★FALCON★ v. Dr. Crunt

A commenter here pointed to some remarks by a user at Birther Report, who comments anonymously under the name ★FALCON★, threating legal action against anyone who should start guessing at his real name online:

I’ve never told anyone my name. …

It’s helpful to remember that I have a family of attorneys and all of their names and addresses. Lawsuits could ensue should they keep trying to figure out my identity and coming up wrong.

The statement seems farcical. If one guesses correctly, then the statement is true and hardly seems grounds for a lawsuit. If one guesses wrongly then the name given is somebody else, giving ★FALCON★ no grounds to sue either. The other obvious problem is that in order to sue, ★FALCON★ would have to reveal the identity that he so carefully hides. That led me to ask whether it would be possible for ★FALCON★ to sue someone anonymously, as “John Doe.”

There are special occasions when parties to a lawsuit can remain out of the public record, when justice requires it. I don’t think that this situation fits. On the other hand, a lawsuit hypothetically filed against ★FALCON★ for defamation could force disclosure of his identity. Here’s a sample statement from him that some might consider defamatory:

Further, anyone relying in the reliability of Dr. Crunt, Faggy and R.C. are sorely mistaken. These dumbshits can’t figure out if they’re male or female, let alone discern my identity.

I am confident that better examples could be found if one took the time. Any number of BR commenters have, for example, called me a Communist (I am not now, nor have I ever been …).  Armed with a defaming statement, can one find out the identity of an anonymous blogger? While I am not a legal expert, the answer appears to be yes. Golfer Phil Mickelson won a legal battle against Yahoo and cable company Videotron to force them to name a person who defamed Mickelson on a Yahoo forum. ABC News reports that a Texas couple won $13.78 million in damages from anonymous posters at the popular Topix local forums web site after Topix was forced to disclose the IP addresses.1

The defamation in those cases was much more serious and specific (extramarital affairs, murder, child abuse) and the damages more clear cut than the mental defect alleged by ★FALCON★, but it bears remembering that anonymous commenting is not always anonymous and juries are all over the map when I comes to awarding damages. Forum owners (IANAL) like me who are merely conduits for user comments are immune from libel suits. I’m only responsible for what I say.

I think that if I ever received a subpoena for the IP addresses of commenters here, I would to resist it to the extent the law and rules of the court allow. But that’s as far as I would go.

[Update: We eventually did figure out Falcon’s real name with certainty. It wasn’t through an IP address, but just because he talks too much for someone who doesn’t want his identity found.]


1Internet users seriously trying to stay anonymous might try to use a non-US proxy server to obscure their location.

About Dr. Conspiracy

I'm not a real doctor, but I have a master's degree.
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35 Responses to ★FALCON★ v. Dr. Crunt

  1. Last week Falcon claimed that he had traced R.C.’s phone numbers and told him point blank that he was “nailed”. But in response to requests for R.C.’s real name and the state where he lives, it turned out that Falcon had none of that information. He knows nothing about R.C.’s identity. He was simply lying.

    I don’t believe he has attorneys in his family.
    I don’t believe he has addresses for any of us.
    I don’t believe a single word he says at any time. He’s just a blabbering idiot.

    However, no birther is capable of damaging my reputation. No matter what they say about me, the people I care about still have a high opinion of me, and nobody cares what a birther says.

    It’s really amusing to read all these birther threats. They’re the most powerless people on the planet.

  2. Thomas Brown says:

    Comrade Fogovich: He knows nothing about R.C.’s identity. He was simply lying.

    Seems to me, from back in my poker playing days, you ante up and plop down your bets or fold, and then somebody calls and you… wait for it…

    SHOW YOUR CARDS.

    Nobody’s won anything without that, and they better not touch the pot. If a player said “I’ve got a winning hand… but I’m not showing you my cards,” they’d be laughed out of the room, or worse.

    Exactly how do Birthers figure that has somehow changed? Was I asleep when the rule turned to “Money talks, and BS… wins the argument?”

  3. CarlOrcas says:

    Comrade Fogovich: It’s really amusing to read all these birther threats. They’re the most powerless people on the planet.

    That, sir, is the bottom line! When the power goes out in their basement lairs that reality comes rushing in on them.

  4. bgansel9 says:

    If these are family members, why would he need addresses? Couldn’t he simply call these folks up on the telephone? One could get the impression Falcon’s family doesn’t like him very much… if they exist at all.

  5. Bovril says:

    Some impudent swine posted on BirfoonReport that Old Blue might want to talk to his extended “family of attorneys” about the exact statute he would bring a case under and suprisingly, for someone who trawls BR quite obsessively, no response.

    Oh and as an aside, it seems all the money that BR was raising from the gullible to port his site to SOMEWHERE SECURE WITH NO BS TOS seems to have not been used.

    Still at the old IP address, same hosting by google

  6. Jim says:

    bgansel9:
    If these are family members, why would he need addresses? Couldn’t he simply call these folks up on the telephone? One could get the impression Falcon’s family doesn’t like him very much… if they exist at all.

    For some reason, ever since they got caller ID they never seem to be home when Falcon calls. Who could blame them?

  7. Andrew Vrba, PmG says:

    Chicken Hawk cracks me up. Puffs himself up as some big bad patriot who isn’t afraid of anything…except the thought of someone figuring out who he is.

  8. Yoda says:

    Enjoy

    https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Insane-Rantings-of-Falcon/1400136763575039

    I think I do know how Falcon is, but I am not going to reveal it, per Dr. C’s rules. I will only say that if I am correct, I am ashamed to admit that we live in the same state.

  9. Yoda says:

    Yoda:
    Enjoy

    https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Insane-Rantings-of-Falcon/1400136763575039

    I think I do know how Falcon is, but I am not going to reveal it, per Dr. C’s rules.I will only say that if I am correct, I am ashamed to admit that we live in the same state.

    HOW=WHO

  10. Rickey says:

    Thomas Brown: Seems to me, from back in my poker playing days, you ante up and plop down your bets or fold, and then somebody calls and you… wait for it…

    SHOW YOUR CARDS.

    Nobody’s won anything without that, and they better not touch the pot.If a player said “I’ve got a winning hand… but I’m not showing you my cards,” they’d be laughed out of the room, or worse.

    Exactly how do Birthers figure that has somehow changed?Was I asleep when the rule turned to “Money talks, and BS… wins the argument?”

    Precisely. Thirty years ago I discovered that the people who sold me a house had failed to disclose the existence of a defect (cracks in the basement floor) which they had hidden through the strategic placement of indoor/outdoor carpeting. I threatened to sue them and their realtor, but my threat had teeth because I had a real trial lawyer who I worked with and who owed me a favor. He let me use his name and the seller and realtor agreed to pay for the necessary repairs when they realized that I was serious.

    If I had said “I have a family of attorneys and all of their names and addresses” they would have laughed at me.

  11. Sef says:

    I know Falcon’s name. It’s “Sue”. He as much as told us since he is from a family of lawyers.

  12. Arthur says:

    Rickey: If I had said “I have a family of attorneys and all of their names and addresses” they would have laughed at me.

    Yes, Falcon’s appeal to a family of lawyers is comical–but the birthers can’t tell the difference between farce and tragedy.

  13. Arthur says:

    Yoda: I am ashamed to admit that we live in the same state.

    I’m ashamed we live in the same country.

  14. Andrew Vrba, PmG says:

    For now, I’m sticking to my “Falcon is a sock puppet of the guy who runs BR” theory.

  15. Arthur says:

    Sef: I know Falcon’s name. It’s “Sue”.

    A boy named Sue–no wonder he’s so messed up!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1BJfDvSITY

  16. Sef says:

    Arthur: A boy named Sue–no wonder he’s so messed up!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1BJfDvSITY

    I’m glad to find another fan of the great “Man in Black”.

  17. Jim says:

    Sef:
    I know Falcon’s name. It’s “Sue”. He as much as told us since he is from a family of lawyers.

    Now Sef, we’ve told you again and again…when getting information from Taitz, make sure you’re getting the correct information and not the Moldovian translation. She said, he’s a boy name “Poo” and he’s full of it! 😆

  18. Joey says:

    I can guarantee that the Secret Service knows exactly who Falcon is, and who he communicates with.

  19. Slartibartfast says:

    Comrade F,

    Look at it this way, given all of the hateful things that birthers routinely call obots (some of whom, like yourself or Doc C, are not anonymous), the only thing that protects them from doing damage that they would be liable for is their own impotence.

    Comrade Fogovich:
    Last week Falcon claimed that he had traced R.C.’s phone numbers and told him point blank that he was “nailed”. But in response to requests for R.C.’s real name and the state where he lives, it turned out that Falcon had none of that information. He knows nothing about R.C.’s identity. He was simply lying.

    I don’t believe he has attorneys in his family.
    I don’t believe he has addresses for any of us.
    I don’t believe a single word he says at any time. He’s just a blabbering idiot.

    However, no birther is capable of damaging my reputation. No matter what they say about me, the people I care about still have a high opinion of me, and nobody cares what a birther says.

    It’s really amusing to read all these birther threats. They’re the most powerless people on the planet.

  20. Andrew Morris says:

    This is also Orly’s problem. She keeps saying that she’s been libeled but it isn’t as if anyone who matters will think less of her, her “supporters” won’t think less of her, and because she claims to be a public figure, the burden of proof is almost impossible anyway. All of which she’d know if she’d actually understood any of the libel law she was presumably taught.

  21. BillTheCat says:

    “It’s helpful to remember that I have a family of attorneys….”

    Sure you do, bro, sure you do. 😀

    Poor little ★FALCON★, the tiny bird screeching with impotent rage.

  22. Dave says:

    Well, I’m still not convinced that ★FALCON★ isn’t a parody. I mean, come on, with the stars and everything?

  23. Jim says:

    BillTheCat:
    “It’s helpful to remember that I have a family of attorneys….”

    Sure you do, bro, sure you do.

    Poor little ★FALCON★, the tiny bird screeching with impotent rage.

    Actually, that may be true. However, if they know Falcon, like we know Falcon, they would laugh him right out of the room. Then again, maybe they already do. That’s why he’s online all day, every day! hehehe

  24. The European says:

    Sef: I’m glad to find another fan of the great “Man in Black”.

    /offtopic
    HIs last recordings – “American III and IV” – can make a grown man cry …..

  25. Arthur says:

    Dave: Well, I’m still not convinced that ★FALCON★ isn’t a parody. I mean, come on, with the stars and everything?

    He IS a parody, he just doesn’t know it.

  26. Curious George says:

    Joey
    March 3, 2014
    I can guarantee that the Secret Service knows exactly who Falcon is, and who he communicates with.

    You can bet on it Joey. FALCON, in my opinion, is the poster boy for viscous attacks against those who simply disagree with him. Both birther and anti birther are his targets. At the very least, his tongue doesn’t discriminate when he spews his venom. What a guy!

  27. Rickey says:

    Here is a fascinating Salon article about how Fox News fills white seniors with rage and resentment. I feel certain that ★FALCON★ spends much of his day watching Fox News.

    http://www.salon.com/2014/02/27/i_lost_my_dad_to_fox_news_how_a_generation_was_captured_by_thrashing_hysteria/

  28. ArthurWankspittle says:

    I’ll just add this to Rickey’s observation:
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-26416153

  29. The Magic M (not logged in) says:

    Comrade Fogovich: I don’t believe he has attorneys in his family.
    I don’t believe he has addresses for any of us.
    I don’t believe a single word he says at any time. He’s just a blabbering idiot.

    I have met many people like him during my 20 years on the internet. They love to hear themselves talk, thinking they can intimidate others by making up all kinds of things (usually of the “I know who you are and where you live” kind), but in reality they’re scared little babies.

    I once sued a guy who then wrote me an email how he and his friends would come over and tell my neighbours and my boss “his side of the story”. One week later he alluded he could sic the Hells Angels on me.
    He also boasted how he had enough money to counter-sue me into oblivion.
    After I won the case, he wrote whiny letters to my lawyer how he could not pay the money he owed me at once and if he please please pretty please could give him an extension of about a month.

    They are just the internet version of bullies – they know that talking big and pretending to be all-powerful allows them to have their way with many people.

    Among birthers, you could see many of them right before the 2012 elections. Accounts who completely disappeared after Obama won, simply because they didn’t want to be reminded how their big announcements had all fizzled.

  30. The Magic M (not logged in) says:

    Rickey: Here is a fascinating Salon article about how Fox News fills white seniors with rage and resentment.

    I can second that part about indoctrination. When I was young, my news sources were mostly my father (who went to school during the Nazi regime and became a strong believer in their system) and the only newspaper in our household, the right-leaning tabloid BILD (Europe’s biggest newspaper, no less).
    When I was 16, I was strongly right-leaning (strictly pro-life and against immigration, almost xenophobic). I would’ve been right at home with the Tea Party, in other words.
    So I understand how people can be indoctrinated if they treat themselves to one-sided sources of information only.

  31. J.D. Sue says:

    The Magic M (not logged in): When I was 16, I was strongly right-leaning

    —-
    If you feel like saying, I am curious to know what changed your view.

  32. The Magic M says:

    J.D. Sue: If you feel like saying, I am curious to know what changed your view.

    Well, since my views were shaped by believing what others said instead of experiencing things first-hand, they changed when I actually met people I used to be biased about. For example a good friend who thought she was pregnant from the wrong guy. That’s when I started to ask myself “would I really force her to have that baby?”.

    Once I freed myself from the stereotypical images I had (of foreigners, gays etc.) and began to see for myself, it all came together.

    But it’s the same issue I see in those Tea Partiers – I bet most of the “gay haters” never met real gay people and think it’s all just flashy colours, sodomy and Village People songs.

  33. J.D. Sue says:

    The Magic M: Once I freed myself from the stereotypical images…


    Thanks for your response. Yes, it seems that bigotry is based on imagery, rather than experience and a personal sense of balance. This, I suppose, is why the birthers paint such an ugly, gossipy, twisted picture of the President; they do it relentlessly, as if there can never be enough ugly images of him, his mother, his father, his wife… At the same time, they try to paint ugly images of all of us…. Scary stuff. The type of stuff my parents warned me about….

  34. SvenMagnussen says:

    Rickey: Precisely. Thirty years ago I discovered that the people who sold me a house had failed to disclose the existence of a defect (cracks in the basement floor) which they had hidden through the strategic placement of indoor/outdoor carpeting. I threatened to sue them and their realtor, but my threat had teeth because I had a real trial lawyer who I worked with and who owed me a favor. He let me use his name and the seller and realtor agreed to pay for the necessary repairs when they realized that I was serious.

    If I had said “I have a family of attorneys and all of their names and addresses” they would have laughed at me.

    Reminds me of a time when I was hired to inspect a foundation for a home under contract. I noticed cracks in the foundation and informed the buyer further investigation was warranted. The seller went ballistic and accused me of making up stories.

    I told the buyer cracks are not normal, it’s an indication of a failing foundation. The structure will collapse because the foundation was not built to code. If it were built to code, the foundation would not crack. I informed the buyer I couldn’t sign off on the inspection without further investigation, i.e. an x-ray of the foundation to examine the structural steal within the concrete. Which, of course, would mean a delay of closing and more money to complete the investigation. The seller threatened to sue me for ‘lying on her’.

    We found out the structural steel had failed and I reported it to the county building inspector, as required by law. The county building inspector confirmed my analysis and condemned the property. Some neighbors showed up and threatened to ‘beat the crap out of me.’

    So, I began looking at the foundations of some of the other homes in the neighborhood and saw signs of a failing foundation in many of the homes. I told the inspector my opinion and he took it under advisement. Long story short … lawsuits for everybody.

    Later, the building inspector called me and thanked me for saving lives. He knew, as I did, those foundations will eventually fail and people will be killed. Ironically, more people cursed me than thanked me for saving lives.

  35. Arthur says:

    Good job, Sven!

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