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From:
Sukie Crandall <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sat, 3 May 2003 13:48:38 -0400
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Please, post your criteria and how you plan to verify it.
 
What precautions do you have in place for someone to not just put in
someone's name because of a personal dislike?  What happens if someone
finds out that he or she has been victimized by libel/slander as a result
of this page due to an inclusion which simply is false?  Do you have
procedures in place for rapidly notifying a broad range of people and
requiring members to notify anyone to whom they might have mentioned the
person's name?  Do you have a legal advisor and insurance in case you are
sued (which seems very likely if the criteria and precautions are not
strong) and may happen even then.
 
I get a regular newsletter from a humane group which carries such
announcements and it has found that such additions have to be restricted
to those who have had charges brought before them in a court of law.
Perhaps similar things by humane groups could serve as guidelines for
you since they will have smoothed out a number of wrinkles.
 
You have to be very careful that this site is not abused by rumor mongers
or those who simply want to abuse your access to hurt someone -- very
careful.  There are a number of us here who have been subjected to rumors
and false accusations.  I know of two that were applied to me.  One which
was maybe a decade or so ago had me living in California and being a F&G
person when I've never been in F&G anywhere and I'd spent a maximum of
around 2 weeks in CA accompanying Steve on some business trips.  That one
was easily dispelled because so many people simply knew better.  The
second accused me of not caring about ADV because I was aware of some
false positive test results and had mentioned a warning about that and
about verifying with a different test type when those occur (something
multiple vets have also warned people to do), but folks knew better than
to believe that rumor, too.  There just are some people who will say all
sorts of things about others, and a large enough number of people here
have been subjected to that over the years.  If you aren't careful those
sorts of nasty people will abuse your site this way, too, and then it is
easy to imagine that someone will be falsely hurt badly enough that they
will get off without repercussions while you will get sued by someone.
 
Oh, and you'd have to check origins, too.  Verify them very carefully so
that they are not falsified.  I've had someone pretending to be me on and
off for what has to be over a dozen years now as folks who have been here
a long time know.  That usually is by e-mail, but Steve and Cheryl
actually had a phone call once with someone trying that but had the sense
to contact me about it right away.  I guess maybe it is good that we are
going through hard times right now; the person seemed to have an
idealized (to that person's tastes) idea of what my life was like and
would kind of put it on like a sweater and parade around now and then.
So, there is an upside to not being able to replace a rusting bathtub
and ancient carpeting because of the Labs disbanding, and to living in
a small condo! ;-)
 
So, to protect Steve, myself, and those other people we love who need
us to be in reasonable straits in case they need our help I will right
up-front say publicly and privately that I will NOT be submitting any
names to you and if anyone claiming to be me passes on one then that
claim is to be discarded immediately as invalid and falsified.
 
Personally, I think that you are risking letting yourself in for a load
of misery that could last a long while if your salary is garnished or if
you are given long community service in the location of someone whose
name gets put in there on false premises (as someone to be banned or as
someone submitting a problem person) if you haven't worked out how to do
this with a good lawyer and if you don't have strict criteria and if you
don't verify everything a respectable number of ways, and I worry that
you are placing yourself in a risky spot which others may encourage but
would not themselves agree to be in.
[Posted in FML issue 4137]

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