www.pafo.co.uk

[pafo]

Hi There, I am an administrator for a Paramedic and Pre-hospital Emergency forum, where people who have registered come and say what the feel about the job, discuss problems lack of crews on the road etc..

We do have a terms and conditions section... but I am a little worried about some of the postings that go up, and how they might come back and bite me on the bottom..

The recent post in question, that I have taken down for the moment is where people are disgusted with the number of crews on duty at any time, and have posted the number of crews that were on duty for a given date.. no names just numbers... IS THIS OK..

Also we had an earlier issue, where First responders were getting a bit of a battering, not the responders themselves but the management of them again no names were ever mentioned.

Basically people complain about systems, procedures and lack of crews..

What is the legal position on this, anyone able to help please.

 

[cjd]

What is the legal position on this, anyone able to help please.

You are unlikley to get a proper legal answer as you are asking for an opinion without full access to the info in a difficult area and a professional would only be able to hedge around it.

I'm not a legal bod so maybe I can get away with it.

There's no point having a forum unless the posters can post freely, without censure. So long as they are not naming names but airing a general greavance I don't see any problem unless you are an employee of the health authority concerned or running the forum for them.

If you are independent I don't see a problem - in fact I see a big advantage; controversy always attracts attention.

 

[Antonia @limeone.com]

The rules of a forum should make it clear you need to moderate the responses to avoid identification of the people or areas involved. The golden rule is to ensure that any direct criticism posted is not aimed at a particular person who is named or clearly recognisable or could identify the people involved at all.

You can also protect yourself and your forum from litigation by taking out forum insurance for claims but in real terms litigation on forums although possible is rare ( though often threatened) and there is much you can do to ensure you keep that good balance between freedom of expession and defamation. Many sites including this one have clear guidelines on posting and are vigilant in removing or requesting adjustment of postings likely to cause a legal letter.

If you have concerns it is easier to get direct advice on a specific posting from a lawyer than to request opinion in general terms. Most of us are trained to advise and form legal opinions on specifics and do not have a legal opinion on general issues until they become a problem or clearly are going to lead you into a problem.