IMO, If an honest comment is made against a person who uses a pseudonym, and that pseudo-person has an opportunity to correct the record, I suspect the success of a slander legal action would be limited (in most countries). If the impacted person does not feel it is worthwhile to persue outside Mudcat- it would be their choice (so be it).

Outside of that, IMO, it just seems "creepy" when Mudcatters move outside the community discussion to make personal comments about another member. IMO, this should not be actions that are necessary, nor encouraged. That being said, I see no positive point in folks making negative comments about any group of people.

However, as Steve noted, the Ake case seems to have been discussed in detail before, and, while it may be significant to raise, dwelling on it here does not seem to add much to the discussion at hand. Similarly, dwelling on ongoing disputes between two posters, or among posting teams seems to be mostly a fruitless pursuit.