... Dave Winer writing on the passing of Gawker.

Now that the line has been crossed, it's fair to assume it will become standard practice for billionaires like Thiel to finance lawsuits until the publication loses and has to sell itself to pay the judgment.

Hmm - not so sure I agree. Gawker was the worst and lowest scum - with Nick Denton taking his cue from the British Gutter Press, despite his education and early days as an FT reporter. He should have known better, but in Gawker he led the pandering to the lowest form of taste. I am mixed about the ability to kill a publication, but it has always been possible.

Gawker made the mistake of writing things that were secret and really and truly added little value to the public discourse. Again, not a fan of Christine O'Donnell, and I get their defense - but why allow the writer to publish anonymously?

This time they picked on the wrong guy. I don't like Thiel. But if we don't like the laws - change them.

That said, lets say that Thiel doesn't like what The Intercept writes about him - I do not think he would take them on. Because they are writing journalism. Gawker was not journalism.