So what the hell do you do?

First, I looked over what they said, and what they actually launched. Next I looked over the coverage and what people were saying about this. I was pretty lucky, turns out. Bless Duncan Riley at TechCrunch for actually mentioning us in his headline (even if the point was "Godzilla has now targeted Topix"). So, at least we're getting credit for being a player.

My playbook, anyway, from a bunch of years at Sun (with Microsoft looking to kill us), Netscape (with Microsoft looking to kill us) and AOL (with Microsoft looking to kill us):

1. Analyze the strategy, not just the product. Chances are whatever they're doing is not core over there, and even if it's aimed square at your heart, are they going to back this thing, really? (Think of Google Base, Blog Search, etc. etc.) Not everything over there turns to gold.
2. Turn the obituary into an advertisement. Google's validating your space, and a lot of folks looking at what they're doing — press, potential partners — all of whom you now have an excuse to call or pitch. This of course requires you to have a story.
3. Position yourself outside the bullseye. "These are not the droids you're looking for." Chances are, there's a different way to look at things. In Topix's case, most of our traffic is on our commentary. Since we generate our own content, we're a more natural partner for Google for that (growing and healthy) part of the business.
4. Act quickly to get your story out there and talk to people. There's almost always a great argument for doing nothing. Don't fall for it. Put out that blog post. Call those reporters. Respond to the Valleywag guy who wants to post your opinon. Talk to your employees, your board and your customers/partners that morning.
5. Have a sense of humor. At least I'm not at Yahoo.

Chris Tolles is the CEO of Topix. Full disclosure: He and Google dealmaker Megan Smith were once housemates.

From: Chris Tolles Subject: RE: Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation Date: December 17, 2007 12:48:59 PM PST To: Paul Boutin

Here's the primer.

SLAPP — Strategic lawsuit against public participation.

"Anonymous" whistleblowers on message boards and forums can be named in a lawsuit designed to prevent discussion.

SLAPP suit

• SLAPP lawsuits are essentially filed claiming libel or defamation against speech or written word in a public forum concerning a public issue.
  
• SLAPP statutes and Anti-SLAPP statutes are state level, with varying nuance. (Important! Your rights vary quite a bit depending on the state)
  
• Example could be the beef lawsuit against Oprah Winfrey, which she won.

What you need to worry about

• Posting "anonymously" on a Web service isn't, if someone issues a SLAPP lawsuit and you logged in from home
  
• The Web service where you posted "anonymously" might have your IP address
  
• Most Web services are required to release information subpoenaed in a defamation lawsuit under the DMCA (or risk crippling fines)
  
• If they get your IP address from the forum site, they can subpoena info from your ISP (same thing)
  
• You probably will not know that your comment is part of a discovery process (unless you're on top of things)

Some difficulties for the potential SLAPPer

• Interstate subpoenas (from a court in Georgia to a website in Palo Alto, for example) need to go through a clearing system which is nontrivial
  
• Forum websites might flush the IP addresses they gather
  
• Most privacy policies will require a valid subpoena for a publisher to give up the IP address
  
• Some IP addresses are more difficult to track (public computers, ISPs with DHCP, etc)

If someone files a SLAPP lawsuit and files a valid subpoena and you're worried about being named as part of the discovery process:

Things to do

• Keep tabs on litigation involving what you're posting about
  
• Hire a lawyer if you are worried about your livelihood or life being seriously affected

What you want your lawyer to do

• Get the judge to see the case as a First Amendment issue, which provides for a special motion filed by a defendant claiming free speech in defamation cases.
  
• Halt the discovery process
  
• Even if the case proceeds, get the judge to prevent the plaintiff from getting access to the identities of the people involved

Big takeaway: You need a lawyer to fight this kind thing, and you need to keep on top of it if you wish to remain anonymous. The flipside is that many states have special legislation and process for these kinds of lawsuits.

(Cartoon by Chris Slane)