There are no alias restraining
orders- as far as I know of.
It would be very interesting to see a case brought demanding a restraining order restricting one poster from posting to another on SI.
First, of course, you have to get past the threshold issues of venue. Then, if the poster being complained of is using an alias, you have to be able to discover the names behind the aliases in order to effect personal service. And if they haven't told you where they're from, how do you know what state to file it in to get personal service in the first place? Then you have to get past the danger of the suit being used solely to force disclosure of the person behind the alias.
Then once you get all those threshhold questions out of the way, and you have the parties identified and venue established, you have to establish your right to a restraining order which is limited solely to written comments posted on a bulletin board which the complaining party is in no way obligated to read. That seems to me a significant problem. Can, for example, a Court prohibit one party from writing letters to the local paper about the other? If there is defamation, probably yes. But truthful statements and fair comment? Seems dubious.
If the case ever were brought, I'm sure you would bring all sorts of amicus curiae coming out of the woodwork. The obvious ones, like the EFF, and maybe some not so usual ones--if it were a woman complaining of a man, for example, the NOW legal defense fund might enter the case to protect a woman's right to surf the internet without having to encounter nasty things.
It would raise some interesting legal issues, but all in all, I think it would be a lot more trouble than just sticking to moderated threads or clicking the Next button. |
