Not sure why this was downmodded, but I tried to correct that. I do note that people have a bias to believe the first story they hear and it's hard to consciously correct for this. Merely knowing about the bias is not enough to correct it and I realize that I'm not immune to it myself.
As far as I know, I don't know any of the people involved in this, but I've read enough legal complaints to know that they're not always as factual as they first appear, so I try to consciously restrain myself from simply believing it without hearing the rebuttal. Rushing to judgement may be quite common these days, but it's not the sort of behavior fair or intelligent people should engage in.
It's weird that they lead in with the first few comments, which were tame enough that I discount them completely as being an appropriate subject for a lawsuit, though they seem to get progressively worse and some of the later allegations are much more serious. I do wonder why they lead with their weakest cards, though.
That aside, it does seem that the site it exercising editorial control over the comments, which may work against it with respect to the CDA, even though it's trying to do the right thing based on its policy as quoted in the complaint. Given the policy, I wonder how the later comments ever went through, as it seemed like the site wanted to avoid drama like this entirely. Even if this was a lapse of some kind, it might work against them.
As I have not heard the rebuttal, I will refrain from making any judgements one way or another about who is right here. It's only fair, after all.
As far as I know, I don't know any of the people involved in this, but I've read enough legal complaints to know that they're not always as factual as they first appear, so I try to consciously restrain myself from simply believing it without hearing the rebuttal. Rushing to judgement may be quite common these days, but it's not the sort of behavior fair or intelligent people should engage in.
It's weird that they lead in with the first few comments, which were tame enough that I discount them completely as being an appropriate subject for a lawsuit, though they seem to get progressively worse and some of the later allegations are much more serious. I do wonder why they lead with their weakest cards, though.
That aside, it does seem that the site it exercising editorial control over the comments, which may work against it with respect to the CDA, even though it's trying to do the right thing based on its policy as quoted in the complaint. Given the policy, I wonder how the later comments ever went through, as it seemed like the site wanted to avoid drama like this entirely. Even if this was a lapse of some kind, it might work against them.
As I have not heard the rebuttal, I will refrain from making any judgements one way or another about who is right here. It's only fair, after all.
EDIT: Retraction Watch is covering this case. I believe them to be a reliable, respected and neutral 3rd party: http://retractionwatch.com/2014/12/10/pubpeer-files-motion-d...