Defamation of character

[k6gixx]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TX
If, on a open forum that has little to no oversight, a person has his name and email address posted with defamatory remarks about his sexuality, and in emails has been threatened with violence is there a case?

 

[quincy]

Making threats of violence is never okay, nor is making defamatory remarks about an identified or identifiable person. Whether you have any legal action worth pursuing, however, depends on all of the facts of your situation. You should have the content of the emails and the content of the material posted on the forum reviewed by an attorney in your area.

Any legal action you would consider taking, however, would be directed at the person making the threats and defamatory comments. If a forum has little or no oversight by the administrators of the site, there is very little chance that they could be held liable for the content of the material posted.

Good luck.

 

[k6gixx]

I am the victim of a guy who posted a "bait" posting on a forum. I responded to his add and that's when he took my name and email address from the reply and posted it on the forum with the obscene comments, and then impersonated me with solicitation of sexual services. The posts have been deleted by the forum staff, but I still have the emails

 

[quincy]

Again, run the forum posts and the emails by an attorney for review, to see if there is any action you can take against the person who posted them and impersonated you.

Bringing a defamation action against the online poster could be extremely costly and, therefore, must be a factor to consider carefully. In other words, it may very well not be worth your time, your effort and your money to legally pursue the matter.

Whether or not filing suit against the poster makes sense could depend on how much reputational injury you have suffered as a result of the posts. There could be an issue about the "obscene" content of the material posted, and this content could cause problems for you if you are thought to have posted it - so have your attorney check Texas and federal online obscenity laws.

Any threats of violence that seem like serious threats that put you in fear for your safety should be reported to the police.