[IT0]

Anything you say can and will be used against you.

In light of recent discussion I have had this nagging thought. What if anything you have said in an internet forum can be used against you in a court of law? This is probably more than a “what if”, I know of one small civil case, where FaceBook posts were entered into evidence. There are probably a lot more cases where net chatter has come back to haunt people, but I only personally know of one case.

The reason this is nagging me, is some of the stuff I read here while fun to read and sometimes even informative can also be a bit embarrassing if a person were to find themselves in a court of law being prosecuted for a crime, or in a civil court trying to explain why you should not held liable for something you did.

Does anyone else wonder if you should temper what you say publically here? Or is this just nagging paranoia?

 

[yukon2004]

I feel like you should always try to stay within the law's boundaries. If you screw up, you shouldn't go posting it for the world to see. No point in possibly incriminating yourself. Just my opinion...

 

[IT0]

I am not saying that anything you have posted after you are being prosecuted or sued....I am concerned with bold and brash statements made in the heat of a debate, or perhaps just drunken posts made a long time ago being brought to the light of day, when you least expect them.

 

[AltiDude]

Don't post anything you don't want to see in court.

 

[milje]

People get busted for stuff they post on youtube, so I'd assume forum postings are fair game.

 

[Gokyo]

Personally I think the biggest concern is people's bravado regarding when and how they would use their firearm in a self defense situation.

I worry that what people type here could be considered premeditation. It is harder to claim that you acted out of extreme duress and where amped up with adrenaline if you acted in a manner that perfectly matches what you said you would do.

 

[IT0]

Personally I think the biggest concern is people bravado regarding when and how they would use there firearm in a self defense situation.

I worry that what people type here could be considered premeditation. It is harder to claim that you acted out of extreme duress and where amped up with adrenaline if you acted in a manner that perfectly matches what you said you would do.

I think you said it better than I did.

 

[Sam Spade]

The internet is just a water cooler. Of course your water cooler statements About shooting unarmed people, planting weapons, lying to investigators...would come back to haunt you. And they should.

 

[RussP]

Eric first rule here, a strict prohibition of discussing illegal activity while using Glock Talk.

 

[B.Reid]

What I was just joking!

 

[ICARRY2]

How would a prosecutor or civil litigation attorney know you have an account at GT?

We don't use our real names. Also, real easy to edit or delete postings.

 

[RussP]

How would a prosecutor or civil litigation attorney know you have an account at GT?

We don't use our real names. Also, real easy to edit or delete postings.

Discovery, depositions, times like that.

If asked, "Mr. ICARRY2, do you ever post on the internet?" What would your answer be?

 

[Sam Spade]

How would a prosecutor or civil litigation attorney know you have an account at GT?

We don't use our real names. Also, real easy to edit or delete postings.

In a civil case, you'll be under oath in the depostion and asked.

In a criminal case, you don't have to tell anyone, but the odds of family or friends failing to answer are remote. And deletion doesn't work; generally, the internet is forever. If the prosecutor really needs to know, a warrant for your computer, smart phone and so on is a fairly simple matter.

 

[guns54]

I would say watch what you say,The man is every were,even on here.

 

[Glotin]

How would a prosecutor or civil litigation attorney know you have an account at GT?

We don't use our real names. Also, real easy to edit or delete postings.

You'd be very surprised how easy it is for them to connect the dots. Sometimes they don't even have to.

Also, everything is archived, so even if you edit/delete (assuming you can, assuming you're not being held) they can still find it and then show that you were trying to cover up.

Never put anything on the internet that you wouldn't want to face in court.

 

[IT0]

I have seen some posts here, that could be VERY embarrassing if they ever came out in court.

 

[wjv]

There is another web site I go to on occasion, which changed its policies a few years back. there is now no such thing as "guests" on that site. You MUST be logged in to read the forum postings on that board.

The Good: People can't snoop. . Not even Google. What you say (post) doesn't go beyond that site. Though I'm sure that someone with a court order could obtain copies of your postings.

The Bad: I usually like to hang out on a site for months before deciding to join. I probably read GlockTalk for a year before joining. By locking out guest, you limit people coming in, looking around, and then joining.

I use to use my real name on this and several other sites. About a year ago I started switching my user name to a less obvious, less traceable name. Not because I was posting anything illegal or bad, but I was trying to set up a bit of a firewall to protect some of my privacy.

 

[trcubed]

IP addresses are easily tracked to our homes or places of business, despite our best efforts at anonymity. Find it in one place, say an email, and I'd bet you could search and find it anywhere on the net.

NOTHING said on the net, in forums, blogs, email, etc. is private.

 

[IT0]

IP tracking is for noobs, a good proxy is cheap and easy.

My guess is it would come up in deposition or discovery and if it is known you blog or post, just access to your hard drive would open the door.

 

[JackMac]

When you say it on the Internet....it is for all the world to see brother...so think twice before you put your fingers in gear and say something you may regret since once you say it, you can't take it back. Keep it cool and don't do anything stupid....that you'll regret for a long time.