that matter, are accepting the fact that mean things will be said to them or about them at some point. We keep an eye out for the worst offenses, the clear-cut cases where the user is out of line and deal with those.

Someone claiming another user hates them doesn't even register on the radar.

Zoomba,

As I have stated earlier, I respect your decision. I may not agree with it but I do respect it.

You make a good point. There are many good writers on JU that I would be sad to see go if you were to enforce the TOS/TOU to the letter of the law. Unfortunately this also allows those whose practices are generally repugnant to the majority of users to freely continue. A free society... I can only hope Erathoniel takes the advice he has been given.

Libel? Are you serious?

If you are worried someone in the military will stab your back with something posted on this casual forum, you should leave... and don't look at the people around you in the eyes.

I'm not saying it's a crime, heck, wrong to hate me, Ock has his justifications, I just get the feel that he does.

I imagine Erathoniel is a 12-16 year old teenager who thinks teachers hate him, too.

Libel? Are you serious? If you are worried someone in the military will stab your back with something posted on this casual forum

Absolutely you should be worried about that, and it should come into play BEFORE you post.

If you don't believe that your words can be held against you, then YOU are in the wrong place. Stay off the internet!

I'm not saying it's a crime, heck, wrong to hate me, Ock has his justifications, I just get the feel that he does.

Just to clear this up with you straight, Era. Firstly, I don't hate anyone, but if I could, it wouldn't be you. Frankly, you just aren't that important. The only importance you have gained on my radar comes in the form of your arrogance which affects the other people in this community and your use of my name in your article.

Let me make something crystal clear to you. I do not hate people. Your statement that I hate you is therefore a lie. I am not amused by it, and you, if you have any credibility for your own honesty left should post a retraction stating that what you said is an error and that you're sorry. I doubt you're mature enough to do that since you aren't mature enough to realize that you're upsetting a lot of people around here yet your only response to them is that you don't care.

I have my own ignore button. It's my own will. For now, that will suffice. Others will do what they do of their own will. But I can bet you one thing. Should an actual ignore feature come to JU, plan on living happily alone on your little island. I see lots of regulars here chomping at the bit to erase you from their sight. That would be sad. Statistically you're bound to say something interesting any year now, and then we'd all miss it. I recommend mending the fences now before you dissipate into blog obscurity.

Actually, I got good enough grades in school, and I knew when I got bad ones I deserved them (A/B student), Ock, I changed my statement. I was wrong.

ASaxyGirl is my wife, Era. I know her pretty well. I recommend you get a lawyer. Think I'm kidding? Well, that's the gamble. Make it a good one.

and I know some of you hate me (ASaxyGirl, talkin' to you here)

You don't warrant the effort required to hate you. Do you somehow think this changes the fact that you have still made a false and defamatory statement? You are still lying.

As for your grades... Any monkey can pull A's and B's. You appear to be incapable of learning.

Ah...he changed it yet again. Good bet, Era.

I figured that it's best to avoid as many of the bullets as possible. Plus, that way I don't have to list.

The original statements are available via Google's cached versions of the pages.

In other words, deleting doesn't really delete, erathoniel.

Plus, that way I don't have to list.

You keep asking for it! Right away when you starting posting like crazy you put up one asking if it was annoying. I don't remember which one and I don't care, but you knew BEFORE THE FACT that your posting "style" is annoying, yet you did it anyway.

THEN when you get flack for it you ask if we want you to leave....hahahaha

Now you claim to dodge bullets? Dude, you put the target on yourself.

Yeah, Google caches everything. I knew that. It just makes it less visible.

xtine, grow up.