"Interactive computer services are immune from defamation suits whenever they function as publishers of third party content," wrote Judge David Howard of Windham County, Vt.

There have been other cases where courts have held that Web sites are immune from libel suits based on user comments, but this lawsuit marks the first time a court has considered whether that also holds true for community journalism sites, said lawyer David Ardia of the Citizen Media Law Project at Harvard, which consulted with iBrattleboro about the case.

Vermont resident Effie Mayhew filed the suit last November, after David Dunn, a former director of an organization where Mayhew volunteers, Rescue, Inc., allegedly libeled her in on iBrattleboro. She alleged that Dunn on Sept. 30 posted comments to the site accusing her of participating in an adulterous affair on the premises. Mayhew argued that the site owners should have removed Dunn's comment.

But Ardia said that many small sites, especially those that rely on user contributions, don't have the resources to determine whether particular comments are libelous.

"That's a difficult thing for a lawyer to do who has training in media law," Ardia said. "It's impractical for a small site."

Truth is an absolute defense to libel charges, but figuring out whether particular comments are true can require a great deal of time. In addition, opinions can't be defamatory, but some of the comments that generate the most complaints are opinions. "A staff would have to hire a full-time staff to review comments," Ardia said.

He added that even though the law was on iBrattleboro's side, local newspapers and radio shows rallied on behalf of Mayhew. "This case caused a lot of consternation in Vermont," Ardia said. "People felt that the site should bear responsibility for the user's comments."

Mayhew also sued Dunn. That case is still pending.

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