i'm leaving. i was smart enough not to post anything about the two yale law students at issue in the xo lawsuit, and i am not one of the defendants there. but there is no way to know that i will not step on someone's toes in the future, and it seems that the only check on a defamation lawsuit going forward long enough to get discovery is whether a plaintiff is crazy enough to file one. no one ever went broke overestimating the craziness of people on the internet, and i don't want to tempt fate. i am sure i would ultimately prevail on the merits in any litigation that could come along, but of course the damage would already be done.

i've posted a lot of controversial things on this board over time, from honest appraisals of the value of various institutions to debates about politically relevant issues like affirmative action to arguments about the personal integrity of various public figures. any of these, though legitimate, could spark enough anger to incite a groundless lawsuit. it would fail on the merits; it would perhaps even charge court and attorney fees to the plaintiff; but it might ultimately succeed at the only thing that really matters here: attaching my real-world name to my online comments, which i made under the assumption that that won't happen. we all know how small the legal world is, and how dangerous controversial associations can be, no matter how legal or even socially desirable they are.

maybe if i can't quit this place, i'll hide behind layers of proxies and reveal even less about myself as i post under a new moniker. but i didn't take those steps for this moniker, and my fingerprints are all over the internet, from the email account that i use to take questions to the email account i used to sign up in the first place, three years ago, when the board was a much more benign and friendly place. for now, the practical effect of the litigation is to chill the participation of folks like me, who were generally outraged by the conduct of this board towards the two plaintiffs, but who cannot be sufficiently assured that a future rogue plaintiff will not compel discovery.

cheers.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=714687&forum_id=2#8875692)

Not that xoxo is the same but if you were to look at the Yahoo message boards about stocks you could find a LOT of cases of companies going after people who have made negative remarks about them. I guess thats the reality of the world we live in.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=714687&forum_id=2#8876876)

Go fuck yourself you fucking chicken nigger

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=714687&forum_id=2#8876884)