Another voluntary website goes down under threats of legal action

Miguel_Sanchez

The biggest and perhaps the longest running community website in Ireland is closing down:

www.castlebar.ie

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

sweet! more members for boards.ie

Gillo

Jesus, thats a bit crap isn't it.

Karoma

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=56107267

humbert

I really don't see why websites can be held responsible for what users post on them. I think they should be forced to reveal the users ip and details in general if the user does something illegal.

Just sacrificing justice for convenience.

Fighting Irish

humbert wrote: »

I really don't see why websites can be held responsible for what users post on them. I think they should be forced to reveal the users ip and details in general if the user does something illegal.

Just sacrificing justice for convenience.

Most of the time they can't do sh1t, its just the admins don't want the hassle

humbert

Fighting Irish wrote: »

Most of the time they can't do sh1t, its just the admins don't want the hassle

That may be true but even consulting a lawyer to find that out each time some knob jockey sends a solicitors letter is expensive and when you look at some of the ridiculous cases that succeed can you really blame them for being nervous.

Cool_CM

Wow, just read the actual paper article
http://www.mayoecho.com/online_edition.htm
Obviously a "quality" publication.

ntlbell

cant see why they cant just put the forum on a server outside of ireland

problems solved

Gunner5

yeah that paper is "Quality", they do have a tendancy to say exactly how they feel and then deal with the consequence. in this case its to threaten legal action against the website who's users might criticise it.

it isn't fair that castlebar.ie suffers as a result of somebody elses comment and in the end its only an opinion.

gixerfixer

Two words. Dam lawyers

Doctor DooM

Serious load of ballcocks.

That article got everything it deserved.

Pompey Magnus

Mayo Echo wrote:

Unbeknown to parents who are minding their children playing on the swings or the slide, drooling perverts are getting off whilst watching their children.

FFS. Is this the Westboro Baptist Church newsletter by any chance?

Stephen

That ****ing sucks.

TheVan

The Mayo Echo said:

"Unbeknown to parents who are minding their children playing on the swings or the slide, drooling perverts are getting off whilst watching their children."

This clearly makes a link between homosexuality and paedophilia despite the protestations of the publisher to castlebar.ie.


I reckon that castlebar.ie should fight this strongly. Freedom of speech is incredibly important, especially when its object is critiquing a newspaper report.

I recognise that castlebar.ie mightn't have the funds to go to a solicitor, but there are plenty of solicitors on boards, maybe some would offer some free legal advice or a free legal letter back to the Mayo Echo?

With regard to money, maybe boards, politics.ie and other discussion boards could get together and form a modest fund to head off such encroachments on free speech? This gets to the heart of what discussion boards are about and is going to hit every site at some point or another?

humbert

TheVan wrote: »

With regard to money, maybe boards, politics.ie and other discussion boards could get together and form a modest fund to head off such encroachments on free speech? This gets to the heart of what discussion boards are about and is going to hit every site at some point or another?

I don't know how practical putting together a fund would be given the sums that are involved in court cases but if some of the lawyers on the various sites offered their services pro bono it would be very admirable. Do the image of the profession no harm either!

TheVan

True, a fund might be a little ambitious, but even a small fund might be enough to get some letters sent etc? You'd be amazed at how fast a solicitor's letter will shut someone up!

If I was qualified I'd jump at the chance....but I'm not...yet.....

Fighting Irish

humbert wrote: »

That may be true but even consulting a lawyer to find that out each time some knob jockey sends a solicitors letter is expensive and when you look at some of the ridiculous cases that succeed can you really blame them for being nervous.

Buy hosting in a diff country

Cool_CM

It's the first time I've actually meant it seriously but you could try Joe Duffy, also maybe David Norris? I'm sure that if enough of a campaign was mounted in favour of the site that the paper would back down, especially seeing as any normal people reading that article can see why they have to give the publication away for free. Trash journalism like this should stay in the red tops and not in local papers.

Pompey Magnus

Cool_CM wrote: »

It's the first time I've actually meant it seriously but you could try Joe Duffy,

I doubt Joe would be much good, its much too controversial a topic for him. He wouldn't want to upset the good Catholic housewives out there by appearing to side with the pervs. He will stick with safer topics like the overpricing of clothes pegs in Tescos.

Cool_CM

Depeche_Mode wrote: »

I doubt Joe would be much good, its much too controversial a topic for him. He wouldn't want to upset the good Catholic housewives out there by appearing to side with the pervs. He will stick with safer topics like the overpricing of clothes pegs in Tescos.

True, in that case roll with the 2nd option

Toto Wolfcastle

Bloody hell, that article is unbelievable! Apart from the fact that it is very badly written, I can't believe they published the photo of the man and that licence plate number.

I don't know what was written on castlebar.ie but after reading that I'm sure it was completely justified.

I love the way they warn people that they are going to publish pictures of men 'engaged in these activities'. How can they possibly justify doing that in a free paper? Or in any paper!

The guy

Cool_CM wrote: »

Wow, just read the actual paper article
http://www.mayoecho.com/online_edition.htm
Obviously a "quality" publication.

Great Headline: "CastleBar Lake Attracts Hundreds of Perverts"


:rolleyes:

Toto Wolfcastle

The guy wrote: »

Great Headline: "CastleBar Lake Attracts Hundreds of Perverts"


:rolleyes:

Wouldn't those who go looking for people having sex and take photos of them be considered perverts too? In my opinion and all that......

Dimitri

I think this is absolutely outrageous, bearing in mind that we have a right to freedom of speech and that many people on boards and other message boards are essentially conversing with friends from afar how talking on a message board can be any different from having a conversation is simply absurd.

Overheal

I dunno. I had a read and to be honest they dont do too much wrong by posting it. If what they say is true its still a group of consenting adults commiting lewd acts in public, to the point of harrassing members of the public. You could argue the gay angle all day but the other arguments in the article are compelling, such as the playground proximity.

Zaph

janeybabe wrote: »

Wouldn't those who go looking for people having sex and take photos of them be considered perverts too? In my opinion and all that......

Yeah, but they're the "right kind" of perverts so that makes it all right.

Overheal wrote:

If what they say is true its still a group of consenting adults commiting lewd acts in public

I don't disagree, but the way it's reported effectively links homosexuality to paedophilia. Fine, arrest people for having sex in public, be they straight or gay, but implying that they're guilty of far greater wrongs in a "newspaper" is indefensible IMO, as is posting easily identifiable photos of them or their cars.

SimpleSam06

They should have fought it. Any half awake solicitor would grind that complaint up before breakfast.

JangoFett

How does that quote make a link between homosexuality and paedophilia? Or did you mean the newspaper made that absolutely insultingly stupid link?

Xavi6

Most of the men do not know their partner before they meet up, and do not stay in touch after the encounter. The men follow the same sort of procedure to meet other men. They arrive by car or on foot, and walk about the immediate area. They say hello in a casual nature to other passing men , and if the other men engage them in conversation, they make their way to a remote spot and the sexual activity begins. They may also leave the area in one of their cars, although many refuse to do so as this can prove much more dangerous than staying in the locality. Most of the men make their way to one of three spots in the hedge-growth around the area.

Hmmm somebody knows a few too many details to have not done some undercover work me thinks.....

Sherifu

wp Mayo Echo. :rolleyes:

SheroN

The paper is a serious load of rubbish. I might write into the paper with some made up story and see how long before they publish it.

SheroN

Anyone notice how the author doesn't sign his name to any of the "articles"?

Wook

could such a shutdown happen to BOards.ie?

mike65

If a libel has taken place. Thats why the place is festooned with mods and admins.

Mike.

seamus

Wook wrote: »

could such a shutdown happen to BOards.ie?

Not voluntarily like castlebar.ie

It appears that castlebar.ie saw two outcomes to this:

1. They go to court, they win. Happy days.
2. They go to court, they lose. Castlebar.ie has to pay out money. Castlebar.ie dies.

If you're running a voluntary website, secnario 1 doesn't look like any fun, and the possibility of losing personal money in scenario 2 isn't worth it.

In the event that boards.ie for example, lost a case dealing with some form of libel, few courts actually want to shut down legitimate businesses, especially those with employees. So while boards.ie may be ordered to pay out X to the other company, it would be structured in a way that boards.ie would remain financially viable.
More legally-minded people here would probably know, but short of the admins deciding to call it a day, or a judge ordering that the business be shut down, it's unlikely for a court case to result in closure of the site.

Dinter

The author seems to draw a definite link between homosexuals and paedophilia.

As he says there were many issues of children’s magazines blowing around but apparently despite his surveillance, he never saw anyone but homosexuals frequent there. He draws the link between homosexuals to paedophiles by denying it could be anyone else, even though his “evidence” for paedophiles being there is incredibly tenuous to begin with.

The language itself is inflammatory with the use of perverts etc and would seem to me to fulfil some of the requirements for incitement to hatred.

Personally I can imagine parents, hearing of how their children were playing near “drooling perverts” going down to the park for a look around. It’ll only take some lad walking through there or whatever to get battered and the author is going to have some answers to give. Plus you can see how this article would give ammunition to anyone who already is intolerant to homosexuals.

I wouldn’t be sure that the “author” won’t get served for publishing the details of someone he suspects to have frequented the area. It’ll really depend on what effects this expose has on the person “exposed” but at the moment the person involved has not been convicted of anything and is obviously an innocent man.

Should the person be a homosexual who happened to cruise in the area he has to some extent been tarred as a “pervert” which I’m sure we’ll all agree is a bit overboard. Certainly that was the impression I got after a brief scan.

Personally I would advise the person targeted in this campaign to seek legal advice pursuant to real and imagined damages.

Overall this is one of the worst articles I’ve ever seen published in a newspaper. The language is purely used to whip up controversy for this free sheet toilet paper. There is no real matter of public interest here that couldn’t have been dealt with in a two inch column. This article (and I use the word with heavy sarcasm) was published purely to create publicity for advertising returns.

It’s ironic that the author decries freedom of expression or fair comment when he is challenging the website but runs scurrying behind it when challenged himself.

Anyway I’m off to lunch now but there’s a couple more bits to add about reckless publishing in relation to the person identified.

GrahamThomas

The Mayo Echo has a new edition online, there is an article about the controversy it caused and the closing of castlebar.ie.

The Mayo Echo:
One of the principles of good journalism is that the
journalist should not become the story, and I try my
best to try to follow that advice as far as possible.

LOL. The person responsible for this trash wouldn't know "good journalism" if it was tattooed across his forehead.
Basically, the article in this weeks edition tries (in vain) to justify the ignorant, homophobic and fear-mongering viewpoint in the original story.

It's journalism at it's worst, that pathetic hack using the newspaper as a method to spread his anti-gay agenda and suggesting there is a link between homosexuality and paedophilia is an almost laughable attempt to creating a sense of hysteria about the whole issue.

And its a disgrace that the Echo can get away with publishing articles of this nature with impunity, and at the same time can force the closure of a community website because its members dared to question them

Xavi6

What page is that article on?

GrahamThomas

Xavi6 wrote: »

What page is that article on?

Story is covered on pages 6 & 8 of the current edition

shayser

On Joe Duffy show now.

Will the Mayo Echo also be sueuing The Sunday Times as they made fun of the article? I read the article and tbh if that's what they call journaism they should be ashamed of themselves.

Xavi6

GrahamThomas wrote: »

Story is covered on pages 6 & 8 of the current edition

Cheers.

shayser wrote: »

On Joe Duffy show now.

Oh the oul Catholic biddies are gonna love that one.

Toto Wolfcastle

The editor, speaking on Joe Duffy, has yet to prove that the 'drooling perverts' were 'getting off' while looking at children. He was asked but dodged the question.

Xavi6

Just read the article in full. What a crock of shit and typos all over the shop. Gutter journalism is alive and well in the Wesht.

billy the squid

Cool_CM wrote: »

It's the first time I've actually meant it seriously but you could try Joe Duffy, also maybe David Norris? I'm sure that if enough of a campaign was mounted in favour of the site that the paper would back down, especially seeing as any normal people reading that article can see why they have to give the publication away for free. Trash journalism like this should stay in the red tops and not in local papers.

I think Gerry Ryan would be a better option, more likely to take up a controversial issue than Joe Duffy

GAAman

billy the squid wrote: »

I think Gerry Ryan would be a better option, more likely to take up a controversial issue than Joe Duffy

Sure according to some posters its on joe duffy and all, and to the poster who asked could the same thing happen to boards, wanna talk about certain concerts? :rolleyes:

SheroN

Deleted User wrote: »

Will the Mayo Echo also be sueuing The Sunday Times as they made fun of the article? I read the article and tbh if that's what they call journaism they should be ashamed of themselves.

was this in last Sunday's Sunday Times?

SheroN

SheroN wrote: »

was this in last Sunday's Sunday Times?

It was on one of the last pages of the main part. There was a little cartoon and a paragraph on it. I'll have a look for the paper later on and scan it.

SheroN

Deleted User wrote: »

It was on one of the last pages of the main part. There was a little cartoon and a paragraph on it. I'll have a look for the paper later on and scan it.

Nice one. Thanks.

Zzippy

I especially loved this bit:

I am absolutely of the opinion that people who have sex in public places, be they men or women, gay or straight, can safely be described as pervert.

Xavi6 wrote: »

Just read the article in full. What a crock of shit and typos all over the shop. Gutter journalism is alive and well in the Wesht.

Oh, you should see some of the other freesheets. One in Galway takes half its copy from boards, mostly the Galway City forum, and its agony aunt column is straight out of PI...