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Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!munnari!kre
From: kre@munnari.oz (Robert Elz)
Newsgroups: news.misc,news.sysadmin
Subject: Re: Forgeries
Message-ID: <1583@munnari.oz>
Date: Sun, 26-Apr-87 07:25:09 EDT
Article-I.D.: munnari.1583
Posted: Sun Apr 26 07:25:09 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 26-Apr-87 23:17:53 EDT
References: <9405@decwrl.DEC.COM> <655@desint.UUCP> <1577@munnari.oz> <272@ems.UUCP>
Organization: Comp Sci, Melbourne Uni, Australia
Lines: 25
Xref: mnetor news.misc:323 news.sysadmin:163

In article <655@desint.UUCP>, geoff@desint.UUCP (Geoff Kuenning) writes:
> I think it's also worth pointing out that forgery is definitely a crime.
> So is slander.

I replied that forgery is a crime, but that slander is merely a tort.

In article <272@ems.UUCP>, mark@ems.UUCP (Mark H. Colburn) writes:
> In the US, slander and defamation of character are both 
> against the law.  newspapers and other publishers get 
> sued for it every day.

Of course, that's what a tort is.  Torts are where someone takes
you to court, and the court makes you pay money, or perhaps grants
an injunction against you to stop some action (or several other remedies).

Crimes are where the state (or King, or whatever) takes you to court,
and the court imprisons you, or lops off your head, or whatever happens
to be appropriate (maybe just makes you pay money).

The significant difference is that if you comit a crime, you end
up with a criminal record, that is used against you in all kinds of
ways that you never suspected it would be.  Comit a tort, pay your
damages, and its forgotten.

Robert Elz			kre@munnari.oz