Duncan said he edited out one post that accused a well-known bay area figure of illegal behavior without offering proof. Another time, he deleted a message that purported to be written by a public figure but wasn't. Though both comments were made in jest by regular contributors, he worried some readers might be fooled.
"Basically, the legal defense right now for posting whatever you want to post is that, 'Well, everybody knows that the Internet is nothing but a bunch of yahoos' (and) that nobody should be relying on the Internet for accuracy anyway," Duncan said.
Tommy should actually do some research and read the Communications Decency Act of 1996.
Treatment of publisher or speaker.--No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.
That means I am not responsible for comments or blog posts of others and visa versa. The Supreme Court made a famous decision to change decency laws.
The CDA prohibited posting "indecent" or "patently offensive" materials in a public forum on the Internet -- including web pages, newsgroups, chat rooms, or online discussion lists. This would have included the texts of classic fiction such as the "Catcher in the Rye" and "Ulysees", the "7 dirty words", and other materials which, although offensive to some, enjoy the full protection of the First Amendment if published in a newspaper, magazine, or a book, or in the public square. It is also important to note that the CDA was not about child pornography, obscenity, or using the Internet to stalk children. These were already illegal under current law.
Libel is hard to prove in a court of law. The only extreme case I have seen is against Chris Wilson for the porn and gore message board NOWTHATSFUCKEDUP. They attempted to convict Wilson for obscenity. Wilson walked and now the Polk County Sheriff's Office now owns the domain name.
Tommy is an expert of nothing. Would it hurt if he once researched a topic before he open his mouth? Really, dude. It's embarrassing.
The only reason The Times goes to Tommy is because he brown-nosed Steve Spears and Chase Squires back when he was begging The Times to hire him as a blogger. Obviously, that didn't pan out. Apparently, they didn't need someone to write hard-hitting posts about the Strawberry Festival.
I really couldn't believe it myself.
ReplyDeleteIt's like spinning the spin and all I end up with is day-old cotton candy.
Sum Total: I'll keep reading the St Pete Times but I really won't pay attention to it anymore. (or less LOL)
It's really useful because they like to slamdunk Tampa. Sometimes Tampa pays them back. I think if the reporters for BOTH papers would actually spend some time in their respective own f'ing cities looking for some NEWS ... nah, it still wouldn't help.
When in Tampa do as the Tampans do.
Don't talk about it .... that's B A D.
Cover it up. Eventually the stink will go away. Then they grow up and send their kids to journalism school and law school and there you have it: TAMPA. Tampa Tribune. etc.......
It was a stitch to read.
One would think Tommy Duncan would become familiar with the law after the Rachel Moran flap. He is so worried about being sued that he never took that down and let Rachel write another post about the homeless. Real smart.
ReplyDeleteApparently, they didn't need someone to write hard-hitting posts about the Strawberry Festival.
ReplyDeleteZING!
I don't know any of the people involved here, but I did read the homeless-bashing ridiculousness and was offended. By the subject matter--don't the homeless need advocacy rather than ridicule?--and by the terrible writing (most excellent blue neon light shining on someone's most excellent hair like in a most excellent ultracool sci-fi movie. Or something.)
SOF is a colorful and attractive blog and from what I see it has potential to engage local people and enlighten rather than just advertise to them. But the stories--traffic is bad! People in Tampa are bad drivers!--are not terribly hard-hitting and the prose tends to be a bit simplistic.
My two-cents' worth, anyway.
It's my fantasy to be sued.
ReplyDeleteThinking of the work it would save me is ... enough to make me have even more pleasant dreams.
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Interesting read on Invasion of Privacy