Defamatory posts on a forum from years back show up on google

[confusedpixie]

If you google my name there are a couple of posts from a girl I knew in school that come up claiming I hacked into her accounts from six years ago. I have managed to get all but one deleted by contacting an old mutual friend who knew the girl's passwords to these old accounts and just deleted them herself, the last she doesn't know and the girl won't respond to me contacting her.

If I contacted the site would they be likely to delete it? How do I phrase a request to the site to delete this post? It's on a site called rooster teeth, I believe it was known as Red vs Blue when we were at school.

I wouldn't worry about it in normal circumstances but it does show on google (and I have an unusual name, I seem to be the only one in the UK with the spelling and surname that comes up on google or the directories!). I work in people's homes with access to their computers whilst they aren't around, I don't want even the slightest suspicion that I may be able to find things I shouldn't on a computer! I don't even know how to hack something!

Well, you could always start by contacting the site's admin and asking them to take it down. How likely they are to do so depends on what kind of site it is; I'm on a number where a defamatory post using someone's real name wouldn't last an hour before getting deleted without the subject even requesting it; likewise I'm on others where you'd probably have to employ a lawyer before they'll even think about it.

I'd send a friendly email explaining the situation first (but without mentioning you had someone else access her other accounts and deleting similar posts and you'd have done it on this website but you couldn't get the password - if I got an email like that in any of the places where I moderate I'd instantly get a whole lot less sympathetic). If they won't respond or say no, you may have a bit of a fight on your hands.

Naoko: Thank you! It's a general myspace/bebo type site that never took off I think so hopefully they'll be alright with it.

The mutual friend was given access back in school to help her moderate it, the girl was not well liked in school and was a very nasty person so received a lot of hate mail at every account she owned! Funnily enough I was originally one of the few who stuck up for her and encouraged her to report it! She also asked me to moderate the accounts but I refused. The accounts have been long since abandoned which is why I went to the friend who still remembered the details.

That kind of backstory does make it much les , but I still wouldn't mention it. For one thing accountsharing like that might, depending on the site's terms and conditions, break their user agreement - and without the explanation I'm sure you can see how bad it sounds! I'd just not mention it if I were you. Good luck getting it taken down, hope you get a good response :)