Product reviews and ratings on the web

There are lots of new services out there

This is an area where we will see more development AND it will depend on your understanding of media law and Fair Comment & Criticism. One of the first was Craig's List.

Restaurants and other services

• Radmenus by Chris Jeffries and Nathan Good at RU
• The Funded is a service that rates venture capital
• RateMDs is a service not appreciated by many doctors, and for good reason

University Professors

1. Rate My Professor   Very popular but not strong on content; some professor feedback
2. Students Review Weak content
3. Pick a Professor -- Overall grade histories, lots of content
4. Source 4

Controversy

1.  Should Students Rate their professors anonymously ? 
2. Libel and product reviews
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4.  

What is Fair Comment & Criticism  ? 

Opinions about the public performance of people who (or institutions that) voluntarily place themselves before the public (actors, doctors, politicians, professors, restaurants, etc) are protected by the fair comment defense. Eveyone is entitled to fair comment and criticism about the public aspects of public people and businesses. 

But what is opinion and what is fact? In Janklow v. Newsweek, 1986, a federal appeals court said there were four criteria for determining if a statement is a fact:

a) The precision and specificity of the statement. (Calling someone a "fascist" is indefinite, and therefore an opinion; saying they had AIDs would not be).

b) The verifiability of the statement is important in proving it a fact.

c) The literary context in which the statement is made. Here the Harvard Lampoon might be treated differently from the Wall Street Journal.

d) The public context of the statement, for example, as part of the political arena, would tend more to be protected opinion.

Drafts

Keep your drafts here so you can refer to earlier versions.

Draft 1

Draft 2