Hi,
    I think what is being differentiated here is the difference between
opinion and slander. The statements made about a CEO's wife as described in
the article are obviously slander. While an opinion about how well a product
works or about the efficiency of tech support (for example) are not.
    If someone says "ABC inc. is not the best source for 123 product because
they are slow to respond to my service calls." That is an opinion. It can be
either right or wrong but it is an opinion. (Don't believe everything you
read) the best response to this is to find a customer to refute the claim on
the list.
    If someone says "Don't buy any products from ABD inc. because the CEO is
a transvestite terrorist." That is slander and needs to be dealt with
differently.
    I don't think that this article is arguing that people should not
express their opinions. I think it is saying people need to display some
degree of nettiquette by not making accusations that they have no evidence
for or knowledge of. If we have an opinion it is our right ... no our
*responsibility* to share it
Amos Brooks

They can take away our lives, but they can never take away our freedom
Braveheart

----- Original Message -----
From: 
To: 
Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2002 9:35 AM
Subject: Online Rants Not Always Free Speech


> With the postings we had a couple weeks ago I found this article very
interesting.
>
> Tuesday, March     19, 2002
> By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos
>
> Click on the URL below for the rest of this story:
> http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,48291,00.html
>