Not surprisingly, this game isn't nearly as fun.

YES! Just when you thought the man was out, he’s back! Jack Thompson!  He’s BACK!  To humor and delight us all with his quasi-legal antics!  Remember that time when he blamed pedophilia on playing too much Virtua Fighter and then tried to sue Sega?

Okay, maybe that didn’t happen.  But if you’re into video games at all, at some point in time, you’ve probably had a dart board with his picture stuck in it.  His big claim to fame (or infamy, anyway) was his personal crusade against video gaming, where he called first person shooters and games like Grand Theft Auto “murder simulators”.

So, what has the legendarily infamous (and thankfully disbarred) Florida lawyer and professional nutjob jumped into the middle of this time?

Did you know Jack Thompson was a hidden character in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon? Neither did I!

Apparently, there are a whole mess of people out there on Facebook who play video games who don’t appreciate Jack Thompson for the joke he is.  Several anti-Jack Thompson Facebook groups have popped up since its inception: two more notable groups are “Jack Thompson Should Be Removed From The Populace” and “Jack Thompson Should Be Smacked in the Face with an Atari 2600”.

Admirable sentiments from disgruntled gamers, but Mr. Thomspon doesn’t see it that way.  He sees it as a threat to his well being, and is suing Facebook for 40 million dollars because Facebook has refused to remove the offending material.  According to Thomspon’s lawsuit, it constitutes “a willful and wanton disregard of the rights and safety of the plaintiff”.

To report abuse, Facebook has small “report” links on comments within groups, and it allows users to also report the administrators of groups by clicking a similar link on their profiles.  So, what does the 60 year old religious wingnut do when he feels threatened?  He instead sent faxes directly to Facebook’s CEO asking him to have the groups banned.  That’s right; you’re trying to contact the head of one of the world’s largest internet communities, and you send him a fax.  Not an email.  Hells bells, why not send him a carrier pigeon or use smoke signals?

But don’t worry, gang, this is just more frivolous attention whoring from the ex-lawyer.

According to legal mumbo-jumbo, Facebook is immunized from liability by a section of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that says Web sites are not liable for user-supplied content.

I’m just wondering why Thompson didn’t realize this, or get help prior to filing such a frivolous lawsuit.  Oh, that’s right, frivolous lawsuits are his bread and butter.  As quoted by the Florida Supreme Court in 2008, Thompson’s legal filings were “repetitive, frivolous and insulting to the integrity of the court”.

Therefore, rejoice, gamers and friends of gamers! You can continue to join and create groups on Facebook directly making Jack Thompson feel…unsafe.  Know that you are doing your small part to keep him up late at night, fitfully sleeping with one eye open, afraid of waking up to find some fifteen year old Halo fanboy teabagging him.

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