The latest in frivolous lawsuits...
...comes from my alma mater's cross town rival, the lovely V.J. and Angela Skutt Catholic High School. First, the story. Skutt is suing "John and Jane Doe" because of libelous statements that said person(s) "published" on the Skutt wikipedia page. The statements are as follows:
"It's (sic) tuition is ridiculously high, too. Not to mention you get an awful education there. They put more emphasis on sports than they do education. No wonder almost all kids there are complete idiots."
The fact that Skutt is suing at all shows their complete lack of understanding when it comes to Wikipedia. The entire point of Wikipedia is that it harnesses the massive open power of the internet. While the W-H article (reg. required)I'm using as a source doesn't say, I'm certain the "libelous" statements were removed within a few days of being posted. Regardless, the statements are off the page now and the page has been semi-locked (only registered users can post changes.) So, Skutt is suing because of something someone said about them on the internet that was likely corrected within days, and in any case is now fixed. I have no doubt that anyone who happened to be browsing the wiki page wouldn't take the statements seriously. Anyone who believes a statement in an encyclopedia which includes the phrases "awful education" and "complete idiots" probably got their education at Skutt. (1 count of libel!)
Setting aside all of that, the sad fact is that some of these statements could arguably be true. Skutt DOES place a strong emphasis on athletics, and its tuition IS very high. (2 more counts of libel!) Which could perhaps give possilbe understanding as to why Skutt is fighting so hard against them. Regardless, Skutt is tying up the court system and service providers (tracing the IP address) with a frivolous lawsuit
As a sidenote, the W-H does a pretty crappy job of understanding the internet, but considering that it's a print organization, and one that hides most of it's content behind a registration firewall, I shouldn't be surprised. The biggest example of this is when it states that other posts containing potentially libelous material "can still be accessed at Wikipedia." Which is true. I can access them using the page history feature, which is part of the openness of Wikipedia, something print media, with its tradition of page 20-F retractions, is a stranger to. However, the phrasing the W-H uses implies that "sharp criticism of Skmutt's president and principal,...,obscene language, and a mention of drug use" are still all up on the main page. Which is simply not true, but why let facts get in the way of a good story slamming your competition?
Bottom line is that this is a retarded lawsuit, filed by a school primarily run and attended by arrogant rich pompous pricks (Another count of libel!) that I hate, and has poorly written and understood media coverage to boot. Yup, lots for a blogger to like here. I'll be following the story.
Let's let Skutt's lawyer have the last word. "These particular edits were really harmful and mean-spirited." So. They're suing because someone talked about them on the internet in a "harmful" and "mean-spirited" way.
Worst. Lawsuit. Ever.
source
Real quick update: if you go to Skutt's official website, you should notice something very interesting: "Congratulations to the Skutt Catholic Football Team for winning this year's Class B State Championship!
Congratulations to the Skutt Catholic Wrestling Team for winning their 9th consecutive Class B State Championship this year!
Congratulations to the Skutt Catholic Boys Basketball Team for winning this year's Class B State Championship!
Congratulations to the Skutt Catholic Girls Soccer Team for winning this year's Class B State Championship!
Congratulations to the Skutt Catholic Boys Soccer Team on being this year's Class B State Runner-Up!
Congratulations to the Skutt Catholic Girls Tennis Team for winning this year's Class B State Championship!
Congratulations to the Skutt Catholic Boys Golf Team for winning this year's Class B State Championship!
Congratulations to the Skutt Catholic Trapshooting Team's 1st Squad for winning this year's Class B State Championship in the Handicapped Division!
Congratulations to the Skutt Catholic Trapshooting Team's 1st Squad for winning 3rd place overall in this year's Class B State Championship!
(Whew! We're going to need a new page for all this stuff!)"
All that, right on the front page. Nothing about academics or service projects like there are on other Omaha area Catholic H.S. websites. But don't you EVER accuse Skutt Catholic of having an over-emphasis on sports.
"It's (sic) tuition is ridiculously high, too. Not to mention you get an awful education there. They put more emphasis on sports than they do education. No wonder almost all kids there are complete idiots."
The fact that Skutt is suing at all shows their complete lack of understanding when it comes to Wikipedia. The entire point of Wikipedia is that it harnesses the massive open power of the internet. While the W-H article (reg. required)I'm using as a source doesn't say, I'm certain the "libelous" statements were removed within a few days of being posted. Regardless, the statements are off the page now and the page has been semi-locked (only registered users can post changes.) So, Skutt is suing because of something someone said about them on the internet that was likely corrected within days, and in any case is now fixed. I have no doubt that anyone who happened to be browsing the wiki page wouldn't take the statements seriously. Anyone who believes a statement in an encyclopedia which includes the phrases "awful education" and "complete idiots" probably got their education at Skutt. (1 count of libel!)
Setting aside all of that, the sad fact is that some of these statements could arguably be true. Skutt DOES place a strong emphasis on athletics, and its tuition IS very high. (2 more counts of libel!) Which could perhaps give possilbe understanding as to why Skutt is fighting so hard against them. Regardless, Skutt is tying up the court system and service providers (tracing the IP address) with a frivolous lawsuit
As a sidenote, the W-H does a pretty crappy job of understanding the internet, but considering that it's a print organization, and one that hides most of it's content behind a registration firewall, I shouldn't be surprised. The biggest example of this is when it states that other posts containing potentially libelous material "can still be accessed at Wikipedia." Which is true. I can access them using the page history feature, which is part of the openness of Wikipedia, something print media, with its tradition of page 20-F retractions, is a stranger to. However, the phrasing the W-H uses implies that "sharp criticism of Skmutt's president and principal,...,obscene language, and a mention of drug use" are still all up on the main page. Which is simply not true, but why let facts get in the way of a good story slamming your competition?
Bottom line is that this is a retarded lawsuit, filed by a school primarily run and attended by arrogant rich pompous pricks (Another count of libel!) that I hate, and has poorly written and understood media coverage to boot. Yup, lots for a blogger to like here. I'll be following the story.
Let's let Skutt's lawyer have the last word. "These particular edits were really harmful and mean-spirited." So. They're suing because someone talked about them on the internet in a "harmful" and "mean-spirited" way.
Worst. Lawsuit. Ever.
source
Real quick update: if you go to Skutt's official website, you should notice something very interesting: "Congratulations to the Skutt Catholic Football Team for winning this year's Class B State Championship!
Congratulations to the Skutt Catholic Wrestling Team for winning their 9th consecutive Class B State Championship this year!
Congratulations to the Skutt Catholic Boys Basketball Team for winning this year's Class B State Championship!
Congratulations to the Skutt Catholic Girls Soccer Team for winning this year's Class B State Championship!
Congratulations to the Skutt Catholic Boys Soccer Team on being this year's Class B State Runner-Up!
Congratulations to the Skutt Catholic Girls Tennis Team for winning this year's Class B State Championship!
Congratulations to the Skutt Catholic Boys Golf Team for winning this year's Class B State Championship!
Congratulations to the Skutt Catholic Trapshooting Team's 1st Squad for winning this year's Class B State Championship in the Handicapped Division!
Congratulations to the Skutt Catholic Trapshooting Team's 1st Squad for winning 3rd place overall in this year's Class B State Championship!
(Whew! We're going to need a new page for all this stuff!)"
All that, right on the front page. Nothing about academics or service projects like there are on other Omaha area Catholic H.S. websites. But don't you EVER accuse Skutt Catholic of having an over-emphasis on sports.
posted by Mike at 10:04 PM
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