I was accused (spuriously so) of libel last year, and ended up learning more than I cared to on the subject.

This isn’t legal advice, but bloggers should probably keep a few things in mind whenever they’re in front of a keyboard:

* Will what I’m about to publish potentially damage the reputation of some person or entity?

* Is there any chance that something I’m writing is not factually accurate?

* Could my actions be reasonably interpreted as malicious?

If you can answer “yes” to any of these things, you might save yourself a lot of grief by consulting a lawyer before hitting the Publish button.

These are general observations, and not directly related to any opinion I might hold about the Shoemaker case.

>> No, they are libelous. Slander is spoken defamation, libel is written.

POSSIBLY libelous. I’m not a lawyer, but I know that libel is subject to fairly broad interpretation. That’s what the Court is for.

Good summary, though.

While IANAL, I was threatened about a year and a half ago with a lawsuit by a company that appeared on my blog. I did a bit of research and even contacted legal counsel.

Since I was in the right, the company in question only ended up wasting my time and didn’t pursue legal action. On the bright side, I did get a quick-and-dirty education in “blogging law” with regards to trademark and libel issues.

As a starting point I would definitely recommend the EFF’s legal guide for bloggers.

No, they are libelous. Slander is spoken defamantion, libel is written.

>>And can those comments be tracked back to the person who actually made them?

Yes, via IP address and subpoena of the ISP.

>>And if not, is the blog owner then responsible?

No.

>>If these comments were made anonymously, could the plaintiff in such a case subpoena for records to track down the individual who posted the comment?

Yes.