UtterlyBoring.com: My First Legal Threat

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My First Legal Threat

Actually, it wasn't so much of a threat but just a sternly-worded letter telling me to remove information that was slanderous to their client. Since they didn't give me the URL that had what they were referring to, I couldn't find anything in regards to their letter on my site. So after a few e-mail exchanges with the lawyers, I figured out which little comment they were referring to (it wasn't anything I wrote, it was a comment on the site), and removed the comment. While generally I'd fight to keep comments, I wasn't really in the mood considering the nature and the content of the comment.

If you're wondering the entry in question that had the naughty comment, the entry is here.

So this site is now less one comment. But since, thanks to unintentionally-good Google placement about a TV show I don't watch whose third season starts tonight, I've getting more than enough comments on some of my other (older) entries to make up for it.

Posted by Jake on 08/04/05 @ 03:08 PM
Posted in Site Info | 13 Comments | Permalink
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13 Comments

The One True b!X said on 08/04/05 @ 03:16 PM:
I have decided that I am going to make t-shirts out of all legal-related letters I receive.

MattMan said on 08/04/05 @ 03:17 PM:
What the hell?.. I scanned through the cached copy from google, I couldn't see anything bad, except for the gay comment?... and that really wasn't horribly offensive?.. or did I miss it?... I find it sad to believe that the GSN has nothing better to do with its money than harass you.. but congrats!.. this now means you're in the "big-time!

M

Jake said on 08/04/05 @ 03:19 PM:
No, it wasn't from GSN -- had nothing to do with that entry. That was poorly worded, and I'll edit the post accordingly. The entry in question was actually this one.

Robert said on 08/04/05 @ 03:49 PM:
Because they said he's an "old man"??? I looked in the Google cache and I don't see what they're uptight about!

Robert said on 08/04/05 @ 03:50 PM:
...unless it wasn't true.

Jake said on 08/04/05 @ 03:55 PM:
The comment that was removed, if you're looking at the post in Google's cache, was from "Real Estate Skeptic". The article the guy was citing as a source was later deemed totally inaccurate and un-true -- at least according to the lawyers.

Again, I just didn't have the energy (or legal team) to fight it, so I didn't. But expect disclaimers on comment ownership on this site soon.

Robert said on 08/04/05 @ 04:22 PM:
Good idea.

Paul said on 08/04/05 @ 06:44 PM:
Sheesh. Those folks sure are edgy.

David said on 08/04/05 @ 08:20 PM:
You said that they wanted you to take it down on terms of Slander?? Well first off slander is the spoken form of what they really wanted to "sue" you for, which is libel. Just thought I would add that

Jake said on 08/04/05 @ 08:31 PM:
Yes, David, you are correct, and I wasn't clear with that (but the primary reason I used "slander" is because that's a word they use in the letter -- I do know the difference, however, as I took some communication law classes in college). I think they used the term because it was said on a radio show.

MattMan said on 08/05/05 @ 07:27 AM:
"Because they said he's an "old man"?".... I believe it was because he actually said "teary-eyed" ;-)

M

Nameless One said on 08/07/05 @ 07:45 PM:
Sue them back for harrasment. You are not responsible for comments left by others.

Ole Blue said on 08/07/05 @ 07:46 PM:
Sorry, the previous comment was mine, I forgot to put my info, now maybe if I get some sleep tonight

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