Re: [APD] Legal implications of free speech...

["S. Hieber" <shieber at yahoo_com>]

Excellent points that come from hard experience.

Curiously, epinions.com still allows negative reviews, so
does, for example, newegg.com and other such computer
vendors as well as other shopping sites that allow
users/shoppers to post product reviews. I am, however,
totally ignorant of what tortious consequences, if any,
have resulted.

sh

--- Robert H <robertph3 at comcast_net> wrote:

>
> It didn't really need to go all the way since the
> majority of us settled. 
> And those that did not have dragged on into legal limbo.
> What do you think 
> the price was we paid? It cost us money, people gave up
> WEB sites and other 
> things not to mention the anguish and torment. And beyond
> that PW won in the 
> long run. He changed forever how this forum and every
> other aquarium forum 
> operates. In the last four years every aquarium WEB forum
> now has a strict 
> policy of not allowing negative comments of businesses.
> And whether anyone 
> admits it or not, although the bravado, over
> exaggerration, and lies by the 
> plantiff were dispicable, there was an underlining truth
> behind it that we 
> were irresponsible in our comments.  It didn't matter if
> it was the truth or 
> not.  People went overboard. And while this may not be a
> popular thing to 
> say on this forum, it is a realization that many of us
> have come to 
> privately.
> 
> >>I think it best to pass on my negative
> experiences with vendors privately wherever possible.<<
> 
> If your opinion is asked for that is one thing, but when
> someone takes it 
> upon themselves to go on a mission to privately contact
> anyone at any 
> opportunity for unsolicited feedback, it is just as
> dangerous and 
> irresponsible. A year or two ago a vendor in AZ was
> getting a flood of 
> negative comments on the internet. At some point a couple
> people started 
> giving people this feedback in private email and private
> forums. But some of 
> these people who were recieving these comments were
> actually satisfied 
> customers of this vendor and forwarded the messages to
> the vendor. Every 
> business has to deal with this, particularly on the
> internet. I have had my 
> own problems to deal with. What I learned out of the
> whole legal ordeal was 
> for myself anyway, that to be responsible I need to
> determin where the line 
> is from being informative and being vindictive just
> because I was "wronged". 
> It is an easy line to cross.
>
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