Is posting on "dont date him/her" sites against the law?

[linusback07]

What is the name of your state? California

I want to know if posting someone on dontdatehimgirl.com or datingpsychos.com is against the law? Can a person be sued for posting on these sites or sites like them?

Also, if a person posted on a site like these has any recourse, ie...can they find out who posted the profile? Does it matter what is written in the profile?

Anyway...I really need to know...

Thanks...

 

[justalayman]

it, in itself is not against the law.

Since just about anybody can sue anybody for just about anything, yes you could be sued but that does not mean it would be a successful suit.

as long as you do not slander the person involved, you can post most anything you want. The defense to a slander suit is to prove what was said is the truth.

can they find out who posted the profile; that would depend on the site administration and if the aggrieved has filed suit and has use of subpoena powers.

 

[quincy]

Most of what is posted can be treated as "opinion" and, as such, is not libelous. Opinions, as long as they cannot reasonably be interpreted as representing actual facts about a person, are constitutionally protected free speech. If someone writes, "He is a liar and a fraud", that could be libelous. If someone writes, "It is my opinion that he is a liar and a fraud", that could be libelous. However, if someone says, "That no-good lying fraud is a real jerk", that is an opinion. Any way it is worded, though, it would be hard to prove or disprove, and a libel suit would be hard to win.

 

[justalayman]

Most of what is posted can be treated as "opinion" and, as such, is not libelous. Opinions, false or not, defaming or not, are constitutionally protected free speech.

opinion can put a person in false light and as such is not a complete defense to libel, especially if done with malice.

from http://www.expertlaw.com/library/personal_injury/defamation.htmlopinion



A defense recognized in most jurisdictions is "opinion". If the person makes a statement of opinion as opposed to fact, the statement may not support a cause of action for defamation. Whether a statement is viewed as an expression of fact or opinion can depend upon context - that is, whether or not the person making the statement would be perceived by the community as being in a position to know whether or not it is true. If your employer calls you a pathological liar, it is far less likely to be regarded as opinion than if such a statement is made by somebody you just met. Some jurisdictions have eliminated the distinction between fact and opinion, and instead hold that any statement that suggests a factual basis can support a cause of action for defamation.

 

[linusback07]

This is what the site says...that also has name, age, city, state, occupation

He about 5''11, 180lbs give or take, drives a old Beamer and lives in a delapidated house in the middle of nowhere so people wont see all the girls coming and going...he has been knownto lie and manipulate women and will claim he loves YOU (uses courtship - yet does not even know the meaning) and you will believe him...yet is dating several women at the same time-all the time...Even while being engaged. (usually with more than one at at time). He has made claim that he has been engaged to and lived with more women than he can count. He uses his christianity and is claims he is the best chiropractor in Poway to gain your attention. Do not trust him, he has narcissistic sociopathic tendancies.

 

[fairisfair]

This is what the site says...that also has name, age, city, state, occupation

He about 5''11, 180lbs give or take, drives a old Beamer and lives in a delapidated house in the middle of nowhere so people wont see all the girls coming and going...he has been knownto lie and manipulate women and will claim he loves YOU (uses courtship - yet does not even know the meaning) and you will believe him...yet is dating several women at the same time-all the time...Even while being engaged. (usually with more than one at at time). He has made claim that he has been engaged to and lived with more women than he can count. He uses his christianity and is claims he is the best chiropractor in Poway to gain your attention. Do not trust him, he has narcissistic sociopathic tendancies.

so....what part is a lie??

 

[quincy]

It is not possible for you to be defamed through an insult or slur made by someone close to you, like a family member. To be libelous, you must show publication (which you have) and identification (which you have). The defamation, however, is not so clear. For instance, she states that your house is "dilapidated". If your house IS dilapidated, then the statement is true and it is not libel. If the statement is false, then try to PROVE that the woman who posted that your house is dilapidated thinks otherwise. You can't. OPINION cannot be proved true nor false and therefore it cannot be libelous. This, as with everything else written in this post, is OPINION, and obviously the opinion of a very angry ex-girlfriend.
If you want to sue the woman to show her you are as angry as she is, then you can. But you will spend a lot of time and a lot of money (and if you can't identify this woman that you were, apparently engaged to, I would say that she could, more than likely, use truth as her defense and win any libel suit).

 

[fairisfair]

This is what the site says...that also has name, age, city, state, occupation

He about 5''11, 180lbs give or take, drives a old Beamer and lives in a delapidated house in the middle of nowhere so people wont see all the girls coming and going...he has been knownto lie and manipulate women and will claim he loves YOU (uses courtship - yet does not even know the meaning) and you will believe him...yet is dating several women at the same time-all the time...Even while being engaged. (usually with more than one at at time). He has made claim that he has been engaged to and lived with more women than he can count. He uses his christianity and is claims he is the best chiropractor in Poway to gain your attention. Do not trust him, he has narcissistic sociopathic tendancies.

Hey P. M., we can add,

"not all that smart about the internet as well". Get what I mean????

 

[karenswett]

How can this be right? Any recourse?

OK, some vindictive kid placed a listing about my MINOR daughter at www.datingpsychos.com, including specific facts...her name, age, town, her job, etc. In addition, there were specific statements of "fact" made...the paragraph was not a rant of opinions, but statements of behavior, diseases, etc. Worse yet, if I google my daughter's name, all of the identifying data comes up in a link to the site...you don't even have to go to the site to see this data about my daughter. I am STEAMING mad. Don't mess with an angry mom LOL! What can I do? Can the site administrator be compelled to reveal the identity of the poster? I mean...we're not talking about an adult here, and we're not talking about opinions, either.
Opinions and advice appreciated!

 

[quincy]

This is a really old thread you are posting to, and it would have been better if you had started a new one, but what is ironic is that an attorney recently sued an ex-girlfriend who posted on the don'tdatehimgirl site, and also sued the other women who posted there, as well. The suit is still in the NY courts, I believe, and I haven't heard the outcome. But suits over web postings are increasing.

You can go to court to get a subpoena to have the site remove the offending material, if after contacting the site administrator the material is not removed (many sites now require a court order because of the overwhelming number of requests to delete material, much of which is not illegal). With a court order, the site administrator will reveal to you the identity of the poster. Then you can sue the poster for defamation.

Nastiness, for the most part, is perfectly legal free speech, and truth is free speech, and opinion is free speech, as long as it doesn't imply fact. To be defamation, the words must injure a reputation - either personally or professionally. Certain words printed assume injury, otherwise you must prove injury. If the judge that issues the subpoena believes you have good cause to have the material removed from the site, you may have good cause to bring suit, as well.

The problems with bringing a defamation action, however, are many. One, it is really expensive to sue (think thousands). Two, it is time-consuming (think months and months if not years), and three, you don't always win. In addition, if you are suing a kid, your chances of collecting damages are slim.

Show the site to a lawyer, and see if he/she thinks it is worth pursuing farther than the taking-down of the offensive material.