-44forwarding it instantly to a different discussion forum. And if the message is sufficiently provocative, it may be republished again and again. The extraordinary capacity of the Internet to replicate almost endlessly any defamatory message lends credence to the notion that ‘the truth rarely catches up with a lie’. The problem for libel law, then, is how to protect reputation without squelching the potential of the Internet as a medium of public discourse.”94 109. On the other side of the scale, advocates who warn against interfering with free and open exchanges on the internet have powerful arguments to deploy. An example can be found in counsel’s arguments in the Dow Jones case, summarised by Kirby J95 as follows: “The crucial attributes [of the World Wide Web], so it was said, include the explosion in the availability of readily accessible information to hundreds of millions of people everywhere, with the consequent enhancement of human knowledge, and the beneficial contribution to human freedom and access to information about the world's peoples and their diverse lives and viewpoints that the Internet makes available, thereby contributing to human understanding. It was argued that the law should generally facilitate and encourage such advances, not attempt to restrict or impede them by inconsistent and ineffective, or only partly effective, interventions, for fear of interrupting the benefit that the Internet has already brought and the greater benefits that its continued expansion promises.” 110. His Honour acknowledged that the internet “is a medium that overwhelmingly benefits humanity, advancing as it does the human right of access to information and to free expression”, adding: “But the human right to protection by law for the reputation and honour of individuals must also be defended to the extent that the law provides”.96 111. It is important to bear those competing social interests in mind when approaching questions such as those presently being addressed. The value of free and open many-to-many communications on discussion platforms must be recognized. The ability of internet intermediaries to host them in good faith must not be unduly impaired by the imposition of unrealistic or overly strict 94 Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky, “Silencing John Doe: Defamation & Discourse in Cyberspace” (2000), 49 Duke LJ 855, at 863-64. 95 (2002) 210 CLR 575 at §88. 96 At §164.