I have set up a forum on a site that has suddenly taken off, however I have added a very basic disclaimer with 1 line saying this:
Any libellous or insulting posts will be removed as soon as we are made aware of them
And someone has now asked this:
I would just like to ask what constitutes libel on here.
Now on the face of it it seemed like an easy reply, however the more I thought about it the harder it seemed to be to actually put it in writing, is it basically a case of reply if anyone adds content that is untrue about another individual which cant be proved and is bought to my attention.
The wording of something like that seems to have to many holes in it wonder if anyone has a quote that could cover most scenarios.
The site content is based on miscarriage of justice and has all sorts of legal info getting posted.
I would recommend you move away from the legal problem and rather define which behaviour is good for your forum and which one is bad. A client of mine’s blog comments are of economical (and naturally political) nature and the decided the rule is “no personal attacks”. This is easier to identify - does the comment contain a name/username and an adjective or not - and also serves their purpose of having factual and well written arguments stay and personal attacks go.
I agree that you should stay away from legalities and I would try to keep it light…
[INDENT]Trolls will be cast off the bridge and into the river.
Flame throwers will be immediately extinguished.
If you start smearing in your posts, we will take away your finger paints.
Bad-mouthers will be duly flossed.
[/INDENT]
One thing I like about SitePoint is that they have a no-tolerance policy for trolls and other trouble makers. (http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/faq.php?faq=etiquette#faq_respect)
All you need to do is get that point across to your members and I believe you will minimize your problems.
I love that disclaimer, Shyflower. I’m actually working on a new project for work which is aimed towards kids and something like that would be perfect (not your words exactly, but the playfulness).
Back on topic, I agree you should stay away from “legal” and just define “behavior”. Amongst the reasons already mentioned, you have to remember that “legal” differs greatly place to place.
I would recommend the reverse - I would take this legal question seriously and address it directly.
The question as actually pretty simple: “what constitutes libel?”
The answer is less simple, but you don’t need to create an answer at all. In fact, it is arbitrary to just make up rules for the forum when those matters are already legislated and well documented in settled laws in just about every jurisdiction.
It depends on your jurisdiction, but here’s an example of a definition of libel from the Nolo Press website:
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. Libel is a tort (a type of civil wrong), and the injured person can bring a lawsuit against the person who made the false statement. Libel and slander (an untruthful statement that is spoken, but not published in writing or broadcast through the media), are both considered forms of defamation.
Rather than defining libel (which is a civil matter between two parties that is already well defined) I would concentrate on protecting yourself from getting sucked into any such civil matters by expressly prohibiting libelous language on the forum AND expressly indemnifying yourself from any damages that may occur if such a matter arises.
If you are very concerned, this kind of thing would be a snap for an attorney to write up.
Being in the UK, you probably know that we have the most ridiculous libel laws in the world, that basically put the onus on the accused to prove their innocence (although apparently Clegg is going to change this, but dont hold your breath).
I would not try to define ‘libel’ to your forum. Just say you will not tolerate anything remotely libellous and reserve the right to remove any post immediately and without explanation. Then make sure your terms have appropriate indemnity and liability clauses. Also make it easy for people to contact you about any post that they feel is libellous.
It may be wise to have a solicitor that you can continually ask for advice on, especially if there are many possible libellous posts popping up on your forums.
Very different, we are a laughing stock. Libel tourism is getting out of hand, as anyone from any country can file for libel in the UK knowing that they hold all the cards; the law in the UK is very much in favour of the accuser.
There’s also the case of Simon Singh, which highlights the chilling effects of UK Libel laws with regard to freedom of speech for scientists etc.
There’s no real equivalent of the First Amendment in the UK
Interesting replies and thankyou for all the information.
Well I have no budget for legal people so for now I have done away with the wording libel and just replaced it with the following:
Any complaints received about posts that have information that can not be proven will be removed as soon as we become aware of them
I might need to change that as things get bigger but right now the forum is doing very well I made it live on 5th December 2010 and as of posting this message the stats are 868 Posts in 175 Topics by 76 Members.
