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NO MORE ANONYMOUS POSTING!! How a Kentucky lawmaker wants this to be true

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wreckedcarzz:
Isn't this kind of pushing privacy a bit too far? I personally will post 90-100% of my personal info on a site/forum when I join, and I don't have an issue with that. But when I am FORCED to, that kind of, how do you say (politely)...pisses me off? >:(

Deozaan:
I can understand the reasons: anonymous threats, trolling, griefing, etc., whatever you want to call it.

And to be honest at first thought it sounds like a good idea to have your real name somewhere, to track down abusers. But to make it mandatory for everyone to see who you are? Not good.

I'm for anonymous posting, but it would be nice if there were better ways to track down the people who do stupid stuff like terrorize or threaten others. I remember a certain incident with Kathy Sierra where tracking down and punishing the jerks who threatened her would have been really useful.

But there's a great quote (which I can't remember exactly) that's been spread around a lot since the Patriot Act came to town, something along the lines of: "Those who give up personal liberties for the feeling of security deserve neither."

tinjaw:
But there's a great quote (which I can't remember exactly) that's been spread around a lot since the Patriot Act came to town, something along the lines of: "Those who give up personal liberties for the feeling of security deserve neither."
-Deozaan (March 10, 2008, 06:10 PM)
--- End quote ---

Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.

More InfoThis statement was used as a motto on the title page of An Historical Review of the Constitution and Government of Pennsylvania. (1759) which was attributed to Franklin in the edition of 1812, but in a letter of September 27, 1760 to David Hume, he states that he published this book and denies that he wrote it, other than a few remarks that were credited to the Pennsylvania Assembly, in which he served. The phrase itself was first used in a letter from that Assembly dated November 11, 1755 to the Governor of Pennsylvania. An article on the origins of this statement here includes a scan that indicates the original typography of the 1759 document, which uses an archaic form of "s": "Thoſe who would give up Essential Liberty to purchaſe a little Temporary Safety, deſerve neither Liberty nor Safety." Researchers now believe that a fellow diplomat by the name of Richard Jackson is the primary author of the book. With the information thus far available the issue of authorship of the statement is not yet definitely resolved, but the evidence indicates it was very likely Franklin, who in the Poor Richard's Almanack of 1738 is known to have written a similar proverb: "Sell not virtue to purchase wealth, nor Liberty to purchase power."

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin

Cpilot:
Just one question, where in the first amendment does it say free speech is an anonymous right?
It's one thing to affirm it's the nature of the web and yadda,yadda, but to wrap up hateful and harassing speech into something as noble as "free speech" is a bit of a stretch.
If free speech is such a noble human right then why be afraid to claim ownership of it?
The founding fathers of the United States signed their name to the constitution before the revolutionary war, they would have been executed if we had lost, and yet still took ownership of the document as a stand for free speech.
Russian dissidents wrote against the excesses of the U.S.S.R. and signed their names, and were imprisioned or executed for their expression of free speech.
But then again these folks could be proud of what they said and stood for, an "inalienable right" has responsibilities attached to it.
Or maybe everyone on the web is all about rights without responsibility?
Pretty shallow stance IMO.

Deozaan:
Just one question, where in the first amendment does it say free speech is an anonymous right?
It's one thing to affirm it's the nature of the web and yadda,yadda, but to wrap up hateful and harassing speech into something as noble as "free speech" is a bit of a stretch.
If free speech is such a noble human right then why be afraid to claim ownership of it?

Or maybe everyone on the web is all about rights without responsibility?
Pretty shallow stance IMO.
-Cpilot (March 10, 2008, 09:46 PM)
--- End quote ---

That's part of what I was originally trying to say: In a way, I think it would be good to require your real name, just like most sites require a real e-mail address. But I also don't like the idea of everyone everywhere knowing my name. I'd rather it be hidden from everyone, also like most sites that require a real e-mail address.

Then again, if John Q. Public makes a fan website with a little forum about how great Xbox is, I don't see the point in it requiring real information from me. Just like when I go to a store and buy something, I don't need to tell them my name and address and phone number.

A lot of stores these days will ask for your phone number for some reason. I just tell them they can't have it. Obviously if I'm buying something with a credit/debit card, the card will contain information leading back to who I am. But that's all done through my bank. The store doesn't keep a record of my card number and bank details, and therefore have no direct way of knowing who I am.

I don't really need to be anonymous, but in the information age where any idiot/wacko/criminal who knows how to run Google can find nearly any bit of information, I'd rather keep most of my personally identifying information private. I'll gladly attribute anything I say to my username, but I don't want just anybody to find out who I am or where I live.

The world is smaller than it was when the Declaration of Independence was signed. There are a lot more people in our lives than there were then. That means a lot more idiots and wackos out there who might do something stupid just because they disagree with me. In the old small-town lifestyle, criminals and wackos were basically run out of town. These days they are protected. I say keep my information away from them!

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