Ban Internet Anonymity

[Bartelby]

Everything that goes on is done through legislation or agreements of one sort or another, which are almost always publicly available if you read the right publications.

When news reports are full of the latest juicy murder then you do have to look ...

But there's no need for a paranoid 'shadow world government' conspiracy theory.

Originally Posted by SoBad

I don't have the power or the will to fight the shadow world government - I guess I might just have to join them. Selfish, huh...

[SoBad]

Originally Posted by Bartelby

Everything that goes on is done through legislation or agreements of one sort or another, which are almost always publicly available if you read the right publications.

When news reports are full of the latest juicy murder then you do have to look ...

But there's no need for a paranoid 'shadow world government' conspiracy theory.

Maybe I'm just a loonie type that looks for government conspiracies everywhere and jumps on every chance to debate politics with people who don't care about politics...

[Limpinhitter]

Originally Posted by r2473

You are correct. I joined a weightlifting forum where using your real name is a requirement. People are very respectful.

I knew your real name was r2473, I knew it.

[Limpinhitter]

Originally Posted by ollinger

The OP fails to make the key distinction between "behavior" and "speech"......there is no "behavior" in the strict sense on the internet. In American society and elsewhere, nearly all speech is tolerated and one needn't be held accountable for one's speech, so anonymity is really not a problem. Behavior is an entirely different matter, something people typically can be held accountable for. There, anonymity can be a problem. As ever, the OP and everyone else is not obligated to look at any speech he finds offensive.

Not all speech is protected under the 1st Amendment. Defamation, fraud, disclosure of private facts (an aspect of invasion of privacy), threats against the president's life, etc., will all potentially subject you to a visit by a process server, or worse, a Secret Service agent.

[Bartelby]

You certainly are the sort that sees fault in others that one never descries in oneself.

Originally Posted by SoBad

Maybe I'm just a loonie type that looks for government conspiracies everywhere and jumps on every chance to debate politics with people who don't care about politics...

[CyBorg]

My name is Brad Pitt.

[Bartelby]

My name is Doug Pitt.

[adventure]

Up yours.







Ahem. 10 chars.

Originally Posted by diggler

The internet brings out appalling behaviour. I think we would all be much better off if discussion boards such as this required people to use their real names. People wouldn't write such nasty crap if they were accountable.

[adventure]

I'm Dirk Diggler.

[Rock Strongo]

So I'm supposed to give out my full name, address, mother's maiden name, date of birth, and sexual preference? No.

[Dilettante]

Originally Posted by CyBorg

My name is Brad Pitt.

You're a terrible actor.

[DeShaun]

i always think of milton's aeropagitica when this comes up.

[ollinger]

Limp
Thanks for clarifying that....did you notice the word "nearly" in my post?

[OTMPut]

Originally Posted by Bartelby

Anyone for warrantless surveillance?

And that retired soldier who was sent to a psych ward because he posted something on FB?

[VaththalKuzhambu]

An adult website, to which I subscribed several years ago, was based on user-submitted content in the form of a bulletin board. Whenever trolling becomes excessive, the website owner would out the real identity and contact details of the trolls and cancel their membership without refund. This would bring down the troll levels for a few months but trolling would gain steam after the initial hiatus. Goes to show that not all humans can handle anonymity. Finally, the website owner had to remove anonymity as a whole from the website. The website is still thriving.

[Avles]

Originally Posted by ollinger

The OP fails to make the key distinction between "behavior" and "speech"......there is no "behavior" in the strict sense on the internet.

I'm trying understand this comment but I just can't. Speech is a form of behavior. It makes no sense on either a logical or linguistic level to me to say that it isn't. Actions are actions-- an act doesn't stop being behavior just because it carries semantic content.

If I give somebody the finger, is that speech or behavior? Clearly it's both and the two aren't separable.

In American society and elsewhere, nearly all speech is tolerated and one needn't be held accountable for one's speech, so anonymity is really not a problem.

Also wrong. It's not true that "nearly all speech is tolerated." Nearly all speech is legally protected. But in the vast majority of social contexts many kinds of speech are considered unacceptable and not tolerated.

Yelling "Go Rafa" during Federer's serve toss is usually not tolerated. Telling your boss "you suck" is usually not tolerated. Getting up to speak at a funeral and telling a random joke is usually not tolerated. Try any of these things and you'll likely be held accountable in some fashion-- you just won't be prosecuted.

There's a vast amount of speech which is effectively forbidden by custom and discretion, if not by law. That's why anonymity makes a difference. Whether it's a "problem" or not is another question.

[ninman]

You know they're introducing this in China, as a law. China of course is a great role-model for human rights and personal freedoms, and one we should certainly be encouraged to follow and learn from. Right?

As far as "all speech being tolerated", next time you're passing through security at an airport, shout out very loudly "I'VE GOT A BOMB!" Then try telling the security guards "What about my freedom of speech?"

Just try it, I dare you.

[Bartelby]

That's a hoary old example of the limitations of freedom of speech.

There have been people arrested for telling jokes about bombs quietly among friends at airports and its been overheard and then the police descend.

Originally Posted by ninman

You know they're introducing this in China, as a law. China of course is a great role-model for human rights and personal freedoms, and one we should certainly be encouraged to follow and learn from. Right?

As far as "all speech being tolerated", next time you're passing through security at an airport, shout out very loudly "I'VE GOT A BOMB!" Then try telling the security guards "What about my freedom of speech?"

Just try it, I dare you.

[t135]

This is an Internet forum for a tennis retailer. Who cares what people say on here or if it's anonymous.

[Steve Dykstra]

The funniest part of this thread is that not a single person who posted so far has used their real name.

So far using my real name here for nearly 10 years has not caused any problems.