Airline Pilot Central Forums - Be careful what you say on APC

Airline Pilot Central Forums (https://www.airlinepilotforums.com/)

- Regional (https://www.airlinepilotforums.com/regional/)

- - Be careful what you say on APC (https://www.airlinepilotforums.com/regional/43088-careful-what-you-say-apc.html)

Quote:

Originally Posted by VQ2 Spanky (Post 664755)

Okay APC. I want the address of VQ2 Spanky so that I can sue him!:D

How about I just ban that trouble maker for you! :D

USMCFLYR

Quote:

Originally Posted by USMCFLYR (Post 664769)

How about I just ban that trouble maker for you! :D

USMCFLYR

D'OH.......roflol:D

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Pennekamp (Post 664721)

This is nothing new. Many "anonymous" message boards have been sued for a member's IP address and email address. Most simply comply with the request to avoid a costly legal bill, throwing the poster under the bus. Yes, be careful what you say, especially here on APC. Unlike the others, you don't need to be a member to read the comments here... they even show up on Google. Anyone and everyone can read everything we write here.

True this is not a truly anonymous site and the mods have stated quite often that they will comply with court requests for username info. Its not quite throwing you under the bus if they make their actions known before a situation you caused arises.

Calling Vagabond

Quote:

Originally Posted by AmericanEagleFO (Post 664654)

Yeah, but when you put yourself in the public spotlight you relinquish the right to most libel cases. At least that was the way it was explained in my single business law case in college. In no way do I have any idea what I'm talking about lol.

I believe the landmark court case limiting the rights of public figures in this area is "New York Times v. Sullivan".

Does this mean that Jonathan Ornstein and Chuck Colgan can sue everybody on this forum?

Calling someone a "skank" sounds more like an opinion to me.... And I wonder what her damages are?

Public figures can still sue for defamation, but they must show actual malice or reckless disregard for the truth in addition to the other elements of defamation. At least that's what I remember from the law school days.

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Pennekamp (Post 664721)

That's not quite how it works...

The plaintiff sues the poster, not website operator. The plaintiff is then entitled to gather evidence to support his case.

Usually the "request" would be a subpoena/discovery order...those are not requests, they are court orders which you must comply with. The website operator is not usually getting sued, so he has to comply or face contempt charges...most will not sit in jail to defend some random forum poster whose mouth got the better of his brain.

It would be difficult and unusual to mount a legal defense against a subpoena...you would need to show that the request was not lawful, or that the judge was in collusion with the plaintiff or something like that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Pennekamp (Post 664750)

My identity has never been a secret to those who know me.

Yep, it would take maybe a second or two for someone to find out who I am and most all SKW posters on here already know me by name. I make no effort to conceal my identify so when someone says I or someone else is hiding behind a screen name I can't help but laugh.

Bounce it off the tor network if you want to be anonymous.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickair7777 (Post 665077)

You have to know the identity of someone before you can sue them. Duh! How do you think someone learns the identity of an anonymous poster/blogger? They have their lawyer write a scary letter to the host website asking for their information, and threatening a lawsuit for hosting defamatory comments if they don't. The website then hands over the information and washes their hands of the matter. I know this from personal experience as a mod at FI for 8 years and a friend of the deceased FI founder.