irokin Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Maybe we should start a good wreakers ,bad wreakers thread :worship: Yea, no. I prefer not to be sued thanks all the same. Edit: This was split off from the thread here: http://www.rollaclub.com/board/index.php?showtopic=33836 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axentrik Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 (edited) how can you be sued for what someone says on your forum? wouldn't it say somewhere that the content of this forum is the expressed opinions of its members and in no way is it the authors own opinions, views beliefs. that kind of forum topic would actually be a good idea anyways so people know where to go to get the good parts at reasonable prices and to not go if they don't want to get ripped off. Edited September 9, 2009 by Axentrik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irokin Posted September 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 how can you be sued for what someone says on your forum? wouldn't it say somewhere that the content of this forum is the expressed opinions of its members and in no way is it the authors own opinions, views beliefs. that kind of forum topic would actually be a good idea anyways so people know where to go to get the good parts at reasonable prices and to not go if they don't want to get ripped off. Unfortunately as the operator of the site I'm an easy target for litigation so you'll have to forgive me if I'm a little overzealous in protecting myself from lawsuits. There was a case in Australia earlier this year where an attempt was made to take a forum owner to court. Thankfully for him the guy filing the lawsuit didn't do the paperwork correctly and it was thrown out. I followed this VERY closely when it was happening and was even prepared to donate money if it went to trial. http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technolog...l4t.html?page=1 http://www.zgeek.com/forum/f60/update-in-t...-battle-t84864/ From the SMH article: Colin Jacobs, spokesman for the online user's lobby group Electronic Frontiers Australia, said the case highlighted the cloud of uncertainty that hovers over forum moderators in Australia. "In countries such as the US, specific exemptions exist to shield website owners from defamation claims such as this," Jacobs said. "We wouldn't say it should just be open slather, but if a forum owner goes so far as to take down potentially defamatory statements when asked, they probably shouldn't then be liable for massive damages. Bankrupting forum owners who operate in good faith doesn't encourage healthy discussion in Australia." Theres also the case of 2Clix, a software company that tried to sue Whirlpool.net.au (probably the largest forum in Australia) for a couple of members who posted about how poor their software and support was. This lawsuit WAS filed correctly and looked like it would go to court (I think it did actually have a mention or two in the Supreme Court in Brisbane). In the end 2Clix made such a bad name for themselves they dropped the lawsuit (yay) and then eventually declared bankruptcy because they had few customers left after the media coverage. http://whirlpool.net.au/news/?id=1753 http://whirlpool.net.au/news/?id=1755 So yes, the potential threat is real. Even if the lawsuit does get thrown out in the end, I have to defend myself in order for it to get to that stage. In order to do that I need to hire lawyers. Lawyers cost money and seen as Rollaclub doesn't exactly operate in the black that ends up coming out of my pockets. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to be able to let you say where the good and bad wreckers/mechanics/whatever are but the law doesn't offer myself enough protection to allow me to allow you to do that. Sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philbey Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Even more close to home is the case of Ozrodders, an online car forum similar to the RC but for different cars http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/announcing...-com-62982.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trev Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Twincam.org was hit with legal action to change the classifieds section name from 'Trading Post' It is now Parading Toast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hiro Protagonist Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Twincam.org was hit with legal action to change the classifieds section name from 'Trading Post' It is now Parading Toast. I remember that....much fun was had. Quite surprising how far Telstra/Sensis would go to protect a brand-name, even though trading post is a legitimate non-trademark term (and was around long before the trademark came into effect, so even a genericised trademark claim couldn't apply) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axentrik Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 australia is a fail country, we technically have NO RIGHTS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeAE71 Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 australia is a fail country, we technically have NO RIGHTS. Careful son, Australia might sue you for defamation :jamie: :hmm: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philbey Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 (edited) No rights? Sorry man but your claim is laughable. Edited September 10, 2009 by philbey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axentrik Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 A Bill of Rights for Australia Even though Australia has signed all five international treaties that make up the the International Bill of Human Rights, none of these treaties are legally binding in Australia. Nor is there is a Bill of Rights in the Australian Constitution. This means that the fundamental rights and freedoms of everyone living in Australia are not protected by the law. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irokin Posted September 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Look where the bill of rights got the UK. They're now so paranoid about infringing other peoples rights that the very thing they were aiming for was eliminated by their bill of rights. IMHO a bill of rights is not the right way for Australia to go. Edit: I should point out that a bill of rights doesn't remove the possibility of being sued for defamation. Recently in the UK Simon Singh (a scientist) was sued successfully for libel by the British Chiropractic Association for the following which was published in The Guardian: "You might think that modern chiropractors restrict themselves to treating back problems, but in fact they still possess some quite wacky ideas. The fundamentalists argue that they can cure anything. And even the more moderate chiropractors have ideas above their station. The British Chiropractic Association claims that their members can help treat children with colic, sleeping and feeding problems, frequent ear infections, asthma and prolonged crying, even though there is not a jot of evidence. This organisation is the respectable face of the chiropractic profession and yet it happily promotes bogus treatments." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philbey Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Lets not get into a political discussion about whether or not Australia should have a bill of rights. The point of the thread is, all members need to take care of what they say on the website, particularly anything construed as slander/libel/defamation. More importantly, when it's aimed at a commercial entity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ae174agze Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 rabble rabble rabble rabble (southpark) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TE278U Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 you should be able to relay factual events which happened at a wreckers, but not be able to say "those guys are shit" without having dealt with them. IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philbey Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 (edited) True, but remember that people don't necessarily relay fact, they relay their interpretation of what happened. Edited September 11, 2009 by philbey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.