Was the previous admin another scammer? I know he was hard on some people. What did he do?
There were some allegations that he did business with the Beijing clinic, anyway this seems to be a good summary of his antics.
http://www.network54.com/Forum/180792/message/1305987660/old%20forum%20+Admin-+The+most+hated+LLer+in+the+World!!!
some changes have been made to the Encyclopedia to make it seem more parody, lol, to try to evade the potetntial lawsuit
That ED article is obviously a mockery of something that happened on the old forum with plenty of insulting thrown in for good measure. It's kinda retarded to sue them because parody is the ultimate expression of freedom of speech. That said, they really should remove those parts about racism and family, but hey their site their rules.
I am what you might call a "concerned citizen" who frequents the website Encyclopedia Dramatica. Two days ago it came to light that sysop, someone you may know better as SysOp, filed a civil lawsuit against 20 "John Doe" defendants for libel, defamation, and copyright infringement.
While I am not a lawyer, and anything I say should not be taken as legal advice, it is worth mentioning that this lawsuit is quite frivolous and pointless; but nonetheless can become an annoyance to anyone involved if left to fester unknown like Shahn would be prefer it did.
When people annoy you in frivolous legal matters, the right thing to do is defend yourself and then countersue for legal expenses/harassment. I'm not a lawyer either, but I do know somebody who practice law and is of the opinion that this is a frivolous lawsuit
It is is commonly known as a SLAPP lawsuit ( strategic lawsuit against public participation), intended to censor and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition.
1) Copyright infringement
This is a funny one, it would be like Justin Bieber suing TMZ for publishing his picture. The Fair Use Clause allow legal use of copyright material for the purpose of commentary, criticism, review, news, etc. Waste of time.
2) Libel/Defamation
You can't override the freedom of speech which protect an opinion or truth. Comments made in the context of an Internet bulletin board are highly likely to be opinions or hyperbole. Another pointless claim.
On the other hand, there are law governing fraud and deceit.
http://www.new-york-attorney.org/new-york-fraud-law.htmlThese type of violations are illegal, especially if you have a duty to disclose
Deceit - intentional misrepresentation, concealment, a false promise or a negligent misrepresentation.
Fraud - fraudulent inducement and fraudulent concealment
