<<whispers>> Was there ever any clarification about whether the issue with GF was swearing on here?

THe thing is, MN told us what it was and wasn't ok to post, but people still go ahead and push it into a very grey area. If Ms Ford wants to say her professional reputation has been sullied - this is aside from discussion of the methods contained in CLBB - then there are posts that haven't been deleted that make the posters' opinions clear. And there are still references to her that stray into defamation of character, I think.
I really think the best thing to do is to delete everything to do with her and hope that people stop pushing the limits. I hate the idea that we should even have to do that, when MN is clearly an oddly singled-out target, and of course this is all bound to backfire spectacularly on Ms Ford, but every time we discuss anyhting to do with her/this, people do get nasty and if that is what she hates, we give her ammunition almost constantly. So why not just not let it happen?

I really hope the lawyers are thrilled with the lives they have made for themselves.

If they were my children I would be ashamed of them.

Ok so the offensive posts are no longer in the public domain, I wonder what happens to them when they get pulled? I mean does GF have a print out of everything offensive ever posted about her? How is she going to prove that a significant number of people have seen those posts? One thing is for sure, a lot more people are reading these posts than ever read the allegedly offensive ones!

if everyone on MN donated 20-50 quid - I don't know how many Mnetters there are - but i suppose i am being naive - that might still be a drop in the ocean..

and vvvvvvvvv

do let everyone know if you need a fighting fund started MNHQ.

xx

Oliveoil- An Foot Anstey partner is probably going to cost in the region of £250 an hour- ball park figure. I can't find the info on their website.The costs of going to court will be huge.

sounds awful frogs. makes me feel very angry on MN Towers' behalf. Can't quite believe GF is doing this, and for the reasons she has given. Absolutely ridiculous.

Going to court can be outrageously expensive, even if you didn't bring the suit and you are clearly in the right.

A lot of the more agressive solicitors will bring cases on a no-win, no-fee basis, so there is no risk for their client but clearly means the solicitors will be giving it all they've got so they don't walk away with nothing. A common tactic is to prolong the case to the point where the other side can no longer sustain their legal fees (we're not even talking Court fees here, just the fees the accused party would have to pay to their own solicitor, which mount up very quickly). So you can end up having to pay a very large settlement on the basis of a completely specious accusation just to make the whole thing go away.

It happens, and people's lives are ruined by it. Much civil law, and the libel system in particular is not about right and wrong, it's about money and power. I do specialist consultancy in the legal field, and I won't touch libel case with a ten-foot pole, even though they pay much better than criminal cases, simply because of the amount of nastiness involved.

Just tried that, mp, and all I got was a thread from a day later discussing why that thread had been deleted.
Anyone know how I can access the original thread because I'd love to see it now!

The mad thing is, anyone looking at this thread and others relating to GF's campaign against MN could just Google fgor ginababe and evita and find the whole horrible thread for themselves in Google's cache - and that is FAR more damaging for GF's reputation than anything on this site. You'd think she'd want to avoid bringing attention to that at all costs.

How much would it cost to go to court, ballpark figure?

at this latest development.

Also happy to donate to a fighting fund if necessary.

thanks for that Jimjams. I wish there was a rich benefactor out there who could help MN go to court - I really do. And agree Private Eye probably not such a good idea unless GF does actually issue proceedings - which i really hope she does not. I too didn't really have that much of an opinion about her before all this, other than her methods were not for me - and now do have an opinion about her.

Fair points JJ and Frogs, I'd never take it there myself - for MNHQ to do, but not wise.
Agree totally with your last para JJ. I have evolved from a vague feeling that the methods are not for me as a parent, to having a very firm opinion which I share with people whenever possible.

Marina - basically what frogs said, I wonder if left alone then GF might withdraw the threat, whereas I wonder if actually going to PE will make her more determined to follow up and issue proceedings. If she had already issued proceedings then I would happily email PE, but I do wonder whether there is a chance that this can be resolved without recourse to the courts- better for everyone.

The trouble is that GF can afford to take mumsnet to court, mnet may not be able to afford to a)defend themselves or b) risk losing, and may therefore be forced into a situation where they have to pay her off (knowing then that they will still have a roof over their heads). I hope that they can afford to defend themselves and let this go to court, because the alternative seems morally wrong to me (ie they;re paying for stuff that they corrected and someone else said, can't be right).

ruty it's not dh's area at all, but he would always advise avoiding going to court, because it's always a risky procedure. This sort of action can end up bankrupting people like Justine. If GF goes ahead with legal proceedings it will be very difficult for Justine et al, even if her case isn't worth the paper it's written on.

I have been on mnet for years. I didn't have an opinion on GF really, I thought her methods were not for me- an opinion I formed before coming on here. The only thing I ever said about her was when my aunts asked why my cousin's baby was always asleep when they wanted to see him and had to eat at a certain time, I explained about GF and CLBB, and they looked confused and that was it. Now I have an opinion about her, and she features in discussions I have with friends.

The trouble is, even if MN disappears (obviously I hope not!), we would all post on other parenting sites. You can bet that people might feel slightly aggrieved at losing their favourite site, and might mention it on the new site. Then...the new site might be taken to court for having had this discussion and be cleaned out. End result - no parenting sites because they have all had their coffers cleared out.

I can't help thinking that any Judge would see the situation for what it really is and throw the case out. It really is all too ridiculous.

jimjams, does your DH think GF has a case when countless other websites have talked about her in no uncertain terms? Doesn't it just look like a personal vendetta against MN?

It does make me wonder this whole issue.
I mean if anyone has seen the housepricecrash website you'll have an idea of what they think of Kirty Allsop, known affectionately as Krusty Alslop!!!

Marina, presumably because Private Eye take the piss and wind people up. It's what they do, and they're v. good at it. If someone is already suffering from a sense of humour and sense of proportion failure of that magnitude, being satirised in the national press is unlikely to calm things down. Might spread the pain around, though -- PE are pros at getting sued.

x-posted JJ. Why do you think Private Eye would make matters worse, out of interest?

I was perfectly clear that methodology was fine to discuss but personal remarks were out of the question, so I can't understand Ann Clough's and GF's position either. Disingenuous is the word all right.
Just posting to add my support and a willingness to contribute to a fighting fund as required.
I too would love to see Private Eye take an interest in this whole issue and agree with EIS that you can't litigate the whole antenatal clinic/NCT group/playgroup gates network. Punitive legal action has a habit of rebounding on the instigator IME.

DH (a lawyer) said that one problem can be if the court awards laughable damages- say of £1, because you are still liable for the other sides costs, and the best thing is often to settle before court. Which of course leaves the mnet owners seriously out of pocket.

I don't understand why someone would do this to be honest, the offending posts have been removed, I can't believe it's remotely affected the sales of her book- especially if she has hundreds of thousands of followers. I end up being left with thought that, rather like Claudia Schiffer, she's doing it because she can, but really, really don't understand the point of that. Life is stressful enough, why make it more so? It would be stressful for her as well surely if the original ginababe postings were read out in open court. Why would you do that to yourself? Let alone go after Justine et al, who although owners did not even say the offensive things themselves (and in fact deleted them as soon as they were made aware of the situation).

Evita did change her name, although I have no idea if she still posts. I didn't see the original thread, but I did see Evita's apology. Evita was actually originally a GF follower and used her routines.

I bought The Private Eye today. I can see why ruty suggests contacting them, but I have a horrible feeling it could make a bad situation worse.

Carmenere made the very good point that "What I don't get is that a newspaper or magazine has an editor to read and decide everything that gets published in it before it gets to the public domain. So if slanderous things are published about an individual there is definite culpability. A web forum doesn't have an editor or time to monitor what is posted, one this size couldn't possibly monitor everything which is posted. The only thing Mumsnet could do is ask their members to refrain from posting offensive remarks about individuals and that is what they have done, along with removing any offensive remarks."

am repeating it because I couldn't put it nearly as well

this is utterly, utterly ridiculous and I am saddened, really saddened at the whole thing. If GF does happen to read this, please, please don't do it. For your sake and ours.