Here's a short story:
A certain member of my local hackerspace runs a web-service that returns racist content and nazi-symbolism.
Member gets evicted from the hackerspace and his membership cancelled by democratic vote.
Member sues the hackerspace for public defamation.
Hackerspace is running break-even and can barely afford attorneys and legal advice.
I really, really need to contain myself at this point, but someone truly deserves a can of whoop-ass.
@fribbledom I hope your State has anti-SLAPP Laws. This seem tailor-made for them; winning an anti-SLAPP motion means recovering attorney's fees and everything
@lwriemen @fribbledom sigh. This is just one long utopian fallacy. Things having problems or being abused mean they need to be improved, not reactionary-style axed. Where no anti-SLAPP exists, billionaires and corps love that *more* because they can use their deep pockets and frivolous lawsuits to silence opposition, which raises First Amendment issues
The cure has issues, but it's better than the disease