Atlasia v. Jesus

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I would hope that the prosecution can further substantiate their claim that the defendant violated Section 1, Clause 6 of F.L. 15-1.  As far as I can see, a claim has been presented, with evidence, that Section 1, Clause 5 was violated, but not Clause 6.  Until this substantiation is fulfilled, the defendant and I have assumed that the charge refers to the concept that labeling someone with a sexual identity supposedly constitutes content of a "sexual nature," which I will address momentarily.

Harsh, baseless, and/or potentially damaging opinions have been lodged about members on the forum many times, including on the AtlasWiki.  The appropriate response is to remove the offending content, a step which has not even been taken by many in regards to the AtlasWiki pages on Former Sen. BRTD and Senior Associate Justice Opebo.  If a conviction occurs here, this would appear to be an unequal application of the law, based on the relative likeability of the victim in question.

Justice Opebo's Wikipedia article stated until March 20, 2007 that he "is one of the most controversial citizens of Atlasia and is often regarded as a troll and a child molester."  This slanderous and unsubstantiated comment remained on the official Wiki of Atlas Forum until it was removed by none other than the defendant, Gov. Jesus, as part of an effort to clean up various profiles.  An even older version of Opebo's Wiki description, archived on the 'Talk' page by Sen. Brandon H, states, among other things that Opebo was "born a twat" and that, in reference to his use of prostitutes in Thailand, "[m]any forum members have speculated that these may not actually be women, but actually young girls and boys," and adds that this suspicion has been somewhat confirmed by Opebo himself, when in fact he has stated that he would never engage in sex with someone who is underage.

If labeling dazzleman with a possible sexual identity as a pedophile violates F.L. 15-1, S1.5 and/or S1.6, one should also consider bringing action against whoever is responsible for the current article on Fmr. Sen. BRTD, which states that he is "also known for his fetish for sexy communist guerrillas."  His discussion page contains an archived, older article which states that "[h]is main sex fantasy is to have sex with a female communist guerilla, who are mostly ugly and old" and that "[h]e also is a fan of F*ckbuddies and refuses to actually have a real relationship, instead desiring to spend his time buying strippers and talking on message boards."

As far as we are aware, not only has no action been ever lodged against anyone responsible for writing this questionable content, but there has been little controversy surrounding these items in the past, as well.  The double standard here is worrying, especially as the victim in question here no longer posts on the forum and no personally identifiable information about him (his picture, real name, or exact location) were ever revealed publicly.

If the AtlasWiki is supposed to deliver "nothing but on-topic facts" about the forum, perhaps the article on dazzleman, especially in its newly edited state, should be of a particularly low concern for the prosecution, as the offending statement has since been removed.

The prosecution states that the defendant has shown no remorse for his actions, but in fact, Gov. Jesus stated on August 13 that "I should have left it out of the Wiki and I'm sorry for the edit and for causing so much controversey.  I certainly won't be doing it again."

There is simply no basis for anyone to conclude that the defendant posted items of a sexual nature, unless labeling someone with an orientation or sexual identity is of a sexual nature itself, which it is clearly not.  The defendant's counsel can recall one instance where a Game Moderator posted an official news article speculating on whether or not he was homosexual: no action was taken, nor was it sought.  Someone being labeled as a heterosexual, homosexual, communist guerilla fetishist, pedophile, etc., does not constitute content of a "sexual nature."

The content was not of a malicious nature, either, as the Governor states his intention was to use facts.  While these facts may have been questionable or he may have jumped to an unfair conclusion, it was not something that he simply pulled out of thin air in order to rile people up.  Even so, the Consolidated Criminal Justice Act defines malicious editing of the AtlasWiki to entail "remov[al of] legitimate content or creat[ion of] off-topic pages," neither of which technically apply here.  While it may be argued that dazzleman's possible sexual leanings are off-topic in relation to the AtlasWiki, many forum members' articles contain information that is irrelevant to Atlas Fantasy Elections: the articles referenced above are only a small sampling.

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The defense is aware of the dating of these items and we are making a point about the double standard being applied here when two forumites can suffer vicious and slanderous descriptions that belittle their character for years, while the edit to dazzleman's profile was not tolerated for more than a couple days.  Thus, the forum self-corrected its own mistake: going through the legal system is quite silly, as a result.  Have you spoken with dazzleman to see if he wishes for legal action to occur out of this incident?  Even if he has requested this, he has not even made a minor appearance anywhere to demonstrate that he is aware of or upset by this event.  Gov. Jesus has apologized for the incident, in any event, making this entire exercise unnecessary.  No lasting harm has occurred because of this incident.

The defense restates its wish that the prosecution substantiate its claims that the Governor violated Section 1, Clause 6 of the relevant act.

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The defense maintains Gov. Jesus' innocence.

It is hard to believe such an apology as it conflicts with other statements such as the following:

The only thing I did wrong was saying teenage instead of teenaged, and for that I apologize.

The apology I referenced is dated later than the one you quote, so therefore one can only assume that the repentance displayed afterwards was genuine remorse.

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The thread is locked, but the post can be accessed here.

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From August 13, 2007.

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The defendant has decided to waive his right to trial by jury.

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The defense appreciates the verdict and thanks the Court for hearing our opinion.