Someone on this thread mentioned asking me as a site owner, however there probably isn't much I can advise, especially as I don't know the website or what was actually posted.
I'm no lawyer so the following is just my thoughts on this.
Any communication with the moderators or site owner should be done in a polite manner. Remember you are angry at the poster and although the site owner/moderators are allowing the comments to stay public they are not the ones that actually posted the comments. They are more likely to side with you and be more helpful if you are polite.
I occasionally get contacted to remove something on the forums, normally if the contact is polite and the item to be removed doesn't impact the site, then I will usually remove it. However if the contact is rude or demanding then normally I won't remove it.
Be very careful at threatening legal action. I say this because you should only threaten legal action if you are actually prepared to take that step. Too many people think threatening legal action will get them what they want, when in fact the opposite is true.
I have been threatened with legal action on several occasions, usually by some irate person that hasn't got a clue what they are saying or what their legal position actually is, it just makes them look silly and uneducated. As soon as I'm threatened with legal action I would cut communication and wait until I receive a letter from their legal representative. It is pointless sending emails and messages that can be copied and misconstrued against you, so it's easier just to cut communications.
So threatening legal action would normally make your task harder, so I would advise against this.
As much as you might think your name and address are personal information, as far as I'm aware, they can legally be posted online by someone other than yourself and a site owner has no legal obligation to remove them.
If your name is posted and the person posts what they think of you, that again isn't illegal, it's their opinion and the site owner doesn't have to remove it.
If the person posts your name and states that you are something that you are not, lets say a 'thief' then that can be classed as defamatory and could be libellous. In this case you would have a civil case against the poster.
Trying to pursue a civil case against the poster would prove challenging though. Nearly everyone that posts online can be traced relatively easy, that isn't that hard part. The hard part is with the libel law itself. To win a libel case you usually need to prove damages and that is hard to do.
I would identify and contact the site owner, not the moderators. on smaller sites the moderator may well be the site owner but mostly the site owner is different to the moderators. You might get further with the actual site owner.
See more...