Sex Baiting Prank on Craigslist Affects Hundreds

[Raven Hawk]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I don't think any married guy sends this type of thing as a "joke" unless he has a seriously self-destructive streak.

This sounds like jshipman logic.

[Glengoyne]

I'd think the guy who started this had better be independently wealthy, because even if you are in the right, you can still be sued. Once sued, you can either pony up the bucks to defend yourself through a lawyer, or go it on your own. Lawsuits are expensive, even if you've done no wrong.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Drake

I think it's fair to say that I stand corrected on the right of ownership with respect to correspondence. So I'll fall back on the ol' common sense argument that you should never commit to writing (much less to the internet) what you might not want other people to know about you.

(For the record, I think the "private fact" bit of the equation might be the hardest part to prove in court. If I was a judge handling this case, I'd be pretty likely to take the position that by shooting off this information in an e-mail to a stranger, you were essentially waiving your right to privacy on the facts in question. Then again, if I was the judge, I'd just take the initial court filing and stamp PWNED on it with a big, red stamp and send a scan of it to The Smoking Gun. This is reason #1456 why I'm not a judge.)

If this thing gets in front of a jury, then it becomes another situation entirely. With many, many juries, emotions tend to override the law. And, let's face it, if there are women on said jury, the "he-got-what-he-deserved-he-ain't-getting-any-money" argument will probably play very, very well.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Meanwhile, in a related story ...
http://apnews.myway.com//article/200...D8K18M2G3.html
LEVITTOWN, Pa. (AP) - Police in Bucks County have charged 12 women after an investigation into prostitutes who allegedly have been advertising on the Web site Craigslist.

After police received a tip in August about alleged prostitutes advertising on the site, investigators called cell phone numbers in local listings that advertised "GFEs" - girlfriend experiences - asking for payment in "ro$e$" or "125 donations."

The undercover investigators agreed to meet the women at motels, and almost all 12 were arrested within two minutes, he said.

Several of the women who were arrested had brought along their boyfriends, and five men were arrested on drug charges, police said.

Similar sting operations have led to prostitution charges against women in states including Maryland, New York, Oregon and New Hampshire.

Craigslist spokeswoman Sue MacTavish Best said the site cooperates with law enforcement and has a flagging system that allows users to bring prohibited content to the company's attention so it can be removed.

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

Talk about apples and oranges. It's an issue of "invasion of privacy" when someone uses covert means to obtain information when you should reasonably expect to be private, such as wiretapping your phone without a court order. This is an issue where people have willingly given information in a format where there is no reason to expect it to be private.

There would be if someone submitted false information, such as providing someone else's name and photo, and he published that information. That would fit the textbook definition of libel.

Well, yes. I do realize the differences. FWIW, I don't believe there is should be anything like a right to privacy, but on the other hand, I think this guy deserves a few punches in the mouth.