L
Loose Ends 2004
Guest
Some of you people need to stop with the dramatics.
Someone posts on a message board that he works for such and such dept. in the federal government, and he uses an e-mail address that is clearly identifiable as being an e-mail address of that department. He brags that he is doing as he pleases at taxpayer expense.
So someone else reports to the federal govt HR Dept or Inspector General or whatever that this person has stated he is doing these things, and provides evidence in the form of links, hard copy or whatever.
As someone else said, yes, the govt allows employees to use the Internet, but they do so for work-related matters - NOT for the type of shenanigans he is pulling. Maybe he is f'ing off on govt time. Maybe he made all this up (unlikely). The point is the person STATED he is doing all these things and that's why he is being reported.
That's not libel.
THIS is libel: Publication of false and malicious information printed for the purpose of defaming a living person. Libel is a false and unprivileged publication by writing, printing, picture, effigy, or other fixed representation to the eye, which exposes any person to hatred, contempt, ridicule, or obloquy, or which causes him to be shunned or avoided, or which has a tendency to injure him in his occupation.
Publishing private information about anyone is not defamation. It is simply the truth. As for you sending his information to his employer, that action in and of itself is not defamation unless you falsely accused him of committing a crime of which you know he did not commit and he suffered damages as a result.
Key words are "false" and "unprivileged". Hell, his co-workers or supervisor could easily be reading the same message board.
If he didn't want anyone to know (or suspect) he is doing these things then he shouldn't brag about it on an Internet message board. Duh. If, - and this is a longshot - he lied about the govt e-mail address, then that's the governments problem - not the problem of the person reporting it to the government. Criminal prosecution? For WHAT? Gimme a break.
The best defense against libel and slander is the truth.
(Let's get real. The chances of someone sitting at home and coming up with the idea to pretend to be a government employee at a specific government agency and conjuring up a plan to lie about abusing policies and tax dollars is very slim.)
Don't let ‘em scare you, Klady. Do what you feel you gotta do. Just make sure you provide evidence of what it is your complaint is about. You might want to remain anonymous (because he will probably go postal when he gets fired and when his unemployment is denied because of gross misconduct). Contrary to what others have told you, retaining anonymity is easy.
Someone posts on a message board that he works for such and such dept. in the federal government, and he uses an e-mail address that is clearly identifiable as being an e-mail address of that department. He brags that he is doing as he pleases at taxpayer expense.
So someone else reports to the federal govt HR Dept or Inspector General or whatever that this person has stated he is doing these things, and provides evidence in the form of links, hard copy or whatever.
As someone else said, yes, the govt allows employees to use the Internet, but they do so for work-related matters - NOT for the type of shenanigans he is pulling. Maybe he is f'ing off on govt time. Maybe he made all this up (unlikely). The point is the person STATED he is doing all these things and that's why he is being reported.
That's not libel.
THIS is libel: Publication of false and malicious information printed for the purpose of defaming a living person. Libel is a false and unprivileged publication by writing, printing, picture, effigy, or other fixed representation to the eye, which exposes any person to hatred, contempt, ridicule, or obloquy, or which causes him to be shunned or avoided, or which has a tendency to injure him in his occupation.
Publishing private information about anyone is not defamation. It is simply the truth. As for you sending his information to his employer, that action in and of itself is not defamation unless you falsely accused him of committing a crime of which you know he did not commit and he suffered damages as a result.
Key words are "false" and "unprivileged". Hell, his co-workers or supervisor could easily be reading the same message board.
If he didn't want anyone to know (or suspect) he is doing these things then he shouldn't brag about it on an Internet message board. Duh. If, - and this is a longshot - he lied about the govt e-mail address, then that's the governments problem - not the problem of the person reporting it to the government. Criminal prosecution? For WHAT? Gimme a break.
The best defense against libel and slander is the truth.
(Let's get real. The chances of someone sitting at home and coming up with the idea to pretend to be a government employee at a specific government agency and conjuring up a plan to lie about abusing policies and tax dollars is very slim.)
Don't let ‘em scare you, Klady. Do what you feel you gotta do. Just make sure you provide evidence of what it is your complaint is about. You might want to remain anonymous (because he will probably go postal when he gets fired and when his unemployment is denied because of gross misconduct). Contrary to what others have told you, retaining anonymity is easy.
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