Mon Dieu, MonRoi!

If you followed the recently concluded U.S. Chess Championship ("Men's") on the internet, you may be aware that MonRoi, which produces and markets a device for recording moves while a game is in progress (in place of a manual scoresheet), sponsored the official website for the event on behalf of the USCF and provided live coverage of the games. MonRoi is a Canadian company located in Montreal. I tried to follow a few games online, but I don't have the patience to sit that long and stare at my computer screen, so I can't comment on whether what seemed like a long time to me in-between moves was actually reflecting real time/events in the game or caused by technical problems. I thought the website was a little slow to get the results and news published and, for an official website, I thought the coverage was rather thin. I would like to have seen more interviews with the players, a lot more photographs and human interest stories, but that is my personal preference. There were reports of problems with game transmission and there were some negative comments made about MonRoi (and its product) at the Daily Dirt blog while the U.S. Championships were taking place. I thought a few of the comments were a bit over the top, I didn't agree with the tack that some of the posters took, and that was that. This is America - we're used to saying what we like (for the most part) when we like and our right to do so is guaranteed under our Constitution. People can say and write things that others may find obnoxious and insulting; under American law, truth is an absolute defense to charges of libel and slander and expressing one's opinion is generally protected, particularly when one is speaking of or writing of a figure in the public eye or a public entity such as MonRoi. Regardless, what I read in those posts didn't influence any opinion I held about MonRoi (generally favorable because of its support for the Women's Grand Prix) or its product (no opinion whatsoever as, not being a tournament player, I can conceive of no reason I would purchase and use the device). I am a fan of Mig's Daily Dirt, as much for the news and insight he provides as for the comments from the eclectic crowd of posters who hang out there. I visited the blog today, as usual, and was shocked to read that Mig had been contacted by MonRoi because it (or someone high up at MonRoi) took offense at some of the comments posted at the blog! Quoting Mig: "That situation is that the people at MonRoi are claiming that posts here in the Daily Dirt, of mine and of yours, are legally actionable as libel/defamation. They have requested that said posts be deleted and that information identifying the posters be given to MonRoi." Mig wrote that he had taken steps to attempt to remedy the situation and to comply with some (but not all) of MonRoi's requests, including deleting some posts. I'm not going to get into all the minutae, you can read about it here if you would like more details. Canadian law on libel and slander is different that ours in the USA, but to do the legal equivalent of running home to mommy crying because someone called you a bad name, well, that's just ridiculous! Don't they know the old saying up north - "sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me"? And evidently no one at MonRoi ever saw any of the classic Steve Martin hosting "Saturday Night Live" episodes (say it all together now) - "WELL! Exxxccuuuuuussseee mmmeeeeeee!" Reaction was swift and, if only the officers at MonRoi would have thought about this for a moment or two before coming down heavy on Mig, utterly predictable. Now MonRoi has a public relations disaster on its hands, for this is sure to get reported all over the internet by posters and bloggers (such as yours truly) and picked up by more and more as the days go by. Oh mon Dieu! What were they thinking? One of the cleverest and funniest Pythonesque comments today was this one (it had me laughing my head off). Stern is - well, you'll get the idea who Stern is if you read some of his posts on the subject. This is an obvious lampoon (at least I hope it's obvious, maybe they don't know about Monty Python in Montreal, either): MONROI: If you will not show us the Grail we shall storm your castle. (Murmurs of assent.) STERN: You don't frighten us, English pig-dog! Go and boil your bottoms, son of a silly person. I blow my nose on you, so-called Arthur-king, you and your silly English K...kaniggets. MONROI: Now look here, my good man! STERN: I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty-headed animal, food trough wiper. I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries. MONROI: Is there someone else up there we could talk to? STERN: No. Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time. Posted by: cadlag at May 30, 2007 at 06:47 LOL! Brilliant! cadlag, remind me to hire you to write something witty and clever for my tombstone. Postscript added May 31, 2007: I edited this post somewhat to reflect the fact that, at least in the initial rounds of contact between Mig and MonRoi, no specific threat of legal action against him and/or Daily Dirt was made. I thought I'd best make it clear, also, that cadlag's post was a lampoon - a send-up - a JOKE!