Event Details

Below is a reprint of the event details written by @Erica_Jane_MP (Erica Packington)http://bit.ly/jokesontrial 

Rally to protect satire, hyperbole, exaggeration, humour and flippancy on the Internet

Ever told a joke that didn’t go down as well as you’d hoped? Paul Chambers did, but instead of just being told to get his coat, he’s been slapped with a criminal record and a £1000 fine (plus costs). We don’t think that’s funny at all.

Jokes are a matter of taste, of course, but what’s no laughing matter is the chilling effect Paul’s conviction could have on freedom of expression online.

We’ll be poking fun at the judgement, and the ridiculous situation in which Paul (and others) find themselves, through the time-honoured British tradition of taking the piss out of it. While we still can.

Bring funny signs. Wear costumes (but leave your sword at home, Spartacus). Have a laugh.

Bring your sense of humour!

You can donate to Paul Chambers’ defence fund here.

(p.s. We’re only joking about the comic-sans!)

But Wait! That’s not all!

Twitterers amongst you must have noticed #iamspartacus floating around a lot since Paul’s appeal was turned down (well done that @christt for being the first to stand up). It’s an expression of solidarity with Paul. But it could be more than that too. If tweets taken out of context can be evidence of criminality then does everyone who re-published Paul’s original tweet* share his guilt? Surely that’d be crazy, right?

We’d like to find out. (And stop calling us Shirley.)

We’ll be collecting a dossier of evidence - printed screenshots showing the date, time and message we sent in apparent contravention of the law - and after the rally we’ll be submitting it to South Yorkshire Police.

If you’d like to be part of this too, email iamspartacusprotest@gmail.com, and we’ll be in touch.

* Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high! (see what we did there?)

Saturday, November 20, 2010 from 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM 

Pinstone Street 

 s1 2hh Sheffield