HoD candidate Steve Chapman sends a cease-and-desist order to a pseudonymous blogger. That’s a first for Virginia. Here’s hoping it’s also a last.
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Open source, procurement, and gov tech.
HoD candidate Steve Chapman sends a cease-and-desist order to a pseudonymous blogger. That’s a first for Virginia. Here’s hoping it’s also a last.
Comments are closed.
Last?
Here’s hoping it’s the first of more to come. If this is the only thing that will restrain otherwise rational people from posting irrational things about others online, then so be it.
It isn’t the first time someone has been sued for defamation of character. Not even with blogs. It won’t be the last, either.
Here’s hoping that pseudonymous and anonymous bloggers realize that not putting their name to their comments isn’t carte blanche for attacking the character of others.
I hope this costs BVBL lots of money… an example has to be made sometime.
I was hoping it’d be the last because such things wouldn’t be necessary, not because I don’t think that it’s occasionally a good idea. :)
Not enough people understand that they have virtually no anonymity on the internet. I can think of a few bloggers who are behaving with impunity, believing they’re anonymous, when their identity is actually known. (There’s even one Virginia blogger who works for a campaign who maintains a blog heavily dedicated to making wild accusations against the campaign’s opponent. I’m just watching and waiting on that one.) It takes little more than a DMCA request to an ISP or a host to reveal an identity. That’s a half hour of work for a novice.
Anonymity is a veil that is easily pierced. Those who blog anonymously would do well to comport themselves in a manner that will not encourage — or require — such a piercing.
“Anonymity is a veil that is easily pierced. Those who blog anonymously would do well to comport themselves in a manner that will not encourage — or require — such a piercing.”
Exactly true, Waldo. I’ll admit, I probably don’t always do that, and Kristen and I are more than well aware that we’re not really that anonymous. Still, watching what one says is something that even those who aren’t anonymous should do. I think a lot of people don’t realize that the Internet is permanent- even if you delete your blog, someone’s got a copy. Look at the Washintonienne!
Well, you know, I went and looked at the post you linked to, and it looks pretty non-punishable. Granted, I haven’t looked at earlier posts, but the most egregious fault I could find was poor choice of colors and excessive links to the IMDB. If BVBL is finding and presenting real evidence, more power to ‘im.