Ontario judge orders website to reveal identity data on anonymous posters

[JoyfulC 132299]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2009/03/25/tech-090325-anonymous-posters.html?ref=rss

 

(Apologies if this is already posted.)

 

..c..

[buggernot 588]

A bit scary to see the headline, but the circumstances cited in this case and the precedent were of extreme instances. Although I'd like to see what was said in the forum to see how far it went in regards to breaking hate crime and slander laws. There's a slippery slope there for sure...

[JoyfulC 132299]

Yes, it is a slippery slope. Whenever we see something like this, the spectre is always raised of dissidents being carried off in the dead of night for having expressed anti-authoritarian opinions.

 

But all of us who participate on boards have also witnessed vicious, fairly well-organized attacks -- on both individuals and the boards -- for no other purpose than shit-disturbing. Our industry boards are distinguished in that the advertisers who participate have no real expectation of anonymity, whereas non-advertisers can choose how much to reveal. It's an ideal set-up for trolls and troublemakers. But that said, I've seen little evidence that any of the antics have actually led to injury beyond severely upsetting someone. There've been claims of ruined business, stalking and such, but I personally haven't witnessed (or experienced) that. It seems like most of those hardest hit by the trolls eventually emerged stronger for the experience, and with their credibility more intact.

 

So it's tough to say. I checked the site (freedominion.ca?) out briefly yesterday. I guess it's supposed to be some "conservative" site. I'm a little once-bitten/twice-shy on those who bill themselves as "conservatives" lately. If anything or anyone has been defamed in recent years, it's probably true "old-school" conservatives. Those who parade themselves as conservatives these days -- Limbaugh, Coulter, and this idiotic Gutfeld character -- seem like anything but "conservative."

 

..c..

[YoungStud 468]

Richard Warman is well-known for trolling right-wing hate monger sites and for his large number of complaints under human rights legislation

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Warman

[spud271 47779]

It will still make many a poster sweat at least a little bit I am sure!

 

A bit scary to see the headline, but the circumstances cited in this case and the precedent were of extreme instances. Although I'd like to see what was said in the forum to see how far it went in regards to breaking hate crime and slander laws. There's a slippery slope there for sure...

[JoyfulC 132299]

But there's no reason for anyone to "sweat" except those who are abusing the boards to attack and torment people.

 

When I ran Lyla's List, I put it right in the user agreement that anonymity was a privilege, not a right -- and that person's violating the user agreement could expect to have their information turned over to their ISPs or the proper authorities. And there were times when I had to do this. When someone repeatedly disrupted the board or attacked other participants, I turned over my user agreement and the offending posts to the ISPs and let them deal with it as they saw fit. Hilariously, we had some troll who used to post as though they were an underaged girl looking to get laid -- the IP came off a federal government agency server. I did warn the poor guy, but he continued posting and ultimately, in a case like that, I had no option but to turn it over to the police and the server administrators. (One thing you can't afford to be unclear on is your stance on sex with minors.)

 

I'll admit that I did see one unfortunate case where someone sued a board. The person who sued is a friend of mine, but so was the board operator. I empathized with her feelings, but I still feel that she was wrong to sue -- as much for herself as for anyone. The case was settled -- but only because the board op was advised that it would be more costly to fight and win than to settle. She takes it as a victory to this day. But frankly, I think we all lose in a situation like that.

 

..c..