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Old 12-25-2005, 09:50 PM   #2 (permalink)
Rodney
Observant Ruminant
 
Location: Rich Wannabe Hippie Town
I'm not a lawyer, just an old-time journalism student. But based on my understanding..

First, if it's written, it's technically libel.

Second, unless he's trying to get you in trouble with the law or something, libel is a civil issue. Which means you've got to 1) go to court, 2) prove his lies actually harmed your reputation, 3) maybe even prove that he _meant_ to harm your reputation by lying (or didn't care whether he did or didn't), and 4) otherwise show, in some monetary sense, how much real damage there is. Some libel cases are settled with the judge awarding the plaintiff some nominal amount of damage, like one dollar -- to say that, yes, he lied about you, but it didn't really harm you.

So I wouldn't depend on the legal system. You might try to see if you can get him in trouble with his Internet provider, though he could always get another one.

The best way is just to compose an email or letter to send to all your friends and relatives explaining the situation and explaining that this individual is trying to cause trouble for some inscrutable reason. Get your friends who know the truth to cosign with you on the email. Then everybody will know what to expect from this guy, and they'll stop paying attention. And he'll stop, too. And of course, all your other friends will know that this guy is a loser -- the best revenge.
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