A critical blogger has been sued by the maker of Evony, an online free-to-play browser game.
The sued party has listed each and every page of the complaint, pages 2, 3, 4, and 5 here.

The Guardian (UK) is also being sued, unclear whether it is part of that lawsuit or a separate suit.

Most people feel the predominant role of a lawyer is to sue, most lawyers recognize many times the role of a lawyer is to simply say, “take a step back”. The lawsuit involves a game critic, who runs his own Website, that I frankly have never heard of though following the industry pretty closely. The other party is an online game which has rather memorable, and numerous, banner ads.

I would advise you go to The Escapist Magazine for their detailed analysis of the intricacies of the lawsuit. They do an excellent job with a very convoluted lawsuit timeline so hit that first to understand some of the basic lessons a lawyer, blogger, or game company might learn from this. Once you read that you will understand the common sense of what I will say next.

First, the short point I want to make is about “civility” in our litigious society. If you’re a law firm representing a game company, don’t make your first communication to a “blogger” a standard “cease-and-desist” letter. Chances are they’ve seen one before, and will do nothing more with it than post it to their Website, further ridicule your company, and basically say “bring it on”.

(Practice note: It is impossible to tell from the limited information…. the lawyer for the game company could have attempted to reason with the game blogger on one or multiple occasions. Large, income-producing corporations are not in the business to explain their reasoning to a blogger, or editor of an online gaming magazine, or anyone for that matter. And they certainly don’t have time to delve into the psyche of a blogger (pretty much any blogger) who puts their words out there for the sheer joy of expressing their opinion or exercising the first amendment rights. But if you’re a lawyer in a similar situation, it might be a good practice to “make a paper trail” showing all manner of reasonable constructive attempts to defuse a situation rather than inflaming the situation. )

Second, if you’re a blogger, look at your game plan. If you’re wanting to blow up the internet with your controversy and see your name at the top of Digg or Technorati or gamers’ forum, maybe this is a way to accomplish that. ( Practice note: most attorneys, and probably yours as well, will point out that sometimes you do not need to take “to the full extent” your freedom of speech. In a newspaper, or magazine, if there is an article about a subject, there usually is some indication in the article of the search for an opposite viewpoint, a balance, a regard for fairness and equity. And if dealing with lawyers, litigious subjects, and suits that would and could seem never-ending do not appeal to you, perhaps an attempt at reaching a “middle-ground” could be good for your own long-term wellness, too.)

Third, if you’re a reader, you certainly realize there is a middle ground. There are many sites Gawker , GameSetWatch, CostumeCraze heroically supporting the blogger that is sued, and one or two, PixelsandPolicy that support the game company being sued, but amazingly none seem to take the middle ground. The internet is all about having a viewpoint, but CMON let’s just all grow up just a bit and realize that probably both sides have some merit.

It’s my hope that, as an end result, a blogger that a great many people seem to read, and a game that a great number of people play and seem to enjoy, can reach a resolution that will preserve the pride and continued success of both, and allow each of them to emerge a little smarter and a lot more wary. This lawsuit covers so many aspects of jurisdictional law, freedom of speech rights, and libel law, that I am certain it will provide much entertainment for months and months to come.

DISCLAIMER: Jay Moffitt is a Tennessee attorney. The statements do not constitute legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is created. Jay Moffitt claims no certification in the subject matter and TN does not certify attorneys in this subject area. The blog post is copyrighted September 18, 2009.