Fund to support Mumsnet through the battle

[ChandraVilla]

Some other websites like Damsels, Downsizer and Freeforum have kindly offered to raise awareness and money to support Mumsnet through a legal battle.

As these posts are at a risk of being overlooked as have been posted in the long Nobody's threads, I'm starting this thread. If you want to contribute in someway, be it ideas to help MN or to send some money for the cause please post here

Oh, and I agree that I would contribute to the legal costs but not a settlement.

Think contacting her sponsors is a good idea.

Uwila - in law, deleting makes no difference - a libel is a libel regardless of whether it is removed. Now, whether removing it swiftly can be seen as taking adequate measures... that has yet to be tested in a court of law. THAT'S the precedent that has yet to be set...

Yup.

Also in a closed forum it can be argued that any libel wouldn't have as large an audience so damage would be limited and any damages awarded would reflect that.

If I join her website (not that I would for £40!), canI contact other member directly?

Justine, are you considering going to court? Can you get no win no fee?

Don't know, Uwila - I think there are a couple of members on here though. I would suspect it's got a private message function, though how vetted they are, I don't know (well, I suspect heavily!).

GeorginaA, I was demonstrating that by having the ability to delete the message the user is in full control, and therefore it is the user and not mumsnet who is the publisher. The statement is still libelous (is that a word?), but the responsibiliy is the user's not mumnet's. Of course, I believe this is already the case, but my DH thinks if users could delete themselves it would help to argue the point in court.

How do you settle a case like this? If mn chose/was advised to settle, it would only clear the slate in respect of past "transgressions" ie the so-called offensive posts that were made in the past.

But mn cannot control what happens in the future, if people nonetheless write "offensive" things post-settlement. There will always be some comments that will slip the net and get our friend all riled up again. Then another law suit? Another fund?

I agree that any contribution should be to a fighting fund so that the courts can clarify the law in this area regarding ISPs/mn's liability once and for all. I would NOT want to contribute to any settlement.

Is there anyone around who has been on nobody's website forum? Is there any way we can find out what's being said on there or if posts are disappearing?

A settlement doesn't necessarily require any money changing hands just each party carrying their own costs.

FA will have to prove that any comments made were damaging enough to cause monetary loss.

This will not be easy.

hi justine - i sent a small legal fund donation to your PO Box address that you posted and it has just come back in the post to me with "box cancelled" on envelope. are you not collecting donations?

Hi wheels on the bus

That's a bit alarming! Thanks for letting us know and we'll definitely look into it and report back.

thanks. it's not usual for me to get my cheques returned!

This is incredible. I wouldn't have believed it possible. It sounds as if one would be willing to sacrifice their nose to spite their face. One has been accepted as an authority on a certain subject & then one proceeds to completely discredit oneself in order to make a point? And what point was that, exactly?

I will be happy to throw money after this cause! Even if we have to go down, it won't be without a damned good fight as far as I'm concerned.

I'd love to have morningpaper's question answered, btw.