Okay people, let me explain.

 

We have reached a point with the forum that i really had hoped we could avoid.

 

I have always liked to assume that people can be mature enough to post reasonably, but i am frequently proved wrong.

 

This is not about people having a laugh and joke, or making the forum all completely Z related and boring. This is about taking things too far.

 

A lot of things have been said on this forum about companies that we have dealt with. Some good, some bad.

 

In most instances if a company has had something bad posted about them on this forum, they have joined in to try and remedy the situation.

 

However, some companies take a different approach to this, and threaten or start legal proceedings.

 

Before any of you start preaching that you can say what you want, noone can stop you, etc., etc., just let me make you aware that you cannot.

 

At the end of this post are some Q&A's to do with libel and defamation. TAKE THE TIME TO READ THEM. SERIOUSLY.

 

You can say anything you want, AS LONG AS YOU CAN BACK IT UP WITH FACT.

 

If you want to say something negative about a company, then send me any factual evidence first to review.

 

What you CAN say, is that you have had a bad experience with a company, and that people can contact you for details.

 

Making veiled or blatant threats towards another person or company is also out of order.

 

It is all very good for you to hide behind an alias or false email address, but that generally makes the likelihood of your statement appear to be suspect.

 

As you all know, your IP addresses are all logged against your posts. I know that this is personal information, and should be protected under the data protection act.

 

I am not going to give away any information about forum members, until legally required to do so. In which case this is almost certainly the information that would be requested. If i am instructed to provide it as part of the legal proceedings, then i will.

 

If you want to know more about the legal implications, search on "bulletin board defamation" in any good search engine.

 

 

Therefore, the moderators job will be to ensure that we minimise this risk as much as possible, as well as to filter out all other types of "my car is better than your car because i say so" crap.

 

At the moment i have made them anonymous, because thats what i want. I dont want people to think they have to be careful about what they say to particular people, or that they might be victimised by anyone.

 

If you think you are being moderated unfairly then let me know.

If i relieve them of that role, then noone is any the wiser.

 

Before you start complaining about not even being allowed to have a laugh and joke, re-read the 3rd paragraph.

 

 

Craig.

 

 

Some Q&A's about libel and defamation.

 

What is the definition of libel?

 

The classic definition is:

"a publication without justification or lawful excuse which is calculated to injure the reputation of another by exposing him to hatred, contempt or ridicule."

(Parke, B. in Parmiter v. Coupland (1840) GM&W 105 at 108)

 

 

 

When should you sue for libel?

 

When you or your company is attacked by the media, competitors, or members of the public.

 

Why Sue?

 

If the answer is vengeance, money, or stopping the defamer from republishing the libel, a libel action probably is not warranted. Usually, a libel action should only be instituted if the primary objective is to vindicate reputation.

 

 

Can you succeed in law?

 

In a libel action, the plaintiff must prove three elements of the tort of libel:

 

1. The statement has been made to a third party.

 

2. The statement referred to the plaintiff. (This does not mean that the statement has to refer expressly to the plaintiff. A statement can be actionable if it is reasonably capable of referring to the plaintiff).

 

3. The statement must be defamatory, which means that it must be a false statement to the plaintiff's discredit.

 

 

 

Defences

 

There are three principal defences to an action for libel:

 

1. Truth/justification. The defendant will succeed if they can substantially justify or prove the truth of the "sting" of the offending statements.

 

2. Fair Comment. This defence will succeed if it can be shown that the statement is comment on facts truly stated. It can be defeated by evidence of malice.

 

3. Qualified privilege. This is a complicated legal defence and its application varies with the circumstances.

 

 

Does one have to prove damage in a libel action?

 

No. The law presumes that some damage will flow from the publication of a libel.

 

Does the Plaintiff have to prove the alleged libelous statements are true?

 

No. The law presumes in the plaintiff's favour that the statement is false, unless and until the defendant proves the contrary.

 

 

Can statements be protected by the use of the words "alleged", "it is rumoured" or by use of quotation marks?

 

This answer is no. One cannot escape liability for defamation by putting the libel behind a prefix such as "I have been told that ..." or "It is rumoured that ...", and then asserting that it was true that one had been told or that it was in fact being rumoured.... For the purpose of the law of libel, the hearsay statement is the same as a direct statement.

(Lord Devlin in Lewis v. Daily Telegraph Ltd., [1963] 2 All E.R. 151 at 173)

 

does this mean i can no longer say johnny is a ginger tosser then muhahahahahaha you know i love ya m8

Obiviously this is not the way any of us wanted to go. But if it is to be this way then so be it.

I think that most of use a just greatful that this forum exists

 

CheerZ Craig

 

Stuart

Originally posted by tooley:

does this mean i can no longer say johnny is a ginger tosser then muhahahahahaha you know i love ya m8

 

Well that all depends if Johnny is a moderator or not LOL.

 

I hope the moderators will delete porker/suprat type posts straight away. Nothing will upset these little dicks more, they will soon get bored trying and go away

 

 

The forum is here, for our cars - a laugh - a beer - our sanity - the bank ballence - & of course the next meet. Best that way 'A'.

Cheers PaulG :-/

 

If this refers to the recent Supra postings, then as already explained, I was winding up a few members of this Z forum whom I know well and they are well aware it was all tongue in cheek.

 

Pete

MK4 TT

Originally posted by Sequential Twin Turbo:

Cheers PaulG :-/

 

If this refers to the recent Supra postings, then as already explained, I was winding up a few members of this Z forum whom I know well and they are well aware it was all tongue in cheek.

 

Pete

MK4 TT

 

the problem with that though Pete, there are a lot more members on the site that do not know you and have to suffer similar deliberate inflammatory posts from other people.

 

The site does not revolve around the few members that you know and were trying to wind up.

 

Paul, any posts that are deliberate attempts to wind the forum members up and have no interest value or relevant content at all will be edited.

Pete

Porker and Suprat are the names of individuals, I was not referring to Supra drivers in general, I was aware of your wind up when you confessed to it. Good to see you have come back in the proper spirit of the forum.

As Craig says we have been suffering a lot of real abuse on here.

Paul

Oops. hehe ;-)

 

Soz bud

 

I really like this forum. It's well laid out and I can choose to view what I wish to read, rather than receive 100s of mails per day. Saying that Smartgroups are playing up and I haven't received anything for days!!

 

Craig: Good point :-)

 

Take care,

Pete

the TDI matter is settled here.

 

http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/ubbforum/Forum1/HTML/005140.html

 

end of topic.