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It is by definition Slander/Defamation (depending on the medium) to make a provable statement against someone else without substantiation. Meaning, if you clai

by rnovak 12y ago

It is by definition Slander/Defamation (depending on the medium) to make a provable statement against someone else without substantiation. Meaning, if you claim someone is AKA someone else, that is a provable statement. Saying someone is an asshole is not a provable statement. EFF has a good article on this[1], they call it a 'statement of fact'. From what I understand though, the defense was trying to IMPLY rather than outright, or rather, just bring up a reasonable alternate explanation. [1]https://www.eff.org/issues/bloggers/legal/liability/defamation https://www.eff.org/issues/bloggers/legal/liability/defamati... Edit: Seriously? It's an informative post, why the downvote hate?

x0x0 12y ago
testimony in court and court filings is, as far as I know, absolutely privileged with respect to defamation -- even if it is false If for no other reason, this is necessary so that a trial doesn't devolve into an endless cycle of suit and counter-suit
deciplex 12y ago
> Edit: Seriously? It's an informative post, why the downvote hate? This is getting to be a rather annoying issue with HN for the past six months or so. You will often get 2 or 3 downvotes very soon after posting, for no apparent reason, and seldom will anyone actually take the time to make a post explaining their objection to your post and why they downvoted it (and, FYI and FWIW, those of you who downvote posts solely to express disagreement, are dumb assholes and you don't belong here - GTFO). For what it's worth, if I see grey text now I reflexively give it an upvote regardless of content. The voting system here is so dysfunctional now, that all text should at least be black. Edit: And, yes, 'ironic' downvotes for talking about the downvoting brigade in the first place, are the best kind of downvotes. They do not stop me from posting about it - I take downvotes on HN as an indicator that I'm on the right track, so vote away.
- jnbiche 12y ago
  >This is getting to be a rather annoying issue with HN for the past six months or so. Yeah, I agree, but I think it's been more like a year now. The immediate downvotes are so striking in their regularity that I suspected they may be automated (now I think it's unlikely). So to the GP: I wouldn't worry about quick downvotes. Unless your post is obviously trolling or a low-content Reddit-like comment (which yours was not), it's highly likely it will be upvoted back into the black (and indeed, yours is in the black now).

by rnovak 12y ago

x0x0 12y ago

testimony in court and court filings is, as far as I know, absolutely privileged with respect to defamation -- even if it is false If for no other reason, this is necessary so that a trial doesn't devolve into an endless cycle of suit and counter-suit

deciplex 12y ago

> Edit: Seriously? It's an informative post, why the downvote hate? This is getting to be a rather annoying issue with HN for the past six months or so. You will often get 2 or 3 downvotes very soon after posting, for no apparent reason, and seldom will anyone actually take the time to make a post explaining their objection to your post and why they downvoted it (and, FYI and FWIW, those of you who downvote posts solely to express disagreement, are dumb assholes and you don't belong here - GTFO). For what it's worth, if I see grey text now I reflexively give it an upvote regardless of content. The voting system here is so dysfunctional now, that all text should at least be black. Edit: And, yes, 'ironic' downvotes for talking about the downvoting brigade in the first place, are the best kind of downvotes. They do not stop me from posting about it - I take downvotes on HN as an indicator that I'm on the right track, so vote away.

jnbiche 12y ago
>This is getting to be a rather annoying issue with HN for the past six months or so. Yeah, I agree, but I think it's been more like a year now. The immediate downvotes are so striking in their regularity that I suspected they may be automated (now I think it's unlikely). So to the GP: I wouldn't worry about quick downvotes. Unless your post is obviously trolling or a low-content Reddit-like comment (which yours was not), it's highly likely it will be upvoted back into the black (and indeed, yours is in the black now).