Re: Tsk... Conor TURDton

Conor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
>> >Ever heard of being sued for libel?
>> >If anyone has some contact details for this person I'd be grateful 
>> >(financially too possibly).
>> I haven't followed the thread, but are you threatening a lawsuit over
>> something someone said about you here?  If so, there's pretty much no
>> chance of winning.  Newsgroup-based disputes are largely considered
>> frivolous and not taken seriously.
>Want to bet? Do a google search on Dr Laureance Goddfrey.

No need to.  The existence of a single case, or even five if there are
a few more, changes little.  A general preception of newsgroups is
that they're a haven for freaks who have no life and, thus, need to
talk to strangers for attention.  If you actually tried to sue someone
for posting something about you here, you'd be portrayed by the press
(and by people in newsgroups and other forums across the world) as a
sad, sad individual with far too little to occupy your time.  Whenever
the prefix "cyber" is added to a scenario, the perception of both the
press and the masses becomes far more negative.  Case in point -- the
nutcase Marlon Paghtakhan, who cyber-stalked actress Jeri Ryan.  Most
stalkers are portrayed as scary individuals, but not Marlon -- he was
widely mocked and ridiculed for his antics, even though he made actual
death threats, something not all stalkers even do.  Why?  Because he
did it online.  The fact that his name entered the papers due to
something he did online made others consider him a pathetic loser, and
if you were to actually go so far as to sue someone for allegedly
libelizing you on a newsgroup (and let's face it, you're not going to
-- no matter how angry you might be, you're just sounding off and will
clearly take it no further than that), then you'd be portrayed and
perceived as a pathetic loser as well.  People would say, "Does he
really have nothing better to do than sue someone over something so
minor?  Does he really have so few relationships with real people that
the comments of an anonymous stranger would actually be so important
to him?  Is he really so fragile an individual that the comments of a
total stranger online could actually hurt him?  How sad."  The press
would really go to town on you, and it just wouldn't be worth it.
Take it from me -- I am press.