REHOBOTH - A former selectman and his police officer daughter are seeking to compel Yahoo!, the Internet search engine, to turn over the names of six participants in an online discussion group who they say made false and malicious statements about them.

John Krasnianski, the former selectman, and his daughter Bree, a member of the Rehoboth Police Department, filed suit in Taunton District Court Thursday against six Internet users identified as "John Does" but who used aliases when posting their comments on a discussion group called Rehoboth Talk Unmoderated. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from each of the defendants.

David Sullivan, attorney for the Krasnianskis, won a court motion allowing him to obtain the actual identities of the subscribers from Yahoo! Although the issue of access to the names of Internet users has at times been controversial, Sullivan said his request for the names is "hardly ground-breaking."

He said courts have granted access in the past to the names of individuals alleged to be involved in illegal acts, such as Internet sex predators.

Yahoo! officials did not return an e-mail seeking comment.

Users listed in the complaint used the aliases "halfest," "bdiogenes," "thehorrta," "sillsandwich,""h8cronies" and "united_we_stand23." Sullivan said that once he receives the actual names of the defendants, he will insert their true names in place of the aliases.

The names of both Krasnianskis have figured prominently in an ongoing recall election drive seeking to oust sitting Selectman Christopher Morra.

John Krasnianski was the opponent Morra defeated in a 2006 election and Bree Krasnianski was the subject of a discussion before selectmen in June concerning alleged inconsistencies in her police officer's resume. Selectmen have taken the matter under advisement.

Although Morra did not participate directly in the discussion, the controversy surrounding the police officer is one of several issues that has been raised by recall advocates.