Rule 4: Criticize constructively, don't just dump
Critiques of individuals or organizations should be done in the spirit of constructive discourse; simply dumping on a person or organization is not conducive to the kind of conversation we strive for.
"Dumping" on an organization or a person who is not a forum member may upset members who identify with the person or organization, so we do ask members to ensure that their comments remain as constructive and positive as possible.
We do recognise that many of our members feel a great deal of pain and anger about the way they have been treated - and about the treatment of ME/CFS patients in general - and sometimes we all feel the need to 'vent' about that. But relentlessly negative attacks on people and organisations outside the forums achieve nothing and they can be upsetting and depressing for other members to read. As an organisation, Phoenix Rising aims to emphasise what we can positively achieve together. Of course that means sharing our pain, and sometimes our anger too, but we also want to maintain a positive focus on what we can
do about our situation, and so we ask our members to engage on the forums in the same constructive and progressive spirit.
In some cases, negative comments about individuals can be construed as libel or defamation. Libel is a false, malicious statement published in mainstream media, and is often used synonymously with the term "defamation". A libellous statement is a statement that identifies a person, is a knowingly false statement about that person, is defamatory, and either causes injury or is likely to cause injury to the person. Legal issues surrounding libel and defamation are very complicated and vary by country. Although the legal issues regarding libel and defamation on the internet are still being defined, there have been successful lawsuits for internet libel.
Libellous and defamatory comments include statements that purposefully injure the reputation of another by exposing them to hatred, contempt, or ridicule. Allegations that a person is a thief, liar, idiot or fool, immoral, carrying a disease, bankrupt, unable to pay debts, or an adulterer, are all libellous or defamatory statements. In short, any statement that has a negative effect on a person's reputation is problematic. Using the words "In my opinion" is not protective. A statement is libellous whether one says "X is a liar" or "In my opinion, X is a liar" - if the statement concerns a matter of fact, it does not matter whether "In my opinion" is used as a qualifier or not. Libel is more likely to be an issue when a "public" figure has been libelled or defamed.
The
Forum Rules state that Phoenix Rising is not legally responsible for content, but we are here to help protect individual members who may publish libellous or defamatory statements within their forum or blog posts. Some members may believe they are protected because they are using an anonymous username, but if libel does become a legal issue, an Internet Service Provider can be subpoenaed to release personal details. Any comments that are construed as libellous or defamatory comments will be removed, in order to protect the member who has made such comments.
