First and foremost, you have to take into account defamation and libel. If you're going to say something about someone - particularly online in an open medium, while it may truly be just a matter of opinion, it cannot be defamatory. The moment you insult someone you leave yourself potentially open to either a vitriolic counter or something much worse. Here's something worth reading:
The elements that must be proved to establish defamation are:
- a publication to one other than the person defamed;
- a false statement of fact;
- that is understood as
- a. being of and concerning the plaintiff; and
- b. tending to harm the reputation of plaintiff.
If the plaintiff is a public figure, he or she must also prove actual malice.
thanks to eff.org
Not only that, but the feeling of getting caught saying something about someone online, that you honestly never thought they'd read, is a crushing guilt in its own right - depending on the person. I will lather you now with instances of being caught saying stupid things, all based on entirely personal experience, in the hope of giving you a heads up and keeping my fellow bloggers out of litigation trouble.
1. In some time around 2001-02, I was in a band, a metal band called Lucretia. You've undoubtedly never heard of us but we actually did alright. We were on the way up before we disbanded. Before all that though, we all went to school together and we all studied music. An opportunity arose to do some recording stuff for a project the 'whole school' could be involved in and we immediately got excited about doing a track. The music teacher then basically hijacked the project, composing the songs and choosing the musicians himself. Needless to say we were all neglected and pretty pissed. This teacher went on to be named #1 dickhead in our end-of-year list and, while the reasons still stand today as justifiable, it was a stupid thing to do. Next thing we and our parents were all individually contacted by mail or phone BY THE SCHOOL and threatened with legal action if we didn't remove it from the website. So we had to, and we did. At the age of 17/18 you think we might have gained something from the experience. Or that I would at least....
2. When I first started blogging for whiteboydancefloor - now destroy, white boy, I was the 'industry news' guy, given my completed studies in the field of music business. Much of my material was sourced from a site run by a prominent member of the Sydney music community - Phil Tripp. My ire was raised when the site, which had previously been free, was now charging a subscription fee. I impulsively decided to write a somewhat angry blog about it, expressing my tightass-ness while at the same time extolling the virtues of keeping news free and whatnot. Next thing I know I've received a personal email from Mr. Tripp, first of all responding to my admittedly petty concerns and then asking me to remove the article in particular or he would need to 'follow up' or something of the like. We corresponded the rest of the day and actually parted ways on good terms, and as such I have a boundless amount of respect for the man. But still, at the time of writing I had no idea that he would ever see it. If you're googling yourself again Phil, Hi!
3. If you've known me long enough, though most of you probably don't, you'll understand that I am NOT a fan of Lily Allen. I loved the first album, admittedly, but I then saw her 3 times in a year at different festivals and such, once in England actually. She played the exact same set every time and by the third gig she was so drunk she couldn't even remember the words to her songs. If you've been playing the one setlist all year this shouldn't happen, and hence I lost respect for her. A couple of years back she was in the press alot, I went on a MySpace (so it was a while ago) rant where I slagged her off and questioned how someone can be a famous 'singer' when they're never in the news for their singing. It truly was a brutal and vitriolic attack and if I could take it back I would, but alas we people on the internet are all victims of impulse. Forgetting that I was still actually on her list, 20 minutes later she posted a retort to 'everyone'. It says to everyone but there were things on there that dealt with things I specifically said. I felt ill. Her retort was as scathing as my initial post. I knew I had cut her deep and I honestly felt bad. Then again it could have all been in my head but the prompt and somewhat specific response makes me doubt it. If success in music ever befalls me suddenly this might come back to bite me in the arse. Though I seriously doubt it as good music and Lily Allen have little to do with each other anymore (zing!). Either way, I apologise.
terrifying...
4. My place of work. Having a particularly bad shift centered around sickness I let out in a brief Facebook status that I had the shits at the inability of someone 'with x years hospitality experience' to manage a shift on their own. While Facebook often changes peoples privacy settings without telling them, and that may well have been what happened, I get the feeling that on this particular instance I was dobbed in. But once again, it was a stupid thing to do. I had to make an apology. While I wasn't sorry for what I said I was sorry for the reaction it generated and its part of why I have fuck all people I work with still on Facebook. The saddest thing about it all is that this stupid incident took place THIS YEAR. I hadn't done something so stupid for nearly 5 years. But I showed myself that I was still capable of it. And if I am this means you are too.
You're probably alot less angry about many things than myself, and that will serve you well. The point I'm trying to make here is that ANYTHING you say online about ANYONE - as soon as you name them or provide a distinctive feature that leaves little doubt as to who it is, you may well be fucked. I've been either specifically or loosely threatened with the possibility of legal action on all these occasions but one - and lets face it, Lily Allen doesn't need my money. It might make for an interesting blog for people to read, but I'm hoping that you can all also learn from my mistakes and, if you start a blog or go to write an angry Facebook update, think before you act. Not because your thoughts are stupid but because the rest of the world can't take criticism - and ultimately there's a very distinct possibility that you're not going to feel the rage that currently flows through you by this time tomorrow. Control your impulses, it can save you potential litigation.
