TheDoctor - 9:19 am on Aug 6, 2004 (gmt 0)

You understand that all information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages or other materials ("Content"), whether publicly posted or privately transmitted, are the sole responsibility of the person from which such Content originated.

Which is not much good if the person responsible cannot be identified.

Far be it from me to defend a lawyer, but, as I understand the story, there would have been no complaint had Yahoo had decent moderation and kept personal abuse out of its groups.

I had a recent case in a forum I run, when I removed a post that personally abused a Nazi. Now I am all in favour of political attacks on Nazis, and you can use as much much webspace of mine and as much bandwidth of mine that you want to attack them. I'll give you it freely, and press more on you. But political attacks. No personal abuse.

Maybe people had criticisms of Stephen H. Galton, but I can't see how describing him as an "overly robust geezer that makes a living walking behind the elephant with a shovel" could actually move the debate forward.