Jim
Ringleader
After a libellous post made about a sole trader yesterday I was prompted to revisit our rules and ensure that no one is in any doubt about writing defamatory posts on this forum. The following paragraph will be added to the site Rules/Terms and conditions.
Clearly I do not wish to do this which is why posting defamatory statements is against the site rules.
If you are desperate to be defamatory and let the world know what you think of companies or individuals; please do so on your own website and keep me out of it.
Meanwhile, those funsters that are here for the fun, please do report any posts that you see breaking these rules. Thanks:thumb:
Posting defamatory comments on this forum
Motorhomefun is not the place to post defamatory posts about any person or company no matter how you might feel justified in doing so. This is a forum to discuss the Fun aspect of motorhomes and not a place to rubbish others or assist campaigns against companies or individuals.
Please remember that the UK has strict libel laws covering the publication of statements that damage the reputation of an individual or company. The writer, the website owner and the ISP can be sued as they are deemed to be ‘publishers’ So please think carefully before posting any potentially derogatory comments on-line. The law is clear; if your target is identifiable and what you have written exposes them to "hatred, ridicule or contempt", hurts their reputation or causes them to be "shunned or avoided", you could end up in a civil court defending an expensive libel claim. It would be up to you to prove your comments are true, and if you are not successful you could pay out a lot of money in damages to compensate the claimant.
Almost uniquely in English law, in libel cases the burden of proof lies with the author /publisher and not the complainant. In other words, you have to prove that what you write is true. The person you’ve targeted does not have to prove that you’re wrong.
Whilst what you say about a company or individual might be the absolute truth, I might find myself in court, with all the associated costs, trying to prove it. Motorhomefun is not the place to post defamatory posts about any person or company no matter how you might feel justified in doing so. This is a forum to discuss the Fun aspect of motorhomes and not a place to rubbish others or assist campaigns against companies or individuals.
Please remember that the UK has strict libel laws covering the publication of statements that damage the reputation of an individual or company. The writer, the website owner and the ISP can be sued as they are deemed to be ‘publishers’ So please think carefully before posting any potentially derogatory comments on-line. The law is clear; if your target is identifiable and what you have written exposes them to "hatred, ridicule or contempt", hurts their reputation or causes them to be "shunned or avoided", you could end up in a civil court defending an expensive libel claim. It would be up to you to prove your comments are true, and if you are not successful you could pay out a lot of money in damages to compensate the claimant.
Almost uniquely in English law, in libel cases the burden of proof lies with the author /publisher and not the complainant. In other words, you have to prove that what you write is true. The person you’ve targeted does not have to prove that you’re wrong.
Clearly I do not wish to do this which is why posting defamatory statements is against the site rules. If you are desperate to be defamatory and let the world know what you think of companies or individuals; please do so on your own website and keep me out of it.
Meanwhile, those funsters that are here for the fun, please do report any posts that you see breaking these rules. Thanks:thumb: