[QUOTE=taai gihk yahn;910468]ok, so here’s the scenario: let’s assume that Kansuke knowingly misrepresents what HW’s sifu said and let’s say that HW in fact acknowledges that the person is actually his sifu, and claims that what Kansuke printed is a lie; (TBH, I really have no idea if it’s true or not); bear in mind that we still have no idea who HW actually is, meaning that the only negative reflection is on his anonymous internet persona; HW in reality will not suffer at all; in fact he only would have real problems if his true identity becomes known; the only way for that to happen is for HW to reveal it himself, which he certainly would not do, since he knows that while having his on-line rep besmirched is a relatively minor inconvenience, it pales in comparison to what could happen if his true identity were being impugned (negative impact on family, career, etc.); so let’s say HW hires an attorney and pursues legal recourse - if it goes before a judge, the judge would want to know in what way this defamation has caused him a loss of some sort; as soon as that judge finds out that the only impact has been on his internet nom-de-plume, what do you think will happen? yeah, buh-bye;
also, you apply a legal definition of defamation - according to what legal statute? HW is in So. America; Kansuke is somewhere else (possibly Japan); the KFMF server is in California - what jurisdiction would you propose handles something like this? it’s a non-starter[/QUOTE]
Taai Gihk,
I understand your intuitioin on this, and yours is actually a pretty reasonable argument, but it’s wrong.
First, defamation is not created by statute, it comes from common law.
Second, just by showing, among a few other things, that there was a knowing lie based on some proposed fact that was false will create liability for damages as a matter of law. You don’t have to quantify damages or make any other showing. That falls under the special damages doctrine and is covered in an earlier post. The jury will determine what the money damages should be based on their knowledge and values.
Third, the fact that he uses a different name on the forum is not going to effect it. Defamation is tort law, and the point of tort law in to place blame against someone that wrongs another. Hardwork has some type of reputation on the forum, and that’s enough.
If you were right with your argument, then you’d be saying that the member would not be wronged no matter how many knowing lies are said, even if there’s one done every day, by many people, maliciously. The question is, would a reasonable person feel wronged if subjected to that. If I, for example, put up a post every day claiming your wife or whoever said things to me about you in secret that were very derogatory, wouldn’t you be hurt by that? And if I was knowingly lying, didn’t even know your wife, but made it seem to the community that I did, wouldn’t you feel helpless. You have a right not to suffer that in the American law.
