Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Georgia

Re: online message boards web sites

Yes. This can be done. The remedy would be to bring a civil action against the poster for defamation. If you do not know the person's identity, you can sue a "John Doe" defendant. Then, you can subpoena the website operator to produce the identity of the poster.

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Re: online message boards web sites

The previous response assumes the "negative things" are statements about you (or at least a person), but you didn't say that in your post.

Posting "negative things" alone is protected free speach. There is no requirement that someone identify themselves when they speak, negatively or otherwise. If the "negative things" being said are prohibited by law and/or are civilly actionable, the government can press criminal charges and/or the person(s) so affected can file a civil suit.

A court may subpoena records from a website to identify who is posting the statements anonymously. Other than by court order, the web site does not have to reveal any information.