No Place To Hide

No Place To Hide
Last updated on: February 7th, 2013

Big brother is watching you. That is the feeling one gets after a recent South Gauteng High Court judgement may have set something of a precedent for what we can and can’t say on the social media platforms.

It was the late legend Graham Beck who coined the phrase ‘it’s the only game in town’. And horseracing is the only game in town, particularly when it comes to anybody ever telling anybody else what they genuinely think of them. To their face, that is.

Besides the fact that it is frowned upon generally when an individual expresses their personal opinion, it is that very ‘smile while you twist the knife’ culture that has added to the explosion of popularity of sites like the africanbettingclan.com

With six million hits clocked up last month, there is no denying the existence and value of the ABC as a voice for the industy and for those who would not ordinarily have a say.

Posters, mostly using pseudonyms, generally slaughter sacred cows and vent their expert opinion on anything from teaching Mike De Kock about quarantine protocols, to casting educated decisions on the Kimberley racing surface, from the comfort of their homes on the coast many hundreds of miles away.

The comment is generally extremely informative and of a high quality and lends itself to animated straight shooting debate. While the groundbreaking case in question centred around a Facebook posting by a female who made accusatory remarks regarding alcohol and drugs about a male friend, the absence of specific laws regarding social media in this country, means that a clear message has now been sent to users.

It appears that posters will not be allowed to lurk in the shadows behind privacy settings and they may now be sued for damages as a result of defamatory remarks. Oversimplified, the core question does not appear to centre around the veracity of the comment, but around the subjectivity of whether they are of public benefit or in the public interest.

The African Betting Clan’s Dave Scott said that he was not sure of the specific facts of the case in question, but insisted that the ABC had always tried to maintain a decent image and he suggested pertinently that ‘we don’t write the scripts.’

“ We rely on the maturity of our members and posters and nobody said that it was an easy game to moderate a 24/7 open forum! But we do request details from new members before we clear them. The odd ‘rebel without a cause’ can break through and cause problems,” he admitted.

Scott went on to say that there was a fine line between freedom of speech and decency and said that he thought that the ABC had done a great job in managing a forum that is often uncomfortable to many.

He said that he also felt that they had gained respect from racing authorities and the operators, although he conceded, with a laugh, that some might be hard pressed to admit it. The bottom line? Rather just think before you ink!

Some people will be happy if we just sat around all day playing fucking Jackpots,they wouldnt be if we fucked of to the casino..

Now if i get information the the track at Kimberley is a fucking midden and the authorities want to keep it under wraps,im going to post i have a duty to our members that are posters.Im not posting because i want to cause bother,but because the punter needs all the information they can get...

hibernia Wrote:

---

> Some people will be happy if we just sat around
> all day playing @#$%& Jackpots,they wouldnt be if
> we @#$%& of to the casino..
>
> Now if i get information the the track at
> Kimberley is a @#$%& midden and the authorities
> want to keep it under wraps,im going to post i
> have a duty to our members that are posters.Im not
> posting because i want to cause bother,but because
> the punter needs all the information they can
> get...

Amen

Well said Bob! And so say all of us......(tu)

Regarding Kimberley, Bob (Hibernia) was quite right to post the conditions as they were in Kmb. We were on course from 1 45pm just as the rain finished and the course was wet in puddles due to the uneven , unsealed track. The rain gauge showed 15mm and this should not be enough to halt racing . In Peter Miller's time they raced after having over 50ml rain.

We may well have lost the meeting any way but , definitely , not enough was done to try and repair the track in the time there was.

Keep up the good work, Bob.

Sham Racing Wrote:

---

> Regarding Kimberley, Bob (Hibernia) was quite
> right to post the conditions as they were in Kmb.
> We were on course from 1 45pm just as the rain
> finished and the course was wet in puddles due to
> the uneven , unsealed track. The rain gauge
> showed 15mm and this should not be enough to halt
> racing . In Peter Miller's time they raced after
> having over 50ml rain.
>
> We may well have lost the meeting any way but ,
> definitely , not enough was done to try and repair
> the track in the time there was.
>
> Keep up the good work, Bob.

Please tell Rocky, being an All Black supporter, that his hero, Sonny Bill, 'gaan more goed op sy moer kry'

sorry calmed down a bit <

Don't calm down Bob!!!! Kimberley, from too much rain or leaving sprinklers on too long to buses that don't arrive etc, is an embarrassment to SA racing and those in control of it. The quicker they act and spend a little money on improving matters rather than just not giving a sh1t about anyone or anything but their own profits the better it will be for all concerned. And that includes us punters who, despite the scorn we receive from certain more "privileged" racing "personalities", should not be forgotten. Enough believing that everyone will simply accept it after a quick moan and move on, saturation point has been reached and surpassed. And while they are (hopefully!!) doing something about the basics... improve those farking useless (and dangerous) starting stalls!!!

@Hibs:

'Im not posting because i want to cause bother,but because the punter needs all the information they can get...'

Amongst the functions of communication (singularly or collectively) is to inform, educate and communicate (I maintain confuse!).

In doing so, the communication must be fair, truthful and in the public interest as a two way process of interaction. However, when one party chooses not to respond.... that is also communication (F... u!)!

The FaceBook case is seen to be a flagrant violation of privacy of an individual and thus actionable; the personal affairs of a husband and wife (ex or not) are not in the public / social domain for discussion / disclosure.

I do not think that ABC members fall within that ambit, despite some questionable postings / comments! Maybe, the takes on the ANC / JZ might be a spot since this is considered primarily a horseracing site. But then, where does one draw the line to educating / informing others?

'I might not agree with what you say, but.... will defend to death your right to say it!'

Now which suicide bomber said that?

fark them...<

I think its all blah blah....