Malicious communications law

In the few months that I've been contributing to this forum I've been subjected to a certain amount of abuse, and I'm not the only one. Rough and ready bad-mouthing seems to be a reflex for some individuals, especially when they are hiding behind a digitalised pseudonym. It's no big deal and sometimes I've given as good as I've got and other times I've ignored it.

However on two occasions I've received nasty private emails from contributors to this forum. These emails were unsolicited and were obscene and threatening in tone. They went beyond what might be called rough badinage or fair comment. I want to remind people that defamation law applies to the internet just as much as to every other area of life. Secondly there is legislation in place which is particularly aimed against this sort of thing. I quote it below because the people who 'moderate' the forum seem to be totally ignorant of such things, yet it is the forum which is far more likely to be prosecuted, not the makers of individual posts, if somebody eventually gets fed up with the abuse:

'Under Section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1998 it is an offence to send an indecent, offensive or threatening letter, electronic communication or other article to another person and under Section 43 of the Telecommunications Act 1984 it is a similar offence to send a telephone message which is indecent offensive or threatening. In both cases the offence is punishable with up to six months imprisonment and/or a fine of up to £5000.'

So remember: fair comment is ok, and broad, even insulting humour is also all right, but don't overdo it, and don't get too personal... The legal system can track you down, even via the internet and the forum will also be made to suffer...

In the few months that I've been contributing to this forum I've been subjected to a certain amount of abuse, and I'm not the only one. Rough and ready bad-mouthing seems to be a reflex for some individuals, especially when they are hiding behind a digitalised pseudonym. It's no big deal and sometimes I've given as good as I've got and other times I've ignored it.

However on two occasions I've received nasty private emails from contributors to this forum. These emails were unsolicited and were obscene and threatening in tone. They went beyond what might be called rough badinage or fair comment. I want to remind people that defamation law applies to the internet just as much as to every other area of life. Secondly there is legislation in place which is particularly aimed against this sort of thing. I quote it below because the people who 'moderate' the forum seem to be totally ignorant of such things, yet it is the forum which is far more likely to be prosecuted, not the makers of individual posts, if somebody eventually gets fed up with the abuse:

'Under Section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1998 it is an offence to send an indecent, offensive or threatening letter, electronic communication or other article to another person and under Section 43 of the Telecommunications Act 1984 it is a similar offence to send a telephone message which is indecent offensive or threatening. In both cases the offence is punishable with up to six months imprisonment and/or a fine of up to £5000.'

So remember: fair comment is ok, and broad, even insulting humour is also all right, but don't overdo it, and don't get too personal... The legal system can track you down, even via the internet and the forum will also be made to suffer...

In the few months that I've been contributing to this forum I've been subjected to a certain amount of abuse, and I'm not the only one. Rough and ready bad-mouthing seems to be a reflex for some individuals, especially when they are hiding behind a digitalised pseudonym. It's no big deal and sometimes I've given as good as I've got and other times I've ignored it.

However on two occasions I've received nasty private emails from contributors to this forum. These emails were unsolicited and were obscene and threatening in tone. They went beyond what might be called rough badinage or fair comment. I want to remind people that defamation law applies to the internet just as much as to every other area of life. Secondly there is legislation in place which is particularly aimed against this sort of thing. I quote it below because the people who 'moderate' the forum seem to be totally ignorant of such things, yet it is the forum which is far more likely to be prosecuted, not the makers of individual posts, if somebody eventually gets fed up with the abuse:

'Under Section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1998 it is an offence to send an indecent, offensive or threatening letter, electronic communication or other article to another person and under Section 43 of the Telecommunications Act 1984 it is a similar offence to send a telephone message which is indecent offensive or threatening. In both cases the offence is punishable with up to six months imprisonment and/or a fine of up to £5000.'

So remember: fair comment is ok, and broad, even insulting humour is also all right, but don't overdo it, and don't get too personal... The legal system can track you down, even via the internet and the forum will also be made to suffer...