Comments on: Be afraid bloggers, be very afraid http://www.lettersfromatory.com/2007/10/22/be-afraid-bloggers-be-very-afraid/ Daily views on British politics and the Conservative Party from a centre-right thinker who writes letters on his blog to politicians, journalists and many others. Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:38:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Letters From A Tory http://www.lettersfromatory.com/2007/10/22/be-afraid-bloggers-be-very-afraid/#comment-1286 Letters From A Tory Mon, 22 Oct 2007 19:26:19 +0000 http://lettersfromatory.wordpress.com/2007/10/22/be-afraid-bloggers-be-very-afraid/#comment-1286 I agree that there should be nowhere to hide. I write this blog anonymously for my own personal reasons, suffice to say that I wouldn't be stupid enough to make libellous remarks - and if I did say something out of turn, I can have no complaints about someone taking legal action against me.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('1286','Letters From A Tory'); return false;">Reply to this comment</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('1286','Letters From A Tory','I agree that there should be nowhere to hide. I write this blog anonymously for my own personal reasons, suffice to say that I wouldn\'t be stupid enough to make libellous remarks - and if I did say something out of turn, I can have no complaints about someone taking legal action against me.'); return false;">Quote this comment</a></div> I agree that there should be nowhere to hide. I write this blog anonymously for my own personal reasons, suffice to say that I wouldn’t be stupid enough to make libellous remarks – and if I did say something out of turn, I can have no complaints about someone taking legal action against me.
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]]> By: David Duff http://www.lettersfromatory.com/2007/10/22/be-afraid-bloggers-be-very-afraid/#comment-1285 David Duff Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:30:34 +0000 http://lettersfromatory.wordpress.com/2007/10/22/be-afraid-bloggers-be-very-afraid/#comment-1285 The best news I have read for some time. Call me old-fashioned but if you are not prepared to write and say what you think under your own name then you should keep it to yourself. Anonymous bloggers are like cowardly members of a mob, hiding their identities in the crowd as they seek to destroy other people's reputations. I hope they get their arses sued off!<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('1285','David Duff'); return false;">Reply to this comment</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('1285','David Duff','The best news I have read for some time. Call me old-fashioned but if you are not prepared to write and say what you think under your own name then you should keep it to yourself. Anonymous bloggers are like cowardly members of a mob, hiding their identities in the crowd as they seek to destroy other people\'s reputations. I hope they get their arses sued off!'); return false;">Quote this comment</a></div> The best news I have read for some time. Call me old-fashioned but if you are not prepared to write and say what you think under your own name then you should keep it to yourself. Anonymous bloggers are like cowardly members of a mob, hiding their identities in the crowd as they seek to destroy other people’s reputations. I hope they get their arses sued off!
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]]> By: Letters From A Tory http://www.lettersfromatory.com/2007/10/22/be-afraid-bloggers-be-very-afraid/#comment-1284 Letters From A Tory Mon, 22 Oct 2007 09:54:21 +0000 http://lettersfromatory.wordpress.com/2007/10/22/be-afraid-bloggers-be-very-afraid/#comment-1284 The situation is certainly not as bad as some countries, such as Egypt where you cannot even criticise the government without being thrown in jail. However, after the Usmanov problems where one rich man's lawyers shut down several blogs after he took offence to something that was said (notice the lack of a court trial, which would have supported the views of the blogger), it seems to me that the balance is gradually moving away from freedom of expression - but not so quickly as to arouse suspicion. How long before web hosts have to start giving up IP addresses for comments that someone didn't like?<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('1284','Letters From A Tory'); return false;">Reply to this comment</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('1284','Letters From A Tory','The situation is certainly not as bad as some countries, such as Egypt where you cannot even criticise the government without being thrown in jail.\n\nHowever, after the Usmanov problems where one rich man\'s lawyers shut down several blogs after he took offence to something that was said (notice the lack of a court trial, which would have supported the views of the blogger), it seems to me that the balance is gradually moving away from freedom of expression - but not so quickly as to arouse suspicion. How long before web hosts have to start giving up IP addresses for comments that someone didn\'t like?'); return false;">Quote this comment</a></div> The situation is certainly not as bad as some countries, such as Egypt where you cannot even criticise the government without being thrown in jail.

However, after the Usmanov problems where one rich man’s lawyers shut down several blogs after he took offence to something that was said (notice the lack of a court trial, which would have supported the views of the blogger), it seems to me that the balance is gradually moving away from freedom of expression – but not so quickly as to arouse suspicion. How long before web hosts have to start giving up IP addresses for comments that someone didn’t like?

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]]> By: redandwhitestripes http://www.lettersfromatory.com/2007/10/22/be-afraid-bloggers-be-very-afraid/#comment-1283 redandwhitestripes Mon, 22 Oct 2007 08:06:52 +0000 http://lettersfromatory.wordpress.com/2007/10/22/be-afraid-bloggers-be-very-afraid/#comment-1283 The article was not as serious as I feared. Certainly the situation at home (England) as nowhere near as restricted or brutal as here in Thailand, where the police can arrest any blogger or internet user and not be held accountable. The article you cite seems focused strictly on libel cases, there is no suggestion that freedom of expression will be endangered. Sheffield Wednesday fans will still be able to complain about their rubbish team who will finish below us this season. In any case, there is a big difference between legal threats to internet users and actual application. Tracking down forum users can be difficult for various reasons.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('1283','redandwhitestripes'); return false;">Reply to this comment</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('1283','redandwhitestripes','The article was not as serious as I feared. Certainly the situation at home (England) as nowhere near as restricted or brutal as here in Thailand, where the police can arrest any blogger or internet user and not be held accountable.\n\nThe article you cite seems focused strictly on libel cases, there is no suggestion that freedom of expression will be endangered. Sheffield Wednesday fans will still be able to complain about their rubbish team who will finish below us this season. In any case, there is a big difference between legal threats to internet users and actual application. Tracking down forum users can be difficult for various reasons.'); return false;">Quote this comment</a></div> The article was not as serious as I feared. Certainly the situation at home (England) as nowhere near as restricted or brutal as here in Thailand, where the police can arrest any blogger or internet user and not be held accountable.

The article you cite seems focused strictly on libel cases, there is no suggestion that freedom of expression will be endangered. Sheffield Wednesday fans will still be able to complain about their rubbish team who will finish below us this season. In any case, there is a big difference between legal threats to internet users and actual application. Tracking down forum users can be difficult for various reasons.

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