NJ Bill Would Prohibit Anonymous Posts on Forums

An anonymous reader writes "The New Jersey legislature is considering a bill that would require operators of public forums to collect users' legal names and addresses, and effectively disallow anonymous speech on online forums. This raises some serious issues, such as to what extent local and state governments can go in enacting and enforcing Internet legislation."

Frist post

[Anonymous Coward]

First post! (Soon to be illegal)

With apologies to Douglas Adams

[Tackhead]

> This raises some serious issues, such as to what extent local and state governments can go in enacting and enforcing Internet legislation.

Assemblyman Peter J. Biondi: Come off it, Mr. Coward! You can't stand in front of the tanks in Tienanmen Square indefinitely! This law for the information superhighway has got to be built, and it's going to be built!

Anonymous Coward: Why's it got to be built?

Biondi: What do you mean "why"? It's a law! You've got to pass laws! You were quite entitled to make any suggestions or protests at the appropriate time, you know.

Anonymous Coward: Appropriate time?! The first I knew about it was when you pre-filed Assembly Bill No. 1327, the cops showed up and they said they were ready to come and take me away!

Biondi: Have you any idea how much damage the government would suffer if we just let the law roll straight over you?

Anonymous Coward: No, how much?

Biondi: None at all.

Vogon: Apathetic bloody citizenry. I've no sympathy at all.

Predictable results

[Rei]

"In other news, roads became congested today as a wave of trucks was seen hauling piles of servers across the New Jersey state line..."

I can picture it already.

[dc29A]

Instead of anonymous users, you'll have:

Name: Hugh Jass.
Address: 123 Fake Street.
Email: [e-mail]

Brilliant idea!

Re:I can picture it already.

[boldtbanan]

Hey! Quit stealing my identity.

- Hugh

I'm truly shocked...

[Anonymous Coward]

...that more people aren't posting as Anonymous Cowards under this topic.

First criminal!

[Anonymous Coward]

First criminal!

Re:Predictable results

[StonedYoda47]

You've never driven in Jersey on a normal day, have you?

Re:A law isn't a law...

[advocate_one]

kind of like the thin edge of the camel's nose... just waiting for all the campaign financing to get the rest of the camel through and into the tent...

fine

[bitspotter]

My Name is Al Gore, and I live at 1600 Pennsylvania avenue, Washington, DC. Happy now?

Re:Predictable results

[Snap E Tom]

Meh. At least the state will collect a buttload of revenue from all the tolls.

Re:Brrrrrrr

[lgw]

I can scream defamation/libel at the top of my lungs

Actually, you can't scream libel no matter how hard you try, you can only scream slander. You have to write libel. Of course, you can scream "libel", but that not quite the same thing.

But, but, but...

[aphoenix]

It just doesn't seem fair to make people actually admit that they're from New Jersey. Isn't this persection? I mean, think of some poor guy, sitting there of an evening, trying to pick up online, maybe a little bit of troll-on-orc action, when *bam*, the person on the other end figures out that he's from Newark. That guy's just never going to get cyber-ass again.

Re:I can picture it already.

[Reziac]

No, no, no. You'll have only ONE user, who makes ALL the posts:

Name: Peter J. Biondi
Address: 1 E. High St., Somerville NJ 08876
email: [e-mail]

Re:fine

[Anonymous Coward]

Al, you wish.

George

Re:Also a way to shut people up

[Pharmboy]

I somehow doubt you can run a CC for $0.00 for validation, considering per-transaction fees, so getting yourself validated would mean handing out your CC info to -someone-, though it could be a trusted third party, and having it billed for a minimum amount to cover the cost of the transaction. Pay-to-play?

So I guess "free, as in speech" really ISN'T "free, as in beer".

Now New Jersey just needs a poll tax and literacy tests.

Re:Frist post

[SEWilco]

Void where prohibited by law.

Re:Brrrrrrr

[Anonymous Coward]

>I can scream defamation/libel at the top of my lungs and it doesn't matter for shit until a Judge says "yea, that was libel."

Lemme help you out here! I, Anonymous Coward, hereby solemnly affirm before all witnesses in the Slashdot community that one Mr. Tube Steak, aka TubeSteak (669689), turned me into a newt on March 6, 2006 at approximately 3:42PM Eastern Time.

p.s. He also smells of Elderberries.

Re:Drive people out of the state...

[jferris]

No! We want all the people in New Jersey to stay in New Jersey. We put all of the remedial level drivers there so that they aren't on our roads.

Think of the children!

Re:Predictable results

[Del Vach]

That's the funny thing about going between Pennsylvania and Jersey. It's free to get into Jersey, but you've gotta pay to get out.

Re:Frist post

[Anonymous Coward]

New Jersey is whack. Sewiouswy.

I have nothing to hide

[Cro Magnon]

To prove it, I'll post my real name & address on Slashdot:

First Name: Cro
Last Name: Magnon
Address: 1234 Inna Cave Dr.

Re:Frist post

[Anonymous Coward]

Anyone else think it would have been hilarious if we'd all posted anonymously to this story?

Re:Brrrrrrr

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, you can't scream libel no matter how hard you try

DON'T PAY ATTENTION TO HIM, HE'S A NAZI AND A CHILD MOLESTER!

(lameness filter, lameness filter, lameness filter...)

Re:Predictable results

[squizzz]

Will, or will not: http://www.zug.com/pranks/turnpike/ [zug.com]

Re:Brrrrrrr

[Rorschach1]

And "false" information is not necessarily defamatory

Thank God... otherwise Chuck Norris would have killed us all by now with roundhouse kicks to the head.

Re:Brrrrrrr

[Anonymous Coward]

Reminds me of my teen age years, a group of us driving around in the car shouting "OBCENITIES!!!" at random people to see their reaction. The things the bunch of us geeks did for amusement......

Wrong time of year, anyway

[Captain Tripps]

Guy Fawkes day isn't until November.

Re:Brrrrrrr

[freedom_india]

BAH ! They will just outsource the IP Address to Name & Address mapping to RIAA.

Not only your dynamic address be detected, subpoenaed and you would be sent a legal notice, your neighbours in next state or the single-mom having NO computer would also be sent the same.

In addition troopers from RIAA would come knocking down your doors at midnight dragging you off, searching your house for illegal CD's, records, MP3s (disguised as Tapes), etc.

You would be renditioned for further "processing" and conditioning.

And you were thinking that dynamic addresses can save your as$ ???? LOL !!!

Re:I've said it before...

[Council]

Fucking Jersey.

Which is like New Jersey, only a little farther west and markedly more liberal.