[arp242]

I don't think "offensive" and "defamatory" are really the same thing though. If I say "seaish is an asshole" then that's not very nice, but ... you know, I'm allowed to have that opinion for whatever reason ("everyone with two s's in their username is an asshole!")

But if I say "seaish is a pedophile and went to Asia for rentboys" then that's quite another thing (and these were among the claims that were made).

Not that the Twitter harassment of women in particular isn't an issue though; but I don't think it's really on the same level.

[lifeisstillgood]

I think that, while its clear it is an example, it would be preferable to use "XXX is a paedophile" as the example text than the parents username.

It would come off as less aggressive and less directed at the parent, which with such an accusation, even as an example, is rather jarring.

[arp242]

I don't really see the problem to be honest? I don't see how it's aggressive? (and it's too late to edit it now anyway, so not all that much I can do about it now anyway).

[betwixthewires]

I used to have deep conversations as a teenager with some of my friends, and on occasion I would say something as an argument, like "suppose I threatened to kick your ass." I meant no ill intent by it, it was an example of bad behavior used in discussion. But on a couple of occasions it was taken as a veiled threat, like I was getting upset with the discussion. Technically I did nothing wrong there, but later I came to see why it would be taken that way sometimes by some people, and stopped doing it.

[drdeca]

I agree that using as an example the person you are talking to is permissible, but I also agree that it is a bit preferable to instead either use a generic placeholder, or instead of saying “If I said [X] about [someone], that would(n’t) be libel”, instead saying “If [someone] said [X] about me, that would(n’t) be libel.” I don’t think this is obligatory though. I think that no one should feel pressured to make this change in how they phrase things, but I do think it is an improvement in phrasing.