What is Digg?139 Comments
- fuzzmeister, on 10/11/2007, -7/+62*Frivolous *Suits
- IShouldBeWorkin, on 10/11/2007, -22/+52Law Students + Free Time = Frivellous Suites
period. - opes, on 10/11/2007, -12/+38Wow. So you say people hurt your feelings on the internet?
"Yeah".
And you just didnt log off, and not post any more on that forum?
"Yeah".
Right. Just wanted to make that clear. - inactive, on 10/11/2007, -21/+40if u dont want to get made fun of then get of the ***** internet
- emiles, on 10/11/2007, -5/+23at least he used punctuation
- tomarocco, on 10/11/2007, -4/+22No tear is shed for anyone attending law school.
- MISDIREK7ED, on 10/11/2007, -2/+19Another ***** up thing about that board, is that the people who frequent it have their own snotty lingo. For example: they call people "poors" and "elites"...
wtf
http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=643233&mc=63&forum_id=1#8238317
Now... who wants to beat up some elites with me? - Renton, on 10/11/2007, -6/+23Objection!
- Jerim, on 10/11/2007, -0/+17FTA: "The comments against Doe I and II started as far back as 2005 when a poster from Doe I's undergrad university, Stanford, started a thread warning everyone at Yale Law School to "watch out" for her in a thread titled "Stupid Bitch to Attend Yale Law." Thus begun the string of public character assassinations, rumors, and (repeated) rape threats. Various users on the site also posted what she claims to be false information about her LSAT score, accused her of participating in a lesbian relationship with a Yale Law School administrator in order to gain admission, and encouraged others to warn law firms about her alleged illegitimacy.
Similarly in 2007, Doe II became the topic of several threads on AutoAdmit, focusing mostly on certain body parts (complete with pictures of her ripped from sites like Facebook) and also with repeated rape threats. Some posters encouraged others to stalk her and take more photographs, while continuing to encourage various lewd acts. "
So it seems that she pissed off someone in real life and that person decided to take it out on her online. Although I am all for a little ribbing, you simply can't post public information on people and encourage people to do harm to them. There is a line that shouldn't be crossed. - dungbeetle, on 10/11/2007, -8/+25If it hurt job prospects, I imagine they guys said some not so flattering things themselves. Just because it is the internet, doesn't obsolve you of the consequences of your actions, while at the same time you have to let trolls be trolls and let it go.
- WaterDragon, on 10/11/2007, -0/+16Over a billion little packets, who had traveled around the world before meeting up, were charged with unlawful assembly.
. - fkr3, on 10/11/2007, -11/+26Repeated rape threats .... that's not really as funny as the retards on that forum probably thought it was. I think they're getting exactly what they deserve and I hope they're tossed out of their schools.
Even though the internet's generally very casual and libel/slander is rarely actioned against, it's taking things a little too far by any stretch of the imagination to let rape threats slide. - duhblow7, on 10/11/2007, -8/+20i wonder if "i'd hit it" constituted a rape threat.
- mabisa, on 10/11/2007, -2/+14Very serious, non-joking threats were made to Doe I and II, including:
-”Doe II of YSL has huge fake titties”
-”YSL 1L [DOE II] HAS HUGE FAKE TITES AND IS UNIVERSALLY HATED”
-”i’ll force myself on her, most definitely.” (In a thread titled “Stupid Bitch to Attend Yale Law”)
-”I think I will sodomize her. Repeatedly.” (In the same thread)
-”just don’t ***** her, she has herpes” (In the same thread)
-”[Doe II] of Yale Law got a 159 on the LSAT” (in a post that encouraged other posters to “Make sure all the Vault 50s know it before she gets an offer” — in other words, the thread was created specifically to damage her job prospects).
-”The backstory is that [Doe I] has been having a lesbian affair with Yale Law School [redacted] Dean [redacted] while [redacted] has been on maternity leave. [Redacted]’shusband found out about this and went balistic. He contacted [Doe I’s] prospective employers in an effort to discredit her.”
-”Clearly she deserves to be raped so that her little fantasy word can be shattered by real life.”
-”i would like to hate-***** [Doe I] but since people say she has herpes that might be a bad idea” (in a thread titled “Which female YLS students would you sodomize?”)
-”I’m doing cartwheels knowing this stupid Jew bitch is getting her self esteem raped.”
-”[Doe II] is into scat… At least that’s what a buddy of mine that goes to YLS tells me.”
-”[Doe II] the CGWBT sucked by ***** for a P in Civ pro”
-”[Doe II] found dead in apartment!”
-”[Doe II] (YLS 09) IS AN ANNOYING, SELFISH *****. I HOPE SHE GETS RAPED AND DIES.”
(via http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2007/06/13/take-it-like-a-man/)
There is no amount of humor in such posts. They are quite simply haraasing, threatening, and, quite frankly, scary as *****. I'm all for the protection of free speech; hell, I'm a black girl who just got into an argument defending the constitutionality of Klan marches. However, defamation of character and libel can cause real harm and I have no issue assuming that they may have in the case at hand. - tomarocco, on 10/11/2007, -0/+12The real issue is that you better be nice to people or karma will catch up with you on google.
- washingtonydc, on 10/11/2007, -4/+15That message board is a magnet for the worst kinds of law school kids anyways, so no tear is shed for anyone willing to hang out there.
- WaterDragon, on 10/11/2007, -10/+21Judge: "And where did this crime take place?"
Students: "On the internet"
Judge: "And where, exactly is that?"
Students: "er...sort of...everywhere."
Judge: "Can you be more specific? Exactly where is this place you call internet?'"
Students: "um----nowhere, I guess."
Judge: You have no case. Get out of here." - ErrorS, on 10/11/2007, -6/+15I hope they win, just because I think it would be kickass for a bunch of trolls to get their asses handed to them for once.
At the same time I want them to lose because I value my internet freedoms greatly.. Imagine if admins were liable for their users on this level? No forum could exist.. - fkr3, on 10/11/2007, -3/+11Saying you're going to rape someone on a messageboard when you know their name and school is lower, sorry.
- benjpw, on 10/11/2007, -4/+11If you read all the articles on this... the girls didn't do the stuff that was claimed but it still made them look bad to all who saw.
I am glad the era of trolls is soon at an end... There goes half of Digg! - slapshot24, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7> And you just didnt log off, and not post any more on that forum?
According to the complaint, neither Doe ever posted on the forum. So it's not that they were posting and started a flame war. Instead, it looks like somebody decided to take an offline grudge online and then proceed to smear the reputation of his victim as much as possible. It seems that the closest that the girls ever got to the forum was to email the administrators, who never did anything. - duhblow7, on 10/11/2007, -14/+21THIS DIGG IS WORTHLESS WITHOUT PICS
- radu79, on 10/11/2007, -3/+9Oh, and you wouldn't do that if you were in their position?
I am very surprised at most of the Digg population, on how they think that it's OK to say whatever the ***** you want online, and not suffer the consequences, as if the Internet is some sort of magic land where rules do not apply and people do not get hurt.
How would you feel if people on some forum will start google bombing your mother, or sister and have everyone that search for her go to a thread where they say how she sucked a dick last night, with a photoshoped picture of her doing so? - fkr3, on 10/11/2007, -5/+10I'm not saying the admins should police their boards. I'm saying if users are being harassed and threatened and it's brought to the admin's attention then they should delete the offending posts and/or users.
If an admin is unaware then they shouldn't be held accountable.
This admin wasn't unaware, he chose to allow it. - kezekiel, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6From what I could understand from reading TFU, it was an enemy from their undergrad school that started the flame war by posting her actual identity and it escalated from there. If somebody compromised the privacy and anonymity of another and posted slanderous *****, which damages a career, isn't it reasonable to try to use the law to correct the situation?
- jftitan, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6I swear... my eyes began to bleed when I saw that site. I think I'm going to rape the admin of that site. oh wait... my personal info in on digg... nevermind. I take back what I typed.... however I can't find my delete or backspace key.
- slapshot24, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5> If they aren't big enough adults to be dealing with this sort of thing then they need to butt out. No one was forcing them into using the message board or site.
The complaint says that neither victim was using the site. They only found out because a friend Google'd their name and found all kinds of horrible accusations and threats. It wasn't a flamewar, it was somebody taking a personal grudge online and attacking behind their backs. - dreadstar, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6Can that AutoAdmit site be ANY harder to read?
It's like they tried to make it an eyesore. - berb, on 10/11/2007, -2/+7I get threatened with death and rape at least twice a day on the internet.
Perhaps I could make a living off of lawsuits... - cojerk, on 10/11/2007, -4/+9FTA: '"On information and belief, it is unprecedented for a second-year law student from Yale to participate in so many interviews without obtaining a single summer associate offer," the complaint reads.'
Because the prestige of your school, alone, should automagically land you that job, right? - yuga, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Back here in the Philippines, I was also partly involved with a libel case in a message board that I host. Here's the short story: http://www.yugatech.com/blog/?p=1976
The case was dismissed against me but not with the original forum members who made the defaming posts. - sygyzy, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6I read every link and crosslinked article, post, feature on this story and I cannot figure out how the mean things said about these women affected their job prospects. If the law community is as intimate as it seems it is and if the Autoadmit website is that popular, how can anyone take any of those posts seriously. Say you were a a partner at a law firm and you did a google search for an intern's name. You come across a shoddy looking site with a bunch of guys saying they want to ##$@#) Jane Doe. All of a sudden you think she's not a good candidate?
- sygyzy, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6That's a pretty big leap xoxohth. I'd bet that less than 10% of the users use proxies. You think because they are smart (law students), they are suddenly IT savvy people?
- Typhoon2009, on 10/11/2007, -2/+6Imagine if people sued over heated Counter-Strike chats.
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -5/+9it would be funny if the guys getting sued could actually prove the 2 girls were actually fitting of the title "Stupid Bitch to Attend Yale Law."
let's break it down:
couldn't get an internship = stupid
frivolous lawsuit = bitch
goes to yale
sounds like a dismissal to me. - racecarjones, on 10/11/2007, -3/+7cry more nub?
- NoSuchAgency, on 10/11/2007, -2/+6Rape threats? Classy. I can see we're dealing with the future corporate-litigation attack dogs of the legal world here. Watch for these guys' names in the future on SLAPP, anti-filesharing, and other knowingly unwarranted suits.
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -3/+7What's a "personal att"? AT&T?
- blackpony, on 10/11/2007, -2/+6attack. i think it got cut off.
- slapshot24, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4> it's very easy to just ignore the comments. Once they start getting spammed
> in their personal email, or the attacks are carried over to off-line, then that is
> when action should be taken.
Their employers were getting spammed, and they couldn't "just ignore" the comments since the girls had never used the forum until a friend Googled their name and found the nasty stuff; people were finding accusations about STDs, lesbianism, and bribery via Google.
Somebody took an offline grudge and used the Internet to smear their victims. Not cool. - Zaetha, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4@ dreadstar
Is a security measure, anyone can't read fine prints except lawyers. - dadiggdog, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4here is a link to the thread the article refers, you can check the classiness of the academic discussions:
http://stupid-bitch-to-attend-yale-law.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=197266&mc=126&forum_id=2 - wastern, on 10/11/2007, -4/+8Overruled
- bIuebonics, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4"I am glad the era of trolls is soon at an end."
i think you underestimate teh internets... - whiterussian, on 10/11/2007, -3/+7@opes and tomarocco
While I agree that internet threats from completely anonymous strangers are nothing to get upset about, these girls are being affected by this ordeal in real life. It reminds me of stories I read about a year or so ago on online bullying. Kids would get threats or be made fun of from schoolmates via aim and myspace, and when reading about it on sites like digg, people would invariably say something like, "christ, call a whambulance. if the internet's too much for you, just turn it off." But the flaw in that argument is that it's not completely anonymous people. These are people being picked on by others with whom they have a semi-relationship, more obvious in the grade school and high school online cases, but also in this case. Someone posted on a board personal information about Jane Doe I that many students at Yale read. There's a good chance that this girl would come into contact with someone in real life who has read something about her online and may have formed a preconceived opinion about her. Plus, while rape jokes can be funny, from what I usually see on the internet (often Paris Hilton threads on digg), it usually amounts to something just unfunny and hateful like "What a bitch, I hope she gets raped in the shower." - slapshot24, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5The complaint says that neither girl EVER USED THE BOARD. The girls never posted on it -- people were taking real-life grudges out online.
- ElGuano, on 10/11/2007, -2/+6As a technologist and law student, I wouldn't be so quick to call this suit frivolous. YLS is pretty much undeniably the best law school in the country, and even granted the possibility that the students who didn't get jobs were total goobers and had zero social/interviewing skills, it's so highly unlikely this would happen without the influence of autoadmit googling. If you've got a warm body and go to a good school, you've got an internship/job lined up.
The forum in question is a huge mishmash of law school admission advice, gossip, and because it's anonymous, an outlet for incredibly incendiary racist, sexist and other -ist diatribe. Apparently, the candidates here were singled out by name (mostly at random), and literally slandered repeatedly in a lengthy set of threads, allegedly in an attempt to get the entries up on google if school admissions or employers looked them up.
If that's the case, there's really no question that this is plain defamation on the part of the forum users, clearly actionable, The issue with the site is if they have any liability for actively hiding IPs and not keeping logs (an analogy is whether autoadmit is like AOL, or Napster/Grokster).
Hate lawyers all you want, but if you get fired from your job because a group of random 15-year olds randomly went on a campaign to make your name synonymous with pedophile in a google result, you'd be retaining an attorney right now, too. - Error601, on 10/11/2007, -2/+6This is actually very interesting. They could very well win the case as there's tons of precedent for the same kinds of actions outside the forum world. Typing your harassment into a computer doesn't release you for responsibility for your actions.
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