Currently you can find over Thirty million weblogs on the web and thousands more getting created per week. Assuming ownership of one blog per person, that's at the least Thirty million people slinging around their personal opinions on everything that exists under the sun. This can be a good thing. The free exchange of thoughts and ideas is what prevents the planet from becoming a stagnant puddle of uninspiring values.
However, to rob a line from the movie Spiderman, 'With great power comes great responsibility'. Blogging has become a means for the words of the people being heard. We should be careful, though, to not abuse our power through thoughtless acts that hurt the credibility of bloggers and blogging. One place that remains our Achilles heel is when good posts go south.
In the United States, libel and slander are the two types of defamation. In several states, courts have begun treating them the same as the only distinction between the two is that libel is really a false written statement about someone, place or thing that harms his/her/its reputation while slander is the verbal act of the same offense. Whether blogged on the Internet or whispered offline with your mother, the normal denominator is that what's said is false.
Since I'm psychic, I already know just what you are thinking. 'The First Amendment of the US Constitution protects me. Provided that it is the truth, I could say whatever I want.' Well, kind of. As crazy precisely as it sounds, truth is not the silver bullet defense for each case of libel or slander. A judge may require that besides being true the information relayed is in the public interest to learn.
So reporting the CEO of a major corporation was caught pilfering money from the employee's pension account could possibly get dismissed from civil court while telling on earth that your neighbor has smelly feet might get you into more trouble than you need. Whether or not it were true, why would it end up being in the public interest to learn that your neighbor's feet could clear out Yankee Stadium?
Right now, the First Amendment does protect your right to an opinion. If you believe how the Mr. Squiggly Toddler Toy is a piece of crap, you are certainly free to inform anyone within earshot as long as you ensure it is clear that it is your opinion about the subject. Also, if a person puts forth a negative sentiment regarding their experience with you who is clear to any reasonable person that it's their opinion, your legal recourse against them is significantly limited.
Parody and satire can also be protected. If they weren't, Saturday Night Live and South Park would have never got past the very first episode. Along with criticism of a public performance like a symphony, as well as a book is shielded under the Fair Criticism and Comment clause.
Now the on-line world contributes some interesting layers of complication to the whole blogging shebang. Rather than being contained in a local area, libel has the possibilities to cross international borders and not every single country handles these cases the same. One of the major problems courts around the globe have to deal with is the one of jurisdiction. If I live in the us and I libel someone that resides in the UK where exactly does the case take place and who's laws and regulations do we go by? Many cases have set a scary precedent that leans towards being able to sue anywhere around the world for libel published on the net.
Next there is the issue of third party liability. Say you might be a responsible blogger who's careful about her posts to avoid a troublesome libel accusation. One of your readers posts a libelous statement in your blog. Would you be held accountable for that person's actions? Well, so far the law has only made provisions for Internet service providers stating that they can't be held responsible for how their customers use their services (as it pertains to defamation). Likewise, blog service providers like Google and Six Apart may likely be immune to any lawsuits arising from an individual's use of the service.
No matter whether or not you would be held responsible may come down to should you moderate your comments. Should you allow comments to be posted instantly, you may well be safe under Section 230 of the US Code (for US Citizens). It could be another story; however, should you approve comments before posting them. It could be argued that your posting of the comments equates your agreement to them. Up to now, nobody has shown up in court to argue this, for this reason the fact that we are kind of forced to make it up as we go along.
Defamation is really a tricky issue and one that needs to be tread carefully if your are to avoid landing in court. Listed here are a few tips to help keep you out of trouble. Take note: I am not a lawyer. Although I did get to play one on "Touched by an Angel. In the event that you and your blog deal with some highly controversial issues or you're simply not sure just how much trouble you would get into when you published that post about your best friend's boyfriend, I recommend getting in touch using a lawyer to acquire the best advice.
1. Change the names. Undoubtedly the easiest thing that can be done would be to change in order to avoid using the name of the man or women you are talking about and to strip away as much identifying information as possible. If a reasonable person can visit your hometown and quickly identify the "mealy-mouth cow" you blogging about on-line, you should carry out some editing.
2. Make use of some sort of disclaimer. I've a good one on my Internet site. Even some thing as basic as "By making use of this blog site, you agree the views expressed are the property and responsibility of the respective owners" may provide some defense in the event of a court action. (Check with a real lawyer please).
3. Think about writing your rant as a parody or satire. Intense exaggerations that no reasonable individual would believe aren't considered defamation because, quite frankly, they're unbelievable. Be mindful though, this sort of writing takes a particular je Sais quoi, and may even easily backfire on you. Have a fair person proofread the entry to be sure it passes the believability examination.
4. be careful about your language. Make sure to use wording that makes it apparent that this is your thoughts and opinions about the topic. Assertions like, "That Mr. Squiggly Toddler Toy is a piece of crap" makes it appears like you're stating a truth when in all actuality you're making a personal judgment concerning the toy. Something like "I think that Mr. Squiggly Toddler Toy is a piece of crap" or "That Mr. Squiggly Toddler Toy fell apart right after the very first use" tends to be safe bets. At least so far as the law will be involved.
5. And last yet definitely not least, do not tell false reports. Right now this could seem like common sense but wait, how common is good sense nowadays? Actually. If you think the need to resort to lying about an individual, you might want to seek professional help in examining the reason why you need to do that. 'Cause odds are, it's not to protect the public. Use blogging wisely!
Blogging is a terrific way to meet people and also remain current in the world and doing so responsibly will simply make the experience much better. Remain safe, stay sane and most of all have some fun.
However, to rob a line from the movie Spiderman, 'With great power comes great responsibility'. Blogging has become a means for the words of the people being heard. We should be careful, though, to not abuse our power through thoughtless acts that hurt the credibility of bloggers and blogging. One place that remains our Achilles heel is when good posts go south.
In the United States, libel and slander are the two types of defamation. In several states, courts have begun treating them the same as the only distinction between the two is that libel is really a false written statement about someone, place or thing that harms his/her/its reputation while slander is the verbal act of the same offense. Whether blogged on the Internet or whispered offline with your mother, the normal denominator is that what's said is false.
Since I'm psychic, I already know just what you are thinking. 'The First Amendment of the US Constitution protects me. Provided that it is the truth, I could say whatever I want.' Well, kind of. As crazy precisely as it sounds, truth is not the silver bullet defense for each case of libel or slander. A judge may require that besides being true the information relayed is in the public interest to learn.
So reporting the CEO of a major corporation was caught pilfering money from the employee's pension account could possibly get dismissed from civil court while telling on earth that your neighbor has smelly feet might get you into more trouble than you need. Whether or not it were true, why would it end up being in the public interest to learn that your neighbor's feet could clear out Yankee Stadium?
Right now, the First Amendment does protect your right to an opinion. If you believe how the Mr. Squiggly Toddler Toy is a piece of crap, you are certainly free to inform anyone within earshot as long as you ensure it is clear that it is your opinion about the subject. Also, if a person puts forth a negative sentiment regarding their experience with you who is clear to any reasonable person that it's their opinion, your legal recourse against them is significantly limited.
Parody and satire can also be protected. If they weren't, Saturday Night Live and South Park would have never got past the very first episode. Along with criticism of a public performance like a symphony, as well as a book is shielded under the Fair Criticism and Comment clause.
Now the on-line world contributes some interesting layers of complication to the whole blogging shebang. Rather than being contained in a local area, libel has the possibilities to cross international borders and not every single country handles these cases the same. One of the major problems courts around the globe have to deal with is the one of jurisdiction. If I live in the us and I libel someone that resides in the UK where exactly does the case take place and who's laws and regulations do we go by? Many cases have set a scary precedent that leans towards being able to sue anywhere around the world for libel published on the net.
Next there is the issue of third party liability. Say you might be a responsible blogger who's careful about her posts to avoid a troublesome libel accusation. One of your readers posts a libelous statement in your blog. Would you be held accountable for that person's actions? Well, so far the law has only made provisions for Internet service providers stating that they can't be held responsible for how their customers use their services (as it pertains to defamation). Likewise, blog service providers like Google and Six Apart may likely be immune to any lawsuits arising from an individual's use of the service.
No matter whether or not you would be held responsible may come down to should you moderate your comments. Should you allow comments to be posted instantly, you may well be safe under Section 230 of the US Code (for US Citizens). It could be another story; however, should you approve comments before posting them. It could be argued that your posting of the comments equates your agreement to them. Up to now, nobody has shown up in court to argue this, for this reason the fact that we are kind of forced to make it up as we go along.
Defamation is really a tricky issue and one that needs to be tread carefully if your are to avoid landing in court. Listed here are a few tips to help keep you out of trouble. Take note: I am not a lawyer. Although I did get to play one on "Touched by an Angel. In the event that you and your blog deal with some highly controversial issues or you're simply not sure just how much trouble you would get into when you published that post about your best friend's boyfriend, I recommend getting in touch using a lawyer to acquire the best advice.
1. Change the names. Undoubtedly the easiest thing that can be done would be to change in order to avoid using the name of the man or women you are talking about and to strip away as much identifying information as possible. If a reasonable person can visit your hometown and quickly identify the "mealy-mouth cow" you blogging about on-line, you should carry out some editing.
2. Make use of some sort of disclaimer. I've a good one on my Internet site. Even some thing as basic as "By making use of this blog site, you agree the views expressed are the property and responsibility of the respective owners" may provide some defense in the event of a court action. (Check with a real lawyer please).
3. Think about writing your rant as a parody or satire. Intense exaggerations that no reasonable individual would believe aren't considered defamation because, quite frankly, they're unbelievable. Be mindful though, this sort of writing takes a particular je Sais quoi, and may even easily backfire on you. Have a fair person proofread the entry to be sure it passes the believability examination.
4. be careful about your language. Make sure to use wording that makes it apparent that this is your thoughts and opinions about the topic. Assertions like, "That Mr. Squiggly Toddler Toy is a piece of crap" makes it appears like you're stating a truth when in all actuality you're making a personal judgment concerning the toy. Something like "I think that Mr. Squiggly Toddler Toy is a piece of crap" or "That Mr. Squiggly Toddler Toy fell apart right after the very first use" tends to be safe bets. At least so far as the law will be involved.
5. And last yet definitely not least, do not tell false reports. Right now this could seem like common sense but wait, how common is good sense nowadays? Actually. If you think the need to resort to lying about an individual, you might want to seek professional help in examining the reason why you need to do that. 'Cause odds are, it's not to protect the public. Use blogging wisely!
Blogging is a terrific way to meet people and also remain current in the world and doing so responsibly will simply make the experience much better. Remain safe, stay sane and most of all have some fun.
About the Author:
This article has been written by the author, Eric James. Should you require anymoreneck massagersplease visit his seat massager resources!
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