PART IV

"Publication does not mean printing it in a newspaper or magazine, or posting it online. It can be as simple an act as writing it in a private letter intended to be seen by only one other person and actually seen by that person. (If seen by more than one person, it goes to the issue of more damages).

"Damages must always be proven, but if it comes in the form of a loss of business reputation, or wrongfully accusing a person of a crime, and the statement is false, the damage is presumed - the victim need only prove that the statement is false.

"Once the statement is shown to be false, the defendant (i.e., the person who has made the claim in the first place) must either provide proof that it is true - a long and expensive process if it involves coin grading or coin pricing fairness - or offer some privilege for making the remark.

"The law presumes that certain statements, whether printed or oral, automatically cause damage to the victim of the statement. If a person is accused of a crime, they are presumed damaged if the statement is false.

"So, too, if their business is attacked, such as calling a physician a butcher, depicting a lawyer as a crook, or describing an investment banker as an incompetent bumbler, that is considered defamatory per se.

"It hasn't yet been fully decided whether a chat group is libel or slander, since it mimics talking but really is writing - with 'publication' coming with the carriage return that sends the message in cyberspace.

"But that makes little difference because, except for minor technical differences, each seeks to punish defamatory conduct by allowing for substantial damages to be collected.

"There is an added problem, that libel and slander occur at the time of publication, and the author is not the only one liable - so is the publisher. Quaere: can the Internet service provider - CompuServe, a Prodigy, or America Online - be held liable?

"At least one trial court says that they can, and claims that it is the job of the provider to monitor the public chat rooms and use groups that print information on a first come, first served basis.

"For obvious reasons, the publisher isn't taking this as a final word, and in at least one case, America Online was let off the hook by an appellate court that ruled that the service provider had no liability. (That didn't excuse the person who made the intemperate remark, however. -CONTINUED