I ignored the temptation to call this 'Good News for Message Boarders' as a dig at GNG who seems to have gone rather quiet again. I haven't banned him as some may suspect. He's actually been on a mission the details of which I cannot disclose. But I am able to offer good second hand, third account, fresh off the cyberpress rumour mill disclosures that fateful, if predictable, news has come through that some nervous space boarders were dreading.
It is rumoured, alleged, whispered that Trade Me have sought a motion for an order allowing them to enjoin individually named posters as co-defendants in the suit brought by Joe Karam. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear - gosh. If such a highly logical situation were true then TM's potential defence is transparently twofold. Firstly they are not the publisher, but rather the vehicle for the actual publisher (the message boarders) and two, if there is any liability it is the boarder's and not the host who is merely operating a message board type service, similar to a rugby's club's cork board. A further way it could be looked at (the defence that is) is that it was to mitigate or spread responsibility for damages. If that is the case the dear message boarders who thought they could defame to their heart's content, and who applauded TM's fight for 'free speech' now find themselves up a creek somewhat. And a lonely creek it is with twists and turns and no place to be naked or in a flimsy night dress.
How quaintly charming that the boarders must have seen the world of commerce as only having a role to help out poor, misguided boarders who got in a feeding frenzy, spat the dummy and powerful load of defamatory verbiage. To imagine that TM were not in business, and not in the business of protecting themselves (and their money) from a big law suit payout but instead were there to protect dear Mrytle venting her spleen in the big space outside, now might finally reside in the restless minds of the chattering, twisted ones of the cybercourt. But who will they blame? I'm sure anybody will do, finally it will be one another and it will be every man and twisted sister for themself. There'll be money to be made on highspeed wheelchairs.
But I'm only teasing of course because I don't think TM's defence, that they're not a publisher, will hold. The bad news however is that once enjoined (if it happens, should it happen) there is no guarantee that an argument mitigating or limiting TM liability won't see some of the liability found against the individual posters from whose poison pens the offending language originated.
Lots of interesting law ahead with this defamation exercise. I understand camp mother Kenty boy (has a sort of endearing ring to it, that name) and his erstwhile sidekick 'Victor - I'll be back in 5 minutes, I promise, and please start without me,' are now adrift with their case, flying solo and unable to attach to the much hoped for deep pockets of mother lode ship TM. How sad. What a picture of loneliness, Kent waiting for old Vic to never come back like he promised, leaving campmother holding the can, well, handcuffed to it actually. And equally, so we might see some boarders reluctantly holding the can for the written words that spilt from mouths, which they have so valiantly since, tried to disown. Oh heck. How did it happen?
It is rumoured, alleged, whispered that Trade Me have sought a motion for an order allowing them to enjoin individually named posters as co-defendants in the suit brought by Joe Karam. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear - gosh. If such a highly logical situation were true then TM's potential defence is transparently twofold. Firstly they are not the publisher, but rather the vehicle for the actual publisher (the message boarders) and two, if there is any liability it is the boarder's and not the host who is merely operating a message board type service, similar to a rugby's club's cork board. A further way it could be looked at (the defence that is) is that it was to mitigate or spread responsibility for damages. If that is the case the dear message boarders who thought they could defame to their heart's content, and who applauded TM's fight for 'free speech' now find themselves up a creek somewhat. And a lonely creek it is with twists and turns and no place to be naked or in a flimsy night dress.
How quaintly charming that the boarders must have seen the world of commerce as only having a role to help out poor, misguided boarders who got in a feeding frenzy, spat the dummy and powerful load of defamatory verbiage. To imagine that TM were not in business, and not in the business of protecting themselves (and their money) from a big law suit payout but instead were there to protect dear Mrytle venting her spleen in the big space outside, now might finally reside in the restless minds of the chattering, twisted ones of the cybercourt. But who will they blame? I'm sure anybody will do, finally it will be one another and it will be every man and twisted sister for themself. There'll be money to be made on highspeed wheelchairs.
But I'm only teasing of course because I don't think TM's defence, that they're not a publisher, will hold. The bad news however is that once enjoined (if it happens, should it happen) there is no guarantee that an argument mitigating or limiting TM liability won't see some of the liability found against the individual posters from whose poison pens the offending language originated.
Lots of interesting law ahead with this defamation exercise. I understand camp mother Kenty boy (has a sort of endearing ring to it, that name) and his erstwhile sidekick 'Victor - I'll be back in 5 minutes, I promise, and please start without me,' are now adrift with their case, flying solo and unable to attach to the much hoped for deep pockets of mother lode ship TM. How sad. What a picture of loneliness, Kent waiting for old Vic to never come back like he promised, leaving campmother holding the can, well, handcuffed to it actually. And equally, so we might see some boarders reluctantly holding the can for the written words that spilt from mouths, which they have so valiantly since, tried to disown. Oh heck. How did it happen?
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