Internet harassment

[The Ferret]

Here is something to get your teeth into.

I am being harassed and pilloried in a local Blog by the Blogmaster himself (or herself) and also by other people making adverse comments which the Blogmaster is publishing. Most are under an Anonymous handle.

Apart from the fact that much of what is being said is untrue, the majority of it is somewhat defamatory.

I wrote direct to the Blogmaster using the contact email address and he even printed my mail as a new Post! I am thick skinned and broad shouldered and would just ride it out until they all get tired, but it is upsetting my wife who has also been mentioned.

Does anyone know what I can sensibly do?

[Conniff]

If you really think that they are defamatory and could hold some legal standing, the first thing to do is to get screenshots and print the blog off in case it should disappear.

Is the blog in this country and is it hosted on a UK server?

[Tezcatlipoca]

Assuming all parties concerned are in the UK, or a dominion governed by UK law, remember that libel laws are just as enforceable for statements made on a website as they are for statements made in print.

There are plenty of no-win, no-fee services out there would would happily take your case, or you could pursue it yourself through a small claims court.

The point being, if you're willing to take things further, the services exist to help. Indeed, even the threat of such action made discreetly to the blogmaster may result in hir stopping their behaviour.

[woad]

You also need to find out who is hosting his blog - if you need help, pass me on the url (web address) of his blog/site.

Consult their T&Cs, and see if his blog contents/comments breach T&Cs (quite possibly)

Contact the hosting company, highlight the breach of T&Cs (if so) and/or complain that they are publishing a libel and potentially [jointly] liable.

[Spiceskull]

But get the screenshots first...

Alternatively, if you are using Firefox, install the Scrapbook extension and save the complete blog. A screenshot will just show what is on screen...a scrapbooked entry will provide many many details...such as URLs...and these can be provided later should the blog disappear and you are asked for specific information.