Blog comments trigger litigation threat

Local heritage figure Andrew Woodhouse has threatened me with defamation action over comments posted below under the story

Woodhouse to Report Commissioner

It seems an open public debate about local issues is not acceptable to some. 'There is no such thing as free speech,' Mr Woodhouse said to me in the street when I did not agree to his demands to remove unspecified comments.

I have not removed any comments because I cannot find any that are defamatory and I am reluctant to censor the views of those who post here merely on the basis of Mr Woodhhouse's say-so. On legal advice I asked Mr Woodhouse to specify which words he considered defamatory but he responded with a 'do not communicate with me see you in court' message. I have posted both emails in the comments thread linked above.

By co-incidence a flurry of

anonymous comments

then appeared on this blog. One of them was so highly defamatory it's almost funny, spluttering this:

"The editor's predeliction for pot-smoking, late night sex clubs and menage a trois is well known in the strip"

That would make me the grooviest grandpa in Sydney but, alas, the claim is not true. You really have to wonder how someone's mind can be small enough to write such stuff.

It's a cautionary tale nonetheless. I urge anyone posting comments to avoid personal criticism and stick to the issues. I carry the can for your words and I am very reluctant to begin trying to control, edit or censor them -- even the ones attacking me.