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Legal Advice: Posting Hate Mail (sent to me) on a Public Website
For those of you who are lawyers and law students, I know there are ethical issues involving how and when you can provide advice, so I understand if you can't give me "official legal advice" but I would appreciate some guidance.
A member of my fraternity sent me a piece of hate mail. Clearly unwanted. Not as strongly worded as it could have been, but definitely an unwanted piece of mail that was meant to criticize my work, belittle my sexual orientation, and question my membership in the fraternity. I posted the email, along with his name and email address in my blog. He is now threatening legal action. What is your opinion on the legality of posting hate mail on a public website? |
That's ashame! If he sent you hate mail then I think it is up to you to do whatever you want with it. I know a guy who runs a website named Maddox and he always posts his hate mail up on his website. I think because if people sent it to him and its his personal website then its cool. Same way when people send fan mail. Anyway, I am not a lawyer but i thinks its wrong for what you are going through. Stay up bruh!:o
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Is he objecting more to his name and email being there, or because you put the letter up and he thinks it should be private?
Either way, if he didn't want you to have that info, he shouldn't volunteer it. I sent an email to a conservative paper that I didn't think they would publish at ALL, but they did. You can now find it if you google me. I can't complain that my name's affiliated with this - I sent the email to them, with my name and email address as they required. |
His complaint is that his name and email address are on my site.
I agree with your rationale. The sad thing is that other than his homophobia, he has a lot going for him. (I'm hotter, though.) Colorful: Thanks for the support. :) |
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Anyway, once he sent that email to you, it became your property to do what you want with it. Perhaps he will think twice before sending such inflammatory, hateful letters in the future. Besides, the lawsuit would be a civil case and I truly wonder whether he has the money or time to go through all that to get you to take down an email. |
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Regardless of whether something is your property, you're not given completely free reign to do with it what you will. I would consider checking on the applicable defamation and right-to-privacy laws governing your area - past that, I'm not sure what 'legal action' he would be entitled to, but obviously IANAL. |
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I'm sure he does have a lot going for him other than his homophobia--that's all the more reason for him to get over you. LOL @ you being hotter. |
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IA(also)NAL though... where are they anyway, studying or working or something? |
I actually suggest taking his name and email out despite the legality of it all. My friend who knows "internet law stuff" is unavailable right now. So I'd say above the legality of it all, make your life easier by removing identifiers.
Are you trying to embarass him or teach him a lesson? Are you trying to get him to receive hate mail (and congratulatory mail from folks who agree with him)? Figure out what your motives are and go from there. You can highlight ignorance without identifying the ignorant. |
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I'd maybe leave his first name in there, but leave it at that. BTW, what's the link for your blog, Senusret? |
I would threaten a counter-suit-- he initiated the harrassment. Get the local GLBT lobbying group involved to send him a letter.
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Is it really that big a deal? You've made your point. It's going to be cheaper at this point to just be the bigger man and take down the guy's private information than it is to leave it up.
It's probably not worth defending yourself from legal action about (even if that action is frivolous and ultimately unsuccessful). |
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