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Disclaimer: This is not a legal advice forum. Any opinion offered, in any guise, is to be taken as opinion, and nothing else. That means that if somebody offers a particular course of action, this is not to be thought of as legal advice. In the event that a poster says he is qualified to give legal advice, neither Boards.ie Ltd., nor any of its affiliates, accept any liability for any loss or damage arising therefrom. In other words, members can assume that nobody who posts in this forum is qualified to give legal advice. BY POSTING IN OR READING FROM THIS FORUM, YOU AGREE TO THIS DISCLAIMER. Any legal advice sought or given will result in an immediate week long ban. Second offences result in an indefinite ban.
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Charter Rules
Defamation and Flaming
Strictly no abuse of any other persons will be tolerated in this forum. Members who post personal abuse about others will be immediately banned and their posts deleted. This is a legal discussion forum, so we will be taking this very seriously. Furthermore, any defamation found in this forum will result in an immediate ban. Defamation is when something is said about another person (legal, natural or otherwise, that means companies can be defamed) that is untrue and damaging. Digital Rights Ireland defines it as:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Digital Rights Ireland
What is Defamation?
• Defamation occurs where a false statement is published about a person which tends to lower that person in the eyes of right-thinking members of society. Defamation is a generic term – slander is defamation in a transient form, while libel is defamation in written or permanent (or equivalent) form. • Defamatory statements include accusations of professional incompetence, or of unethical, illegal or immoral behaviour. Some examples from the Irish Courts include: - Imputations of sexual impropriety (Sinclair v. Gogarty) - Wrongly accuse a person of being a sympathiser with terrorism (McDonagh v. Newsgroup) - Wrongly accuse someone of cheating in a horse race (Green v. Blake) - Suggest a person tolerated serious crime (DeRossa v. Independent Newspapers) - Suggest a nightclub proprietor tolerated the sale of drugs on his premises and was a “gay bachelor” (Reynolds v. Malocco) • It is not necessary for a plaintiff to show that he was in fact lowered in the eyes of others and suffered loss as a result, only that the statement was of a type which tended to do so. This is not a comprehensive list of all possible defamatory statements, but gives a flavour of the range of the defamation definition. |
Anything that is posted in this forum that is potentially liable to cause an action for contempt of court will be removed without hesitation, and the poster will be warned. Repeat offences will result in a temporary ban.
We are governed by the same laws as any other medium and we are at a disadvantage as the internet is an instantaneous medium, so we cannot exercise editorial control before the fact so this is an incredibly important item: Contempt of court arises where a case is ongoing and includes, but is not limited to;
- Talking about evidence that was inadmissible in court—I don’t care where you heard it, it is wholly unacceptable. If the court has decided it is irrelevant to the case, then you can take it that this is so.
- Talking about the case while the jury is out (as with newspapers and other media)
- Saying that somebody who has been acquitted is guilty.
Advertising
Lawyers (or any other persons, legal or otherwise) are not to advertise in this forum. If I think it’s necessary, I may allow a pimping thread for solicitors and legal advisors, but for the moment, no ads. Barristers advertising here will be reported to their governing body. If anyone wishes to advertise here on boards.ie, please contact DeVore.
There is one exception to this general rule: if a user requests information about lawyers or legal services, someone who can provide these services is entitled to offer them. Recommendations should be given by PM only please.
Spamming
Spam will be deleted. Repeat spammers will be banned and it is unlikely these bans will be lifted without much grovelling.
Prejudicial Posts
Prejudiced posts will be edited or deleted. This includes, amongst other things; racism, sexism and sectarianism. Other unreasonable or offensive prejudices are also covered.
Inappropriate Material
Posts containing inappropriate material will be edited or deleted. Inappropriate material includes (the obvious) pornographic material, but also includes any other material that I, or any other moderator of this forum, deem(s) to be inappropriate. Licensed materials, such as Sample Answers, that are posted for sale or supply are categorised as inappropriate.
Drugs
Legal issues surrounding drugs can be discussed. Debate about the relevant laws is welcome, and encouraged. However, do not advocate the use of drugs, or discuss any aspects of drug usage itself. Such discussion is both against boards.ie policy, and is (so far) inappropriate to this forum.
For Sale
Due to some threads selling law books causing major problems for the moderating team on this forum and on the site in general, users will no longer be allowed to sell anything via this forum. In future, if you are looking to sell goods - go to www.adverts.ie.
Items that are subject to user license agreements, such as Sample Answers for examinations, that appear on the Legal Discussion will be removed and the user/poster will be banned for an appropriate period of time.
Threats by Users of Legal Action
The Legal Discussion thread is contributed to and moderated by legal students, professional lawyers, legal academics and regular non-lawyer Users.
Often debates can become heated and lead to threats of legal action by Users. Threats of Legal Action - implied or otherwise - by Users against other Users in the Legal Discussion thread will result in an automatic ban. Any threat will be assessed by the forum Moderators. If you feel you have been threatened with legal action, do not respond in-thread, rather use the "Report Post" function.
**Where a User has a history on another discussion thread or topic, and decides to repost something in the Legal Discussion, it should be considered that past posts may be reviewed by anyone simply by clicking on the Users history. Threats based on reviewing a Users past history, or posting history will also come under this category.**
Issues with moderators
We are here to protect you and boards.ie. We do not expect to have any trouble in this forum, but there may be issues between posters and moderators. If you have an issue, use the private messaging function or else start a thread in Feedback. Do not give out in this forum about any moderator whatsoever.
Reporting Posts
Any thread or post that contravenes the charter should be reported. When reporting a post, make sure you have good reason. Someone disagreeing with you is not a troll, not all arguments are abusive etc. Abusing this feature is frowned upon. The repor a post icon is to be found at the bottom left-hand-side of every post (except your own), and looks like this:
.General Posting Guidelines
General posting rules apply here as in any other forum on boards.ie. I expect common sense to be used, especially in this forum. Please refrain from muppetry.
Before you post a thread, consider the following:
Is what I'm about to post relevant, coherent or in any way interesting?
Is it suitable for this forum?
ALWAYS READ THE CHARTER!
The charter contains all the rules and guidelines. The charter may be updated at any time. Make sure you are up to date. This is a requirement, and ignorance is not an excuse. There are different charters for every forum on Boards.ie, and reading them will prevent any problems. This charter is purely preliminary and will be updated in the future. Make sure you re-read the new charter when it is published. Not reading the charter is a bannable offence. You have been warned.
This forum is a useful tool and a resource for all users. Please respect this and do not abuse the forum, but enjoy it.
hullaballoo – 20:15, 17th February 2006.
