I hope this post will be taken in the spirit in which it is written and that it can all come to a close soon. I know some of you felt that I should have "walked away" but I am not that sort of person and I make no apology for that. I would ask that you reflect on the fact that the vindictive attacks on individuals have stopped, though some individuals hiding behind pseudonyms are still popping up from time to time with silly taunts. What has been now established is that there IS a way of controlling unruly elements on this Forum.
Despite a fair bit of "talk" on the subject, the legal wheels I put in motion did not involve people in wigs and funny clothes. Commercial law is somewhat different to the courtroom drama of TV. Look at the Forum Etiquette section and Privacy Policy for a good example of contract law. I have answered Deborah's questions elsewhere.
We were not seeking to obtain any specific information that would be deemed to be private or personal and therefore subject to a possible complaint against me under the Data Protection Act.
However, the Data Protection Act was written in order to create a balance of privacy and openness and does not restrict individuals to only receiving their own data. Thus where an unfounded accusation is made it is possible to identify the source if the accusation is serious, damaging & malicious.
Clearly the Act was NOT designed to protect those making such accusations. UK law applies to this Forum as it does to any other publication.
What we have obtained is already in the public domain. We have now established were the defamatory comment and false accusation came from.
The protagonists "scalded cat" reaction and immediate exit from the forum is understandable.
Despite a fair bit of "talk" on the subject, the legal wheels I put in motion did not involve people in wigs and funny clothes. Commercial law is somewhat different to the courtroom drama of TV. Look at the Forum Etiquette section and Privacy Policy for a good example of contract law. I have answered Deborah's questions elsewhere.
We were not seeking to obtain any specific information that would be deemed to be private or personal and therefore subject to a possible complaint against me under the Data Protection Act.
However, the Data Protection Act was written in order to create a balance of privacy and openness and does not restrict individuals to only receiving their own data. Thus where an unfounded accusation is made it is possible to identify the source if the accusation is serious, damaging & malicious.
Clearly the Act was NOT designed to protect those making such accusations. UK law applies to this Forum as it does to any other publication.
What we have obtained is already in the public domain. We have now established were the defamatory comment and false accusation came from.
The protagonists "scalded cat" reaction and immediate exit from the forum is understandable.