After Y there is A and defamation suits

I met Y... after an entire term of not really meeting up. And boy, things really happen. We met over lunch at Al Hamra and had Al Cannot-eat-egg-mess and Al-Margherita Pizza. There was an annoying lady, who took our orders.. kinda and when i asked whether my turkish belly dancers and sword swallowers were on the way, she looked at me for a while before saying in her nasal aunty voice, "haf.." nodding then walking away. I swear thats why the food i ordered was dodgy.

THere is this whole debacle about whether blogging is really airing your dirty laundry in public for all to see and smell the poo you fell on. Defamation suits, privacy issues, freedom of speech, constitutions, democracy.. you name it, anything vaguely intelligent or superior pertaining to debates of such natures have been spouted off the lips of the group.

Personally, blogging, has always function under the probability that your blog entry may be read by who ever, wherever and whenever... no matter how small that probability is. NOw, while you may function under the assumption that "Ignorance is bliss" and what they don't know i wrote about them about, won't kill them, the deed in itself, the fact that whatever remarks, opinion posted has already been made, renders such assumptions as invalid.

Qualified opinion as a defence? The dissemination of such information for public good as a shield? I say it will fail. THere is a very thin line in actually trying to discern whether or not in the first place such blog entries carrying such remarks/retorts/bitching have

1. Value to the public.
2. No intention of malice.
3. Qualified authority.

And you have to understand that such standards, as mentioned above are usually judged by an external audience. Your readers will decide the above. It is strange though. One would usually write to appeal to an audience. And the pandering to such an audience usually lands the writer in hot soup over stupid off the cuff remarks. Should liability be extended to the audience? Assuming of course the prescribe to the beliefs or the writer in the first place and such remarks are often goaded and demanded by your caring readers.

That would be stupid wouldn't it?

Besides less than 10 people read my blog. and its oh-so-boring... no sizzling romance, gosssips..