reword "slander" to "libel" in registration legalese

jeffythedragonslayer · Sat Mar 04, 2023 6:46 pm

I think that in the registration legalese:

You agree not to post any abusive, obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, threatening, sexually-orientated or any other material that may violate any laws be it of your country

we should use "libel" instead of "slander."

Post by **KevC** » Sat Mar 04, 2023 7:06 pm

That's more one for the bug tracker if you think the wording should be changed
http://tracker.phpbb.com/

jeffythedragonslayer · Sat Mar 04, 2023 7:43 pm

Boom:

https://tracker.phpbb.com/browse/PHPBB3-17110

I couldn't get the hyperlink markup that Jira creates to work in the visual preview.

warmweer · Post by **warmweer** » Sun Mar 05, 2023 7:14 pm

jeffythedragonslayer wrote: ↑Sat Mar 04, 2023 6:46 pm ... we should use "libel" instead of "slander."

I'm not 100% sure about this but I think language-wise the proposed modification is correct as slander is always an oral statement and can only be libel if it's reproduceable including an indisputable reference to the original source. As such slander can become libel if it is securely recorded (probably meaning sound + visual recording).

One could probably argue that on forums a lot of these "libellous" messages are basically the written form of a spontaneous thought which would have been spoken out had this been possible, in other words: much ado about nothing ... but I agree that strictly speaking "libel" is more precise vocabulary.

Post by **Mick** » Mon Mar 06, 2023 8:22 am

Libel is a defamatory statement that is made in writing, slander is an defamatory statement that is spoken orally.

You could have fun with that, I see defamatory statements everyday

jeffythedragonslayer · Thu Mar 09, 2023 6:23 am

warmweer wrote: ↑Sun Mar 05, 2023 7:14 pmreproduceable including an indisputable reference to the original source.

On a phpbb forum, that indisputable reference would be a hyperlink to the post.

warmweer wrote: ↑Sun Mar 05, 2023 7:14 pm One could probably argue that on forums a lot of these "libellous" messages are basically the written form of a spontaneous thought which would have been spoken out had this been possible, in other words: much ado about nothing ... but I agree that strictly speaking "libel" is more precise vocabulary.

For many people I have encountered this is certainly the case

But I think for people more experienced with the internet, forums tend to move at a slower, more thoughtful, and more deliberate pace than chat apps like discord and IRC.

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