legal ramifications of posting about unsafe practices

[Carlos Alden]

Right. I have never posted anything that I would not consider public. Not since I've been intertubing starting in 1995 or something. It's just good practice, period.

Having said that, though, I think it is pretty far-fetched that one could be held truly legally responsible by their insurance company for having stated they flount safety rules. Sounds vaguely conspir-ish. But here's an idea - why don't you practice safety in the first place? Then when you write about it it might even bolster your case in an insurance issue.

On the OTHER hand, a popular and wild sailing forum I drop in on is being sued to the gills by a rather wealthy gentleman. He is claiming they have slandered him. Now I don't know if the gossip and backbiting and general nonsense that goes on in this particular forum can stand legally for slander and libel, but the guy is rich enough to drag them, and the two owners, to court and tie them and their money up for a long time, regardless of who is legally correct. It will be interesting in a legal internet way to watch what happens.

I think the conspiracy theories are coming from the camp of "the reason America is down the tubes is because...." and fill in the blank at whatever your pet peeve is.

Carlos
(real name, of course)

[Jason Roehl]

Ummmm...what rules?

Where is it a rule that I must unplug my table saw before changing the blade? And, if it IS a rule, what is the penalty for breaking it (but not injuring oneself in the process)?

Let's be clear, though--I'm NOT talking about a place of employment. In your home work shop, the only rules are the ones you set yourself, and the only penalties are the ones you set and apply yourself. What is contained in the owner's manuals are merely suggestions that are entirely unenforceable. Personally, I take them under advisement, but freely "violate" them when it suits my situation, and I am confident I am still safe ENOUGH. I'm far more concerned with others' poor driving habits than I am with cutting to a line on a table saw with no fence (done it many times). Heck, we used to let American Indians walk high rise steel frames with no tethers or fall arrestors in this country. A very high percentage of them survived just fine.

[Dennis Peacock]

And I agree with Keith Outten who agreed with Jim King.

[Carlos Alden]

Ummmm...what rules?

Where is it a rule that I must unplug my table saw before changing the blade? And, if it IS a rule, what is the penalty for breaking it (but not injuring oneself in the process)?

Umm, if you are referring to my post about following safety rules, I wasn't talking about written or workplace rules per se. I was more thinking of good rules of thumb, like unplugging a power tool before tinkering with the blade is a pretty good idea, just as wearing hearing protection or eye protection or seatbelts or helmets are pretty good ideas that have to do with the user safety.

Sorry if it sounded like I was discussing some rulebook or a written list. However, in the context of this thread about what insurance companies might look for, they unfortunately rely on things like that for coverage.

Carlos