IM ETHAN SICKNERD <| sep |> This is borderline treasonous . <| sep |> wtf is this , I get that it ' s aretha franklin , but it sounds like 20 minutes of gibberish <| sep |> Can either the original post or edited be considered defamatory ? Defamation requires , at minimum , a false statement of fact . Something like Spez shot Harambe and mounted him above his fireplace . It makes a specific factual claim where it is possible to prove that it is not true . You don ' t have that here because there were no factual statements involved . The only edited comments , at least based on the post by Spez , were the ones that said fuck Spez . Can usernames on a message board be considered enough of a representation of a ' person ' meaning someone who can be considered for standing rights before the court ? Not entirely sure what you are asking . If you are asking if someone could be sued based on something they posted in an online forum whether under a username or their real name , the answer is yes . If that person denied they were the ones making the comments under the username in question , part of the case would be establishing the person did or did not make the comments .