Web Site Sues Annoying Pest Troll

kongjie writes "Cleveland's The Plain Dealer has a story in the business section about a pest-control web site that is suing someone who obviously has a particular bone to pick with exterminators: he is accused of being a "troll" who "constantly leaving obnoxious and offensive messages" on their pest-control bulletin board. The suit is for $5,000 and is for "violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.""

Comments

Let's hope this never happens here!

[Anonymous Coward]

I can see Slashdot's new business model...

How sad/non-existent is your life?

[mellonhead]

That you've resorted to trolling a pest-control web site?

Re:What ever happened to free speech?

[pcx]

To make your analogy more accurate. The homeless man was going into the restraunt, goosing the waitresses, yelling and throwing stuff until the customers left.

Once you visit someone elses site you abide by THIER rules. You want free speach? Make your own site then you can say whatever you want.

Re:What ever happened to free speech?

[Captain Nitpick]

If you're walking down 5th Avenue in Manhattan and some homeless guy is beating away at a drum and chanting "Fuck the USA. Don't bomb Iraq" you cannot sue him because it would breech the freedom of speech laws.

And if he kept sneaking into my business to do his musical number, I have the right to have him charged for tresspassing.

Freedom of speech does not mean you get to use other people's property (in this case, a website) to practice it.

Re:Money$

[Entrope]

When you sue someone, you are generally not limited to recovering actual damages. You can sue for punitive damages as well, to deter the defendant (and others like him) from repeating his actions in the future -- which would require further intervention of the legal system.

Depending on how much time and effort (and legal bills) GIE has invested to keep him off their forums, and how much damage their reputation has lost because of the trolls on their forums, I can believe $5000 is the actual damages. An organization I work with has persistent trolls, and we spend a huge amount of time to remove them when they act up.

I wonder, though, if GIE has talked to the guy's ISP(s) and reported him for abuse. In my experience, that is much more effective than trying to unmask and sue someone over the Internet.

Re:Watch out slashdot trolls!!!

[stratjakt]

I think one could successfully argue in court that Slashdot serves no function except for trolls to flex their creative muscles.

It would be like Chuck E Cheese suing little kids for peeing in the balls.