[tzs]

> I'd really like to see, as a principle of law, the axiom that corporations do not have a personal reputation that can be impugned-- that reputation only applies to living human beings.

So when someone goes to forums and posts outright lies about a company (e.g., claiming that the company's software surreptitiously loads child pornography on to your computer so they can blackmail you), what recourse (if any) do you think the company should have?

[cstross]

Two words: public relations.

The corporation speaks with a much louder voice than the individual.

(Moreover, web fora are the internet equivalent of a crowded bar: the law is a very blunt instrument indeed when it comes to dealing with words uttered in the heat of the moment during an ongoing conversation.)