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Why we as a forum needs to be careful


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http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/durham-police-issue-social-media-8758918

 

 

I know that perhaps some of you were annoyed by the decision to close a recent thread but please take note of the article and why Rob wants this forum protected from similar situations where perceived damage could result towards the forum.

 

This is not an invitation to start discussing the ins and outs of the recent thread but to highlight why certain actions took place.

 

As a result of this article the thread though not deleted has been removed from viewing on the forum

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"Anyone who identifies someone who may or may not be a victim of a sexual offence is committing a criminal act,” a spokesman for the force has said.

 

“Victims of sexual assault are guaranteed the legal right to lifetime anonymity and publishing any details, including on social media, which may lead to their identification, is contrary to the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992.

 

In a nut shell doesnt that mean it is against the law to identify victims or possible victims? Not it is against the law to discuss it. If there are people who post stupid things then surely thats what the mods are here for? This isn't like the Blackpool situation where if someone posts/insinuates something that is wrong or illegal then i feel their id's or whatever should be handed over if required or even offered to the police voluntarily, which in my eyes would set a stronger example.

 

by the way im not trying to be difficult, im just discussing it and offering my opinion because after all that's what a forum is about. No?

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I think the potential for something to slip through the net of our elite mods, because even they have to sleep, could lead to something being left up over night that wasn't good so I can see how caution is the best route in this instance.

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All that warning means is you can't name or imply who the victim is.

 

You also can't post offensive tweets.

 

You can talk about, you can discuss (like the newspapers are). This isn't a media blackout with a super injunction in place.

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The key consideration with regard to the case is the risk of something that could cause contempt of court.

 

Now saying something speculative on a forum may not seem like it's likely to risk such a thing. Identifying the victim is the clearest example of something that would be problematic. There's a reason the identity of victims of sexual attacks is protected under the law, to spare them from the ridicule and attention that sadly is too common. But beyond that, discussing evidence from the case that could form part of the prosecution or defence is an issue. The legal test for that is whether it would cause a substantial risk of serious harm to the case, and again that's not likely from a forum post, but in the age of social media, revealing information can mean it moves on to being repeated on Twitter and so on and then you have a build-up of risk.

 

One other thing is with regard to speculation - most people really don't know anything about the circumstances of the incident at the moment, and ascribing motives to either party or supposing defences for Johnson based on speculation really is just picking answers from a hat. It's best by far to wait and see what the situation is as it develops through the legal process. After all, what's most important is that the legal process gets it right and if it happened, the guilty party is punished and if it didn't, the innocent person is cleared, as with all court cases. If you're doing something that might distract from or hinder that process, you'd have to ask yourself why, and not be surprised if that meant consequences.

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All that warning means is you can't name or imply who the victim is.

 

You also can't post offensive tweets.

 

You can talk about, you can discuss (like the newspapers are). This isn't a media blackout with a super injunction in place.

 

I agree. To make a thread unavailable to view when there hasn't been anything even remotely hinting at her identity is totally disproportionate. The only speculation has been to the circumstances surrounding it like everybody has a right to do. It's a forum, people talk about things and to impose your own censorship is a knee-jerk reaction. This forum has high enough standards not to need such a high level of censorship. How will fmttm survive if we can't even be trusted!.

 

Where will the line be drawn in future?. At every police warning to the general public requesting something similar will the same thing happen?.

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In the North-East it seems like everyone knows everyone. I think it wouldn't be beyond the realms of possibility for people to start doxing someone and going on a witch-hunt a la Ched Evans. The line is very thin. It all it takes is one idiot.

 

I also don't want to get into a legal thing either but the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 is possibly the most vile construction in law in that it does not guarantee the accused anonymity either - and this then boils down to my first point, about people taking justice into their hands as a means to protest the law and do their own sleuthing.

 

It ain't healthy nor constructive in this sense. We aren't legal experts and I don't want a football forum to be reduced to people drumming up conspiracy theories.

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This is a football forum for banter about The Boro , I would strogly argue that this is not the place for this sort of thing and strays well over a sensible line on decency.

 

There were already one or two comments that were uncomfortable for me and I applaud the stance taken by mods on this.

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It's not something I want to chat about at all. However if you're going to allow people to talk about Ched Evans and various other things related to the game, Malky Mackay for example, then I'm not sure you can truly justify not allowing people to talk about this particular situation. They all carry a certain amount of jeopardy and lets face it, saying the wrong thing at any time can lead to legal problems for the site.

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In the North-East it seems like everyone knows everyone. I think it wouldn't be beyond the realms of possibility for people to start doxing someone and going on a witch-hunt a la Ched Evans. The line is very thin. It all it takes is one idiot.

 

I also don't want to get into a legal thing either but the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 is possibly the most vile construction in law in that it does not guarantee the accused anonymity either - and this then boils down to my first point, about people taking justice into their hands as a means to protest the law and do their own sleuthing.

 

It ain't healthy nor constructive in this sense. We aren't legal experts and I don't want a football forum to be reduced to people drumming up conspiracy theories.

 

I'm a solicitor, can I talk about it?

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In the North-East it seems like everyone knows everyone. I think it wouldn't be beyond the realms of possibility for people to start doxing someone and going on a witch-hunt a la Ched Evans. The line is very thin. It all it takes is one idiot.

 

I also don't want to get into a legal thing either but the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 is possibly the most vile construction in law in that it does not guarantee the accused anonymity either - and this then boils down to my first point, about people taking justice into their hands as a means to protest the law and do their own sleuthing.

 

It ain't healthy nor constructive in this sense. We aren't legal experts and I don't want a football forum to be reduced to people drumming up conspiracy theories.

 

I'm a solicitor, can I talk about it?

 

lol

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It's not something I want to chat about at all. However if you're going to allow people to talk about Ched Evans and various other things related to the game, Malky Mackay for example, then I'm not sure you can truly justify not allowing people to talk about this particular situation. They all carry a certain amount of jeopardy and lets face it, saying the wrong thing at any time can lead to legal problems for the site.

This

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I understand why people have concerns about the thread having been removed but I'm also very much in favour of erring on the side of caution in this situation. This is predominantly a football forum and while I think there is possibly some scope to have a discussion over this, I think at this time we know nothing and the thread would just be pure speculation over something that has little to do with football.

 

In general terms I think our posters on this site are great, knowledgeable and in 99% of the cases act within reason. It's an impressive forum, a wonderful, diverse mix of characters and a generally sound community of people who discuss things in the right way. I think we could have probably trusted the thread to remain reasonable but in this instance, as I mentioned, I support the decision to err on the side of caution.

 

This just serves as a good reminder that what we post on this forum may represent our own opinions but also represents OneBoro itself. We have a good reputation as a forum, something that I think is particularly important to us given the exciting things that are going on at the moment and I hope people can understand our reservations and desire to maintain the good reputation we do have that has been built up through quality posts from everyone on here and, to quote Grant Leadbitter, long may it continue.

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