I did not know this. I guess this is much more relevant in the era of the internet, where conversations are both permanent and third-party hosted - previously,

I did not know this. I guess this is much more relevant in the era of the internet, where conversations are both permanent and third-party hosted - previously, any similar discussion would take place either in person (and be infeasible to publish, given it would be only an account of a talk) or via mail, which, while I suppose would have the same risks, I imagine would still be difficult to sue for - before the advent of copying machines any letters would be a handmade copy of the original, very disposable, document.