Rant about Slander

[Aaron]

I've been told this one guy keeps trying to deface me IC because im not a lore Nazi (im sure some can guess who he is.) But that quickly goes out the window when the people he talks to meets me.

 

Im anything but a bad person lol.

 

My advice? Fight negativity with a smartass smile

[GloryRhodes]

Don't post rants on the RPC that name no names, but which "people in the know" will get.  It's irresponsible, rude and inappropriate.

 

I've been told this one guy keeps trying to deface me IC because im not a lore Nazi (im sure some can guess who he is.) 

 

That could not have been timed better if you'd tried.  Case in point.

 

This post is not libel because I have directly quoted him to provide evidence.  Since this post is fact, it can not be construed as libel or slander, and he has no legal recourse.

[LiadansWhisper]

Even if he did, there's some issues.

 

1) The person may not be in the same country as you are.  Every country has laws specific to how a civil suit must be handled, and your country and the country in question might not even have open diplomatic relations (making suing them a pain in the butt as well as ridiculously expensive).  You will have to, at the very least, retain an international attorney, and they are not easy to find.

 

2) Lawsuits cost money.  They cost a lot of money.  Here they start off as something like $200 just to file the suit.  But then you have service costs, and attorney fees, etc.  It adds up.

 

3) Many judges do not and will not care about posts made on an electronic forum unless you can prove it's actually hurting you in real life (i.e. causing emotional or physical trauma, loss of employment, issues with education).  Even then, it's incredibly subjective, and since in most US states, your judge is chosen by lottery, there's a chance you're going to get someone who think it's all B.S.

 

4) If your trial goes to a jury, you do not want to think about how much you're going to have to pay out.  We're talking tens of thousands of dollars in a US jury trial just to retain a jury.

 

5) Even before the trial goes to a jury, you're going to have subpoenas, depositions, and other costs associated with a lawsuit.  Your lawyer may absorb those costs initially, but they are actually very likely refuse and demand up-front payment due to the nature of the lawsuit (libel/slander lawsuits are hard to prove, and thus hard to collect on).

 

It's pretty much never worth it to file a lawsuit in a situation of libel or slander unless it's some story that goes national/international, or unless it affects your real life career/education.

 

Source: I worked in civil law for 5 years or so.  My mother still does.