This case should be of concern to you;
Free Dominion has been ordered to cough up the IPs of certain anonymous posters. What is disturbing about this order is that it was given prior to any ruling on the merits of the case. The order will be appealed.
The infuriating part of this fiasco is that as a blog owner, I've notified (by telephone and email) internet service providers when I've encountered potentially serious threats (the most recent was against a Liberal politician). These incidents should be clear "terms of service" violations, and easily acted upon by the ISP. Well, good luck with that.
I've even gone as far as filing a documented report with the RCMP and regional police over a persistent commentor who was making repeated, specific threats towards named individuals. To the best of my knowledge, those too went down a black hole.
I'm beginning to think that my tactics were flawed. Had I forwarded the ip addresses to the Canadian Human Rights Commission alleging that the commentor had stated it was "Time to go back to when the women n**ger imports knew their place", instead of merely threatening named police officers with execution, someone might have actually acted on the complaint.
(On the other hand, given the record of the CHRC, I'd end up standing before the 'roos as both complainant and defendant, so maybe not.)
So, go here for the details, and how to contribute. If you were planning to donate to SDA this spring, I'll ask that you send it to Free Dominion instead. The commenting freedom you save may be your own.
Related - " fighting for real human rights, as opposed to micro-management by Commissar Hall and the other social engineers."
Anyone who has Monty as thier avatar is good for 20 from me.
I'm in agreement with you, Kate, that the approach you took in communicating about the ultra-nasty commentors to police was probably ineffective. But that's how we learn how the real world works. I know- it's how I learn stuff- by doing something and observing the effect.
Also agreed that if you filed a complaint with the HRC, they'd just go after you, 'cause they don't like you. (Of course, if that happened, well, you could join Ezra Levant as the Other Number One Canadian Freedom Fighter).
One now wonders whether it'd be safer to comment via proxy servers, even if all intentions and behaviors are perfectly acceptable and so on.
Freedom of speech is something we all need to defend. Even those whom we disagree with need the right to express their opinions as long as they do not break Canadian law. It also should not be the responsibility of the site owner to censure the words of other people. This is just another attempt of Mark Warman to try to use the kangaroo court system to make a living.
My comments, nasty and otherwise, are all over the net under different user names.I would love for someone to take me to court so I can vent out my grievances. I have a deep seated desire to see what a prison cell looks like. I would not spend a single penny on legal fees but would challenge the court and the nazis to jail me pronto.
"If you were planning to donate to SDA this spring, I'll ask that you send it to Free Dominion instead. The commenting freedom you save may be your own."
Posted by Kate at April 1, 2009 1:36 PM
CONGRATULATIONS on the magnanimous gesture towards the Fourniers Kate!
My hope is they win the appeal in court against their wily foe.
Be it "POGUE MAHONE" "LUCY" "AXETOGRIND" or any other.
Good on ya Kate!
Thank you, Kate. We are touched by your support, and we'll fight this to the end for everyone.
Donated, and good luck to you. Lucy Warman is a particularly odious individual, in my very excellent opinion.
Are you allowed to print the alleged defamation posts? Purely in the interest of free speech and discussion of course. As in, Richard Warman has claimed the statement "Warman lied in court" is defamatory.
Lets help Richard out by exposing these terrible postings about him, as in "I would never say this about Richard but a poster to Free Dominion did"
Just a thought.
Never surrender, Connie!
" We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.", Ben Franklin wrote.
Thank you for your committment for freedom and liberty.
I'm amazed by all the internet folks who think "it can't happen to me".
The attack on free speech has moved beyond the Nutzi/Nazi sites to the strongly conservative sites.
It will progress further unless ended.
Relax, the HRCs likely only want to be sure that that they are not chasing after one of thier own bait posts prior to determining the merits of the case.
Kate: Had you told the CHRC that story, they would likely just have assumed it was Warman, and never given it a second look.
I'm going to split my (pathetic) contributions between SDA and Free Dominion, whose bandwidth, after all, I never eat up.
My future career in Liberal politics may be at stake.
Oh, that literally was Warman, verbatim, wasn't it? Yikes.
LOL, dkjones. Too true.
Donation sent.
we are in trouble - the kinsella/warman/metcalfe troika is in the ascendency - to defend ourselves from liberal spinsnoops is our patriotic duty
The Fourniers fight for John Does everywhere....donation sent.
Connie and Mark are exemplary Canadians: upright, courageous, uncompromising and indefatigable in fighting the good fight. They deserve all of our support.
This scum just keeps getting more creepy. To do this is out right persecution. It abondons all images of real law for the Facist boot .
Fire them all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Read Shakedown By Ezra Levant as well.
JMO
Kate, are you required to keep your IP logs for tracking purposes? If they were only temporary, then folks would have no privacy issue... correct?
And would nuking them (or not keeping any) make you liable for anything from the authorities?
Just curious. I'd think the best course would be to only keep temporary logs and delete anything except overt threats etc. Then normal folks wouldn't need to worry about their privacy, and the truly dangerous could be reported accordingly.
Otherwise, using a proxy server might be best. Privoxy (or Torpark) is likely more secure, but it's pretty slow.
Inquiring minds and all that...
mhb23re
at gmail d0t calm
Classy, Kate. If it stands, the ruling under appeal has the potential for having a very negative affect on the entire blogosphere.
Thank goodness the judge’s order to reveal the IP addresses of anonymous posters will be appealed. It seems that our freedoms are being attacked on every side. 'Very scary.
(My husband and I watch "that dreadful" FOX News. Not everyone’s being hoodwinked by the skulduggery of our ruling elites. Yes, the format’s too flashy, but it’s heartening to hear knowledgeable and intelligent opinions from lots of people who aren’t Obamabots. These people understand the dire threats to the integrity of the USA and freedom in the West that that kind of idiocy implies. It does the blood pressure good to know one’s not alone! That Canada doesn’t have any major TV show to showcase conservative opinion is a disgrace. I think Ezra should give it a try!)
Thanks Kate and everyone at SDA, I'm letting the judge and thought police know that my real world identity is:
Small Dead Animal
Side of Highway 36.
Shall I warm up the kettle?
There's Coren, at least.
OK, so we all hate Lucy. fine. i get that. but what has that got to do with the judges decision really? is there some special treatment that should be applied to blog commenters that doesn't get applied to everyone else, including bloggers? do people actually think freedom of speech is so important that libel and slander should be wiped from our statutes and that anyone can say anything about anyone at anytime? 'cause that is basically all the judge is saying is that no, you can't say anything and to figure out if person X crossed the line, it is fair to ask that they answer to their own statements. not sure I see the earthshattering freedom chasing issue here.
blog commenters should get no different treatment than a writer to the editor of a paper or anyone else.
I wonder why the left wing blogs are never read by Lucy and it's ilk? Where do we send our donations to the Fourniers?
Excuseme seems to be using the talking points that BCL and Lucy's other online buddies are using.
There is a very simple answer. We don't expect people to be able to break the law anonymously. However, the judge didn't even look at the posts in question when he made his decision. It seems to me that, in this country, the John Does are considered innocent until that happens.
Before a webmaster is forced to turn over private information on their members, it should be established that those people did something wrong! This goes beyond the lawsuit, too. I can only imagine how much fun the pro-censor bloggers will have destroying those people if they get their hands on their names.
As a result of this ruling, for the price of filing a Statement of Claim against a webmaster, anyone can raid the private records of any anonymous poster in Canada.
That is not acceptable.
By the way, I've seen people on other blogs saying, "Well SOMEONE has to take responsibility for those posts!".
Someone is. We have never backed down from the responsibility of this lawsuit. We don't believe the words in the Statement of Claim are defamatory, and we are fighting it. That is the opposite of not taking responsibility.
Thanks again for your support, everyone!
Thanks Kate,
I sent my donation now several times to all of the Canuck 6 - hope that doesn't make me a target?
There is something about the suit and the ruling (especially the comment about the FD site) that just doesn't sit right - so let the FD fund grow and hope that it produces "denormalization" of political Lawfare/SLAPP suits as it did with Ezra's "denormalization" of the CHRC!
Posted by: excuseme:
"blog commenters should get no different treatment than a writer to the editor of a paper or anyone else."
Is that why you post anonymously?
Hypocite!
speaking of executing cops, didja see where ontario police commissioner julian fartino was quoted and wondering who was going to execute a senior OPP cop who was involved in the investigation of police wrongdoing?
google it. 'julian fantino execute'
http://www.numberswatchdog.com/Numbers%20docs%20NOV%2008/Internal%20hearing%20turns%20ugly%20for%20Julian%20Fantino.pdf
If you want to donate to support and defend "free speech & freedom to comment", donate to our troops. They fight and die for your right to do so. Unless of course you honestly believe that I am "pulling the troops card" thingamabob... Hey, it's your dime, just thought that those who give their lives for us deserve it...
Frank Docherty - it is no small irony given your comments that the individual in the numerous lawfare/slapp suits is himself a civilian DND employee.
Obviously his belief in free speech is not the same as other members - especially those on the front line who indeed deserve our respect and support.