My thought is that posters to SI should not be held to a very high standard of veracity. This is a place where BS, rumor, hyperbole, head faking and joking all have a place. I am not terribly familiar with the two gentlemen in question, I know OF them, of course, so I don't know how egregious their offenses are. I read the excerpts posted by Janice Shell, and there was nothing clear in them. I would probably have to know far more than I care to know to even formulate an opinion.
However, I am a lawyer, and an SI friend of mine sent me a PM this morning, he was afraid of being sued by someone who posted to this thread about wanting to use the legal system to stop what he perceived as personal attacks. I think that is ridiculous. SI is part of the marketplace of ideas, and robust, even heated, debate, is part of our heritage. I would draw the line at obscenity, personal slurs on the other's character, and outright fraud, that's about it. |
