Scam board

[PaulSpell]

How about setting up a "scam board" so that users can post details of scams.

[TheOriginalH]

Good idea Paul, and there is one on one of my work sites, but there are inherent problems. Each scam has to be 100% verified to prevent libel issues, and as that isn't the core focus of SitePoint I doubt it's a road that the team would like to invest time going down (the web is awash with sites such as www.scambusters.org already).

[DaveMaxwell]

Wasn't that the point of the email forum that disappeared not that long ago???

[Matt Mickiewicz]

Way too many liability issues. About a year ago, we spent several thousand dollars on legal fees because a few users decided to post negative comments about a domain name registrar.

We were then requested to reveal the identities of those users along with all pertinent contact information that we had. They also wanted to hold us liable. It cost us a lot of time and money...

[Kurbin]

wow, that's amazing. Some real freedom of speech issues there. Mind shedding some details on the lawsuit (if it doesn't violate any sort of settlement that was made).

[DaveMaxwell]

wow, that's amazing. Some real freedom of speech issues there. Mind shedding some details on the lawsuit (if it doesn't violate any sort of settlement that was made).

Freedom of speech doesn't protect you from libel. There are consequences when you post things for all to see. Plus with SP being an australian company, I don't know how the laws apply...

[Matt Mickiewicz]

No lawsuit was actually filed thanks to our lawyers, but it wasn't a cheap proposition... but it boils down to this: If we have advisors/mentors looking out for spam postings, they should also catch all libelous comments (next to impossible, I know).

Otherwise, we have to get rid of all advisors/mentors and say "These Forums are not moderatored. Anything posted here may or may not be true. We take no responsbility for anything". Of course, the result of that would be that the Forums would die.

[kirba]

That's crazy. Just wondering how much did you guys have to pay up??

[Kurbin]

isn't a company precluded from taking action against libelous statments since they are public entities?

There is a certain person from a certain affiliate program that posts on this and other forums who makes this topic particularly relevant. I won't mention his name because I don't want to get sued, but whenever a complaint against this company this person immediately begins flaming the poster and calling them a cheater. He's so virulent that the threads often get closed.

Now, I'm sure there are plenty of cheaters trying to use his program as it would be particular interesting to them, but I know of a large number of people who are definitely not cheaters but are treated as such.

Anyways, all that to say I feel like I have a right to know about an affiliate program that uses questionable practices. On the same hand, I like to inform people about bad experiences but I'm hesistant to because it's becoming risky.

Where's the line between libel and information?