Graham Linehan Thread closed in error

Jack Daw

Why has this thread been closed.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058423502/fr-ted-creator-writer-graham-linehan-arrested-over-posts-on-transgender-issues#latest

Linehan is before the Courts in the UK for another matter therefore outside Irish jurisdiction which means the thread should be left open.

There is no legitimate reason for closing the thread.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058423502/fr-ted-creator-writer-graham-linehan-arrested-over-posts-on-transgender-issues

Cyclingtourist

Don't know why it was closed. I replied to it. Thought it was more fitted to the UK as it's really an example of the current slide towards authoritarianism there.

odyssey06

Multiple posters have asked for clarity on the 'before the courts' thread as to whether the original advice was just for cases in this jurisdiction or how it related eg to non jury trials or in other jurisdictons.

No clarity provided.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058420994/the-we-dont-discuss-things-before-the-courts-thing

Eoinbmw

Censorship!

Cyclingtourist

Can we discuss Kneecap, I hear one of their number is due 'before the courts'?

odyssey06

What is the legal mechanism by which an Irish website hosted in Canada (?) could be subject to sanction merely for commentary of a court case eg in the UK or US?

What are the previous examples of this ever occurring?

Anybody?

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123780394#Comment_123780394

@hullaballoo might be the best person to answer that.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123780418#Comment_123780418

Already asked of them by multiple posters on the thread I linked. No answer.

Given nobody has been able to explain the basis for this decision, occams razor - there is none. Before the courts was only ever intended to mean in Ireland and has been misapplied for years now on Boards but no one will stick their head above the parapet in the site leadership to admit that.

Or... someone can answer the pertinent questions:

What is the legal mechanism by which an Irish website hosted in Canada (?) could be subject to sanction merely for commentary of a court case eg in the UK or US?

What are the previous examples of this ever occurring?

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123780438#Comment_123780438

Well @hullaballoo is a barrister so that's why I tagged them.

maik3n

I imagine it is probably this case that the mods have in mind

http://bsky.app/profile/davidpaisley.bsky.social/post/3lhhcgpjkmc2c

http://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/kb/2025/228

Mind you, how it applies to his recent arrest is probably debatable.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123780830#Comment_123780830

Not sure how that relates specifically to something 'before the courts' versus general defamation law?

If the latter then any and all discussion of Linehan should stop regardless of whether he is presently 'before the courts' on a particular matter.

hullaballoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123780438#Comment_123780438

sorry but the question has been asked and answered multiple times. if you don't like the answer, you can't turn around and pretend there wasn't an answer. occam's razor would you go way

as for the thread in question, i don't know the basis for locking it but i see the reason give was because he is before the courts on another matter. i am not aware of the background to this other case but it seems to be unrelated to the arrest in Heathrow and is arguably strict by the moderator, while also arguably on point. but they are not lawyers in general and in the absence of understanding the nuances of both the laws and the relevant cases, it's well within their remit to be cautious and lock it.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123781490#Comment_123781490

It wasn't asked and answered. It was not clear from your original reply if your comments applied to trials in this jurisdiction alone or not which was one of the main points of the thread.

Does the "the courts" really mean anywhere in the world?
Even if it's not illegal to comment on it in the country the trial is taking place?
Even if it's a non-jury trial e.g. an appeal case heard by judges alone in ROI, or one in the UK or US without a jury

Can you point to a single case where commentary on social media based in another jurisdiction has resulted in either:
(a) a real legal risk to that social site and its directors etc. of being imprisoned if discussion was allowed

(b) spotted the online discussion and got a mistrial from the judge

Jack Daw

This level of excessive moderation about posting something when there is a legal case pending isn't exactly helpful to a site that is struggling for numbers. Why bother going on boards when you can't comment on a hot topic. Linehans arrest is one of the top trending topics in UK and Ireland since yesterday on twitter and you can discuss it freely on twitter so why would you bother with boards at all when there are such restrictions on what can be discussed.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123781574#Comment_123781574

Given sites with much bigger userbases such as Reddit, TwitterX are openly discussing these non-Irish cases, seemingly without being subject to any legal proceedings by the authorities in the jurisdictions - unless someone can provide examples to the contrary.

It seems reasonable to conclude there is no legal risk to Boards to doing so. And it is serving no useful purpose, wouldn't it be better to have moderated discussion here rather than a free for all elsewhere.

kowloonkev

Boards could benefit from the publicity of a court case

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123781674#Comment_123781674

The site's on its last legs. How is it going to afford a legal defense?

daheff

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123781696#Comment_123781696

pro-bono defence?

osarusan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123781716#Comment_123781716

Don't bring that tosser into it.

MrStuffins

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123781624#Comment_123781624

Maybe take a day off and DON'T talk about the culture war. Go to a nice park and get some fresh air. Maybe go see some friends and discuss old times (without comparing them to the dystopian present you seem to live in).

Sometimes it's not that deep. And there are definitely better places to put your energy. Much like Mr. Linehan. Look where it's gotten him.

michael-henry-mcivor

Lienhan is taking the Met police to court-

That's a court case-

Cyclingtourist

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123781779#Comment_123781779

Unlike 'the other court case' where some Scottish guy is suing him for defamation. Heavy stuff.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123781716#Comment_123781716

And what happens if they lose?

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123782279#Comment_123782279

Then shut the site down today. Because Boards could be sued for comments made about Linehan (or AN Other) whether they are involved in a court case or not, and they could lose.
I rarely discuss Linehan on this site, this is about the general question which impacts discussion of multiple issues across multiple forums. Linehan is just the case in the spotlight today.

The questions we are asking on this thread is what makes it special about being involved in a court case in another jurisdiction that means Boards won't allow discussion.

Nobody has been able to provide the legal justification or precedence case to justify this. What has been provided relates to a court proceedings occurring in Ireland (country of) which is a special case as Boards is an Irish website.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123782309#Comment_123782309

This is how it's been since the MCD incident if memory serves. There not being a precedent means that things could go either way.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123782312#Comment_123782312

The MCD incident didn't have anything to do with a case in another jurisdiction.
Not even clear if it the MCD incident related to court proceedings or just a general concern for risk of defamation.

There hasn't been a precedent case anyone can point to from the US, from the UK where they have even tried to sanction a social media website hosted in another jurisdiction for discussion.
You could say well it hasn't been tested, well the counter argument is:
It hasn't been tested because they know they haven't a leg to stand on.
If they were going to test it, they'd go after one of the big unmoderated players like reddit or twitterX that generates huge publicity and not a small Irish website, which is likely to not even be on their radar.

As an example, a UK super injunction has no legal standing outside the UK.
Boards isn't constrained by UK rules on e.g. age verification, hate laws or I dunno Iran's laws on blasphemy. So how could Boards be constrained by UK rules on contempt of court?

We have a situation now where you could have a case televised in the US, in front of a judge, and not be allowed to discuss it here because technically it is "before the courts".
When it is being discussed on every other social media platform and news platform, in the US and abroad.

Boards is out of step with other social media sites in this regard, both large and small, when it comes to discussion of cases in other jurisdictions. Multiple posters reasonably are asking what is the basis for why Boards is out of step, and what's been provided so far is not convincing that it's warranted except for cases in ROI.

Linoge

I will just add, I have very rarely used boards over the last few years (outside of Bargain Alerts). I specifically came and even searched “Linehan” to find the thread and find out what Irish people think of the situation, but lo and behold it’s closed because of some nonsense. Like someone mentioned, no wonder this site is dying a death - you can’t even discuss some of the hottest topics, and the excuse and reasoning given are beyond poor.

Bogey Lowenstein

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123786653#Comment_123786653

These cases can be 'before the courts' for weeks or months. That is a popular thread that could be drawing lots of traffic if it wasn't closed for the duration.

satguy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123781696#Comment_123781696

The site is dying because posters want to talk about this kind of stuff, but treads on this site are closed.

So now posters have to go to Reddit or Twitter, where you can talk about up to date stuff, while Boards shoots itself in the foot,, again.

amandstu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123786704#Comment_123786704

Is boards more vulnerable than other sites ,bring smaller?

Someone just said Linehan is suing the met.Maybe not far fetched to think he (or anyone )might sue boards in this instance?

Are there any UK discussion sites where this topic is being "debated" at the moment?

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123786704#Comment_123786704

Wrong. There are plenty of threads for posters to air the same tropes on this topic over and over again.