The folks over at Public Citizen have just released what looks like a very useful guide to avoiding libel/defamation liability (and libel/defamation litigation) for "bloggers and non-profit organizations." It's a good idea, and nicely executed. Public Citizen, though unabashedly of the "left," has done some terrific work over the last decade in an area that is also dear to the heart of many on the "right," namely protecting the rights of individuals on the Net to speak freely (and, if they so choose, anonymously). And whereas 25 years ago 99% of the population could go about a lifetime's worth of business without ever thinking about the laws of libel and defamation, that is no longer true, thanks to the Net — another Internet-enabled change in the scale of the relevant legal domain.