The Davis Square Community

JonMon loses to me again, this time in US Circuit Court of Appeals

Fri, 11 Mar 2022 16:27:20 GMT

Posted by: ron_newman

The First Circuit of the US Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of the US District Court, dismissing Jonathan Monsarrat's second lawsuit against me for copying Davis Square LiveJournal content to Dreamwidth.

Universal Hub has the full story.

(See also: jadelennox's previous post on this subject in January 2021, after the District Court issued its judgment.)

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Post Ouroboros

Thu, 21 Jan 2021 21:08:45 GMT

Posted by: jadelennox

universal_hub_feed links to us, we link back to Adam...

Somerville man loses another lawsuit over stuff posted about him online

A federal judge today dismissed a lawsuit by Jonathan Monsarrat over postings in a Somerville community forum, saying the forum's moderator did nothing wrong or defamatory when he moved the entire discussion group from a server owned by Russians to one based in the US.

Section 230 is pretty great, y'all. So is the Fair Use doctrine.

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JonMon loses another lawsuit, this time against Encyclopedia Dramatica

Tue, 26 Dec 2017 17:29:48 GMT

Posted by: ron_newman

Jonathan Monsarrat, also known around here as "JonMon", just lost another lawsuit. This one was a copyright claim against Encyclopedia Dramatica.

Long-time readers of this forum and its LiveJournal predecessor will recall that JonMon sued me, former Somerville Journal editor Deb Filcman, and 100 local "John Does" in April 2013. Thanks to excellent pro bono representation by hotshot Cambridge lawyer Dan Booth, we were able to persuade JonMon to dismiss his suit against us five weeks later.

(for more background, see the jonmon tag.)

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Look out, JonMon is back

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 00:02:00 GMT

Posted by: ron_newman

He's not suing anyone this time, but he's listed as a speaker for an Augmented Reality Gaming and Design Thinking meetup tonight at Akamai:

5) Johnny Monsarrat, Founder and CEO of Monsarrat, Inc. , who previously founded and ran MMO company Turbine (Lord of the Rings Online), will talk about Massively Multiplayer Real World Gaming, a mixture of AR and MMO, the basis for a new company he’s founded.

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Somerville Scout briefly covers Jonmon-DSLJ lawsuit, gets it almost right

Tue, 09 Jul 2013 17:36:00 GMT

Posted by: ron_newman

The current issue of Somerville Scout, which is hitting a lot of snail-mailboxes today, has this short item on page 7, under the heading W&L: WINNERS

JOHN DOE
A crew of citizen journalists, including "100 John and Jane Does" from Davis Square's LiveJournal, deserves props for fighting a $5.5 million libel lawsuit filed by Jonathan Graves Monsarrat who was upset by the message board's comments about his 2010 arrest involving underage teens. Fortunately, the case was dropped without prejudice.

Actually, it was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it can't be filed again. I used this form to ask Scout to correct the item before they put it online.

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Thank you to many, many people over the past six weeks

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:43:00 GMT

Posted by: ron_newman

I am so grateful to the davis_square community for coming to my assistance, in many different ways, over the past six weeks:

( The list is so long that I've put it all behind an lj-cut )

I've probably left some folks out. If you're one of them, feel free to send me a private message reminding me, and I'll add you to the above list.

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Boston.com and TechDirt.com articles about Monsarrat lawsuit being dropped

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 02:08:00 GMT

Posted by: ron_newman

From Boston.com/Somerville: Lawsuit against Somerville message board users dropped (a followup to their May 14 story)

from TechDirt.com: Jonathan Monsarrat Drops Ridiculous Lawsuit Against Online Commenters (a followup to their May 17 story)

Popehat.com may also publish a followup story soon. If they do so today, I'll edit it into this post; otherwise, I'll make a new post when it comes out.

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Music for Creepsters

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 18:40:00 GMT

Posted by: hahathor.livejournal.com

Several of you expressed an interest in the playlist I posted in response to the original Monsarrat party article in the Somerville Journal. Well, you can listen to it here. Note that the original posting (that earned me my Doe letter) didn't mention him by name, it just pointed to the Journal Article, But I thought that to thank him for all the fun we've had over the past couple of months I'd give him a little promotion. Hope he appreciates it!

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VICTORY! The Jonmon lawsuit is over! Dismissed voluntarily with prejudice by the plaintiff

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:52:00 GMT

Posted by: ron_newman

My awesome lawyer Dan Booth has just informed me that Jonathan Monsarrat's lawyer has filed a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal With Prejudice. This means that the case is OVER, against all defendants, named and unnamed, Doe and Buck alike. "With Prejudice" means that it can never be filed again, against any of us, for any statement in any of the exhibits that were attached to the complaint.

Johnny Monsarrat and his lawyer tried several times to reach a settlement agreement with Dan and me, but for various reasons we ended up rejecting each proposal. In the end, he has simply given up, without any mutual agreement, public or private.

( Official text of the notice )

ETA: If Johnny had not voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit today, Dan Booth was ready to file this motion to dismiss and this supporting memorandum on Monday. (The supporting memo is the more interesting document.) It would be a shame for Dan to go to all that trouble and not be able to share his work, so I'm linking it here with his permission, for your legal edification.

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Deb Filcman's lawyer responds to Monsarrat lawsuit

Wed, 29 May 2013 00:37:00 GMT

Posted by: ron_newman

Besides me, the other named defendant in Jonathan Monsarrat's defamation lawsuit is Deb Filcman, a former editor of the Somerville Journal (also known online as Wicked Local Somerville).

I'm pleased to report that the Journal's parent newspaper chain, GateHouse Media, is standing behind Deb. Her lawyer (or at least, one of them) is Zachary C. Kleinsasser of the law firm Greenberg Traurig.

Mr. Kleinsasser just sent this letter to Monsarrat's lawyer Mark Ishman, demanding that Ishman dismiss the lawsuit against Deb by 5 pm on Thursday, May 30. If Ishman does not agree, Kleinsasser intends to seek sanctions against Ishman for filing a "transparently frivolous action".

Kleinsasser's letter also accuses Ishman of negotiating "in bad faith". He says that Ishman originally agreed to dismiss the complaint against Filcman if GateHouse provided evidence that Filcman had been a GateHouse employee during February and March 2010.

After GateHouse produced the requested records, Ishman then allgedly reneged on the agreement, demanding that GateHouse remove Filcman's two blog posts: Will I be arrested? Guess the wheel didn’t answer that one (February 4, 2010) and Not a question best answered by the wheel (March 8, 2010). Ishman is also demanding that GateHouse change the headline of another published article not written by Filcman: Somerville Police bust Question Wheel creator's underage drinking party (February 4, 2010). Kleinsasser says that GateHouse cannot agree to any of these demands.

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I've Kept a Little List

Sat, 18 May 2013 18:37:00 GMT

Posted by: firstfrost.livejournal.com

(by the Nameless Parodist)
(because it's too brilliant and funny to be lost forever.)

( maybe it's a little long )

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In which I sing a song for JonMon

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:36:00 GMT

Posted by: harrock.livejournal.com

My creative energy has been just about zero lately, thanks to a very busy schedule at work. But I'll say this for JonMon: His Lawsuit of Mass Destruction has inspired me. My wife, firstfrost, has received a threat letter, but she is not yet named in the LMD. I'm proud of everything she has said about JonMon. I didn't need JonMon's validation to be proud of her, but data is data.

I haven't been named or threatened in the LMD (yet), and I don't mean to make light of the anxiety that it has caused in our community. In particular, if you have taken something down or remained silent thanks to JonMon's toolbox of intimidation, I want you to know that I think no less of you for it. Every situation is unique, and we all have our limits of what we can deal with right this minute. My limit is high right now, so I'm standing up.

Likewise, I respect the opinions of those who have counseled caution or outright silence. I disagree with some of your key points, and I feel that some of your arguments apply better to people who are more concerned with anonymity than I am, or who cannot afford to risk an extended legal fight. The bottom line for me is this: One of the basic functions of any community is to sound a warning when a predator is around. If we're not sure the law can handle that, then it's time to get out and push.

This song is about JonMon's Lawsuit of Mass Destruction, and it is sung to the tune of "Charlie on the M.T.A." Permission is hereby granted to $verb this song, for all values of $verb, for every human being on planet Earth with the exception of Jonathan Graves Monsarrat. No permission of any kind is willingly granted to Mr. Monsarrat. In case he hadn't noticed, that's what happens when you are in the habit of excreting on your community.

( Let me tell you the story of a man named JonMon... )

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Bogus Lawsuit Plus Threats To Those Who Write About It Leads To Epic Response

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:41:00 GMT

Posted by: genesayssitdown.livejournal.com

btw, please let me know if my rate of posting is too high for this community. but this is an incredible article:

Reader Jason sent over a blog post that sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole, following the story through a variety of twists and turns. The key player in the story is Jonathan Monsarrat, who among other things founded the video game company Turbine (Asheron's Call, Lord of the Rings Online, Dungeons & Dragons Online, etc.). In early 2010, Monsarrat was arrested concerning events at a party in Massachusetts. The charges against him were later dismissed. However, there were various blog discussions among local bloggers and commenters. Not long ago, approximately three years after all of this happened, Monsarrat sued two named defendants and 100 "John Does" in a Massachusetts (not federal) court on a variety of charges, centering around defamation, but also including copyright infringement, commercial disparagement, deceptive trade practices and conspiracy. He's asking for an astounding $5.5 million.

Read the full story: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130517/02413623115/bogus-lawsuit-plus-threats-to-those-who-write-about-it-leads-to-epic-response.shtml

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Jon Monsarrat brings “General Electric and Citigroup Power” to Expose Cyberbullies

Fri, 17 May 2013 07:22:00 GMT

Posted by: genesayssitdown.livejournal.com

Posted May 17th, 2012:

"Cambridge, MA ( prsync ) May 17, 2013 - Jon Monsarrat is bring the same consulting services to fight cybercrime that he has used to advise top executives from General Electric and Citigroup. Through previous consulting jobs, he helped executives at GE Trade put together an import / export offset program to help them make sales worldwide. And for Citigroup he worked to design for them an "active bank system". Now he is bringing that power to expose cyberbullies, with a twist: two new patented technologies. The previous press release "Jon Monsarrat, $160 Million DotCom Icon, to Expose 100 Cyberbullies" dated May 8, 2013, was sent out with incorrect information. First, due to a miscommunication when the press release was being written, the venture is not part of Monsarrat's Hard Data Factory, and Rickland Powel l is not a contact. Instead the service is part of Monsarrat Consulting, his private consulting practice, and does not involve Rickland Powell. Second, due to a separate miscommunication, the press release stated that the new venture launched with partnerships. That was in error. The new venture does not launch with any partnerships."

Read the full press release here: http://prsync.com/monsarrat/jon-monsarrat-brings-general-electric-and-citigroup-power-to-expose-cyberbullies-542401/

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Update from Ron about the lawsuit

Thu, 16 May 2013 17:32:00 GMT

Posted by: cos

ron_newman writes,

[ Ron is having trouble posting to LiveJournal due to the problems they're having today, but I've been able to post today and he said to go ahead and post so let's see if this works. ]

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My lawyer's letter to Jonathan Monsarrat's lawyers

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:06:00 GMT

Posted by: ron_newman

My lawyer, Dan Booth of Booth Sweet LLP in Cambridge, sent this 18-page letter to Jonathan Monsarrat's lawyers this afternoon. The letter details all the reasons that he considers the lawsuit against me to be groundless, and demands that Monsarrat's lawyers dismiss the case with prejudice by the end of business on Thursday.

If they don't voluntarily drop the case (which they probably won't), Dan Booth will file a motion for dismissal on Monday, using mostly the same arguments that are in this letter. He may also move for sanctions against Monsarrat's lawyers "for bringing bad faith claims."

He gave me full permission to put this letter online and to distribute it in whatever way I see fit. Feel free to point other people at it or to distribute it further.

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Posters on Somerville message board facing lawsuit

Tue, 14 May 2013 13:20:00 GMT

Posted by: genesayssitdown.livejournal.com

"White also pointed out that some of the screen names identified in the lawsuit were merely responsible for posting a link to another website.

"Monsarrat's complaint, whatever elements of merit it might have, is framed in a way that should be of grave concern to anyone who values freedom of expression and opposes legal bullying," he wrote."

Full article on BOSTON.COM here: http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/somerville/2013/05/posters_on_somerville_message.html

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Mod note: use of 'pest control' tag

Sun, 12 May 2013 07:29:00 GMT

Posted by: ron_newman

I'm highly amused by everyone's recent use of this tag, but it will eventually get in the way of the tag's original purpose. So, by the end of today, I'm going to exercise my community-maintainer prerogative and remove this tag from all posts that were made during the past two weeks.

(Because of a quirk in the options that LJ gives community maintainers for managing tags, you will not be able to remove the tag yourself, even if you originally put it there.)

Someone else has created a more generally appropriate, though less humorous, tag for these posts. Please use it in the future. Thanks.

-- Ron, who will now take off my 'mod' hat

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Jonmon showing up at people's houses?

Sun, 12 May 2013 00:31:00 GMT

Posted by: pywaket.livejournal.com

So I got my letter in the mail today and just a few minutes ago JonMon showed up on our doorstop, ringing the bell. When my housemate opened the door, he ran off, jumped in his car and drove off at a high rate of speed with his lights off.

He also made a really critical error in his letter to me which I won't divulge here so as to give him any more help than necessary.

BTW: Monsarrat, I know you're reading this and just let me say I ain't intimidated, since I know that's what you're trying to do. I'll be reporting this to the cops, and if you do it again, expect a restraining order to be filed. I know just how to get one and have had perfect success getting them in the past.
ETA: also, if you deny that you're a creepy stalker (which, in my opinion, you are), showing up at people's houses in the middle of the night and harassing them is not a very good way to prove that you aren't.

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Jonmon mugshot deleted (by me)

Fri, 10 May 2013 21:29:00 GMT

Posted by: ds-crier.livejournal.com

I deleted the jonmon mugshot post. I am only posting this so you know that this was not the result of any threats by jonmon, nor was it removed by LiveJournal or the very tolerant davis-square moderators. If you care, you can keep reading below the cut.

( Read more... )

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On saying things in public

Fri, 10 May 2013 13:50:00 GMT

Posted by: cos

First of all, this post is not about JonMon specifically. I'm posting in response to this thread, and as in the comments I made on that thread, I intend to address something more general in our culture that this lawsuit relates to. I'm writing here about some of the effects of lawsuits like this, and the kinds of reactions people have to them, generally.

Set JL = People who have are being currently sued by JonMon or have received letters from him informing them that they'll be added to the suit.

Set A = People (most of them not connected to JonMon or this lawsuit in any way) who have been sexually assaulted by someone who had previous assaulted or showed warning signs to multiple other people in their social circles or communities, where such people had shared information privately with each other about this someone, but that information had never reached the assaulted individual before the assault.

Members of set A who I am personally aware of, exceed members of set JL who I am personally aware of.

This is despite the fact that I'm confident that I'm personally aware of only a teeny tiny minority of the global membership of set A, while I am probably personally aware of a significant percentage of the total set JL.

So, when someone promotes the message "people need to be more careful about what they say on publically-accessible community forums about serial assaulters in their communities", I believe I need to respond loudly that the actual problem is that, on the whole, people are too careful about what they say on publically-accessible community forums about serial assaulters in their communities.

Again, this is independent of any assertions people make about JonMon. It's also a much bigger problem, that affects orders of magnitude more people, than the current lawsuit. But to whatever extent some well-meaning people's responses to the lawsuit may contribute to this larger problem, I want to try to balance that out.

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Want to really control a pest?

Fri, 10 May 2013 02:36:00 GMT

Posted by: shava23.livejournal.com

First, IANAL. I did used to be executive director of tor.eff.org, but I haven't been for years, and I wasn't a lawyer then either. But I do have a reasonable expertise in online privacy issues (including cyberbullying).

I did used to live in Davis Square, and I did used to know jonmon when he was a grad student (hi!). Since I moved back to Boston some years back though, I've seen him at a couple parties and bought some curtains from him on Craigslist I think it was. We have oodles of mutuals. Not a friend, not an enemy, just this guy. I'm also pretty good friends with Ron Newman, which is how I know about all this. I posted this in an old thread and Ron suggested I post it in its own thread.

( click here )

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Apropos of nothing whatsoever: Chilling Effects Clearinghouse

Thu, 09 May 2013 12:02:00 GMT

Posted by: supersojo.livejournal.com

I just heard about this interesting research at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, and thought others might be interested, too:

Berkman fellow Wendy Seltzer leads the Chilling Effects Clearinghouse "Chilling Effects" refers to the deterrent effect of legal threats or posturing, largely cease and desist letters independent of litigation, on lawful conduct. The Chilling Effects clearinghouse will catalogue cease and desist notices and present analyses of their claims to help recipients resist the chilling of legitimate activities (as well as understand when their activities are unlawful). The project's core, this database of letters and FAQ-style analyses is supplemented by legal backgrounders, news items, and pointers to statutes and caselaw. Periodic "weather reports" will sum up the legal climate for online activity.

The project invites recipients and senders of cease and desist notices to send them to a central point for analysis, and to browse the website for background information and explanation of the laws they are charged with violating or enforcing. Clinical law students will prepare issue-spotting analyses of the letters in the question-and-answer style of FAQs, which we will post alongside the letters in an online database. The site aims to educate C&D recipients about their legal rights. Site visitors may search the database by subject area or keyword.

"The Chilling Effects Clearinghouse collects and analyzes legal complaints about online activity, helping Internet users to know their rights and understand the law. Chilling Effects welcomes submission of letters from individuals and from Internet service providers and hosts. These submissions enable us to study the prevalence of legal threats and allow Internet users to see the source of content removals.

Chilling Effects aims to support lawful online activity against the chill of unwarranted legal threats. We are excited about the new opportunities the Internet offers individuals to express their views, parody politicians, celebrate favorite stars, or criticize businesses, but concerned that not everyone feels the same way. Study to date suggests that cease and desist letters often silence Internet users,
whether or not their claims have legal merit. The Chilling Effects project seeks to document that "chill" and inform C&D recipients of their legal rights in response."

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/research/chillingeffects#

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Jon Monsarrat, $160 Million DotCom Icon, to Expose 100 Cyberbullies

Wed, 08 May 2013 23:40:00 GMT

Posted by: genesayssitdown.livejournal.com

this press release, like all his other press releases, is now being spread far and wide over the spammy areas of the internet:

"Boston, MA-NH (1888PressRelease) May 08, 2013 - Jon Monsarrat announced this week that as part of an Internet defamation case, he will expose the real identities and addresses of 100 cyber bullies as part of his new cyber investigation service. The dotcom era icon and Internet expert was previously the founder and first CEO of Turbine, which makes games like Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online and was bought by Warner Brothers for $160 million in 2010."

here is a link to the full press release: http://www.1888pressrelease.com/johnny-monsarrat/jonathan-monsarrat/jon-monsarrat-160-million-dotcom-icon-to-expose-100-cyber-pr-470259.html

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JonMon lawsuit

Wed, 08 May 2013 00:15:00 GMT

Posted by: moechus.livejournal.com

I have offered my help to a couple of people involved and earlier this evening I attended a meeting with a few people. I thought I should make my offer public to anyone who is involved. Feel free to contact me. In particular, if you got one of those obnoxious letters offering to settle, I would be happy to write a response to his lawyer (where I think the response should go, because I suspect his lawyer is unaware of these letters and they are highly improper).

By the way, I am a lawyer.

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The Davis Square Community

JonMon loses to me again, this time in US Circuit Court of Appeals

Post Ouroboros

JonMon loses another lawsuit, this time against Encyclopedia Dramatica

Look out, JonMon is back

Somerville Scout briefly covers Jonmon-DSLJ lawsuit, gets it *almost* right

Thank you to many, many people over the past six weeks

Boston.com and TechDirt.com articles about Monsarrat lawsuit being dropped

Music for Creepsters

VICTORY! The Jonmon lawsuit is over! Dismissed voluntarily with prejudice by the plaintiff

Deb Filcman's lawyer responds to Monsarrat lawsuit

I've Kept a Little List

In which I sing a song for JonMon

Bogus Lawsuit Plus Threats To Those Who Write About It Leads To Epic Response

Jon Monsarrat brings “General Electric and Citigroup Power” to Expose Cyberbullies

Update from Ron about the lawsuit

My lawyer's letter to Jonathan Monsarrat's lawyers

Posters on Somerville message board facing lawsuit

Mod note: use of 'pest control' tag

Jonmon showing up at people's houses?

Jonmon mugshot deleted (by me)

On saying things in public

Want to really control a pest?

Apropos of nothing whatsoever: Chilling Effects Clearinghouse

Jon Monsarrat, $160 Million DotCom Icon, to Expose 100 Cyberbullies

JonMon lawsuit

Somerville Scout briefly covers Jonmon-DSLJ lawsuit, gets it almost right