New Jersey bill would kill internet forums

[Skinny]

Hi all, I've been lurking for a while and dont post. But I own another message board and this bill that was introduced in New Jersey would essentially kill internet message boards. If it passes this forum, my forum, and all the others that we are members will be killed, because laws like this have a tendancy to spread from state to state. Spread the word, and if you know anyone in New Jersey tell them to vote the guy who introduced this bill out of office. Link to the bill

[Symok]

I don't know what you mean by "will be killed"... All it says (unless I misunderstood something) is that the operators of forums, etc, would be required to have a real name and address for their members. Obviously this raises privacy issues, but really that's the only problem that I can see with it.

[TetsuoShima]

MOVED: On the Wireless

 

 

 

Well, I can see how this would be a problem for all paranoid people, freedom of speech is a lot less interesting for some if people know where you live....

 

Since a forum leaves a record, it isn't like spoken words and it can come back to haunt you even after several years have passed, though for most it will not pose a real problem...

 

In any case, forum owners should not be affected to much, since they can implement features to identify users. Though I do wonder what would happen if somebody used false data and was surfing via several proxies and such... It could become more of a pain to track down a user and if that fails, will the forum owner be held responsible for the comments made by the user, most likely yes...

 

Best solution, migrate the forum to a state where the law does not apply... And should that not be possible, share the forum with a lot of moderators that are willing to split responsibility and silence users by force if necessary...

 

hehe, now what was that again about freedom of speech... :cyclops:

[ceedj]

I don't know what you mean by "will be killed"... All it says (unless I misunderstood something) is that the operators of forums' date=' etc, would be required to have a real name and address for their members. Obviously this raises privacy issues, but really that's the only problem that I can see with it.[/quote']

 

I think he means that the owners (webmasters/site owners) wouldn't want to deal with this. Also, if you look a little closer, the REAL kicker is the ability to sue an offending user AND the website. So if I were to call you a poo-head, under this bill, you could pontentially sue me, the site owner AND the hosting company for defamation. Sure the whole thing seems incredibly silly, but if it were to pass, forums could dry up REAL quick.

[StitchInTime]

I think it's a ridiculous law. It's like saying that if I go into a club or a bar, they have to get my name and address before they can serve me a beer. :rolleyes: One of the major good points of forums, at least for me, is that you can go there and mingle relatively anonymously.

 

Hence, such a law would likely deter me from joining new forums, though there are places I currently belong to where I've come to know the owner well enough that he/she has my address and we've exchanged correspondence, etc. But, that should be my choice.

[GhostShadow]

This is a bunch of Bull Spit. I dont think that it will pass. Ever hear of "freedom of speach". I hate to pull that card b/c its the argument of a desperate liberal but it does apply here. You have the RIGHT to be rude, offensive, mean, and say what you want. But there is something as moral standings and if you cross that line then society will not tolerate you and then you fade away in the backround of yesterdays news.

 

So dont worry about it. If you tryo to stop ppl from saying things that could be construed as "offensive" then ppl will just stop talking, and I dont think that Americans will stop talking. I love to talk, see what i am doing right now, I cant shut up, I just keep typing...ok I am done now. lol.

 

 

[magestorm]

It won't hold up. This would apply to the owner, website, or offending poster is in NJ. Otherwise, this would be an interstate matter, and the Federal government won't want to muck with this.

[Beawulf]

No way I'd join a forum if I had to lay out all my details

[remedyu]

 

Exactly, if a forum is going to start demanding personal information and I'm not volunteering it. You're not going to find me in that forum. Or whichever forum that starts this crap rule.

[Mav]

It will never last if it happens.

 

For one thing it's a New Jersey bill. It would take all other 49 states to pass similar bills or one large Federal bill to apply these, rules, to all of America.

 

It will never pass in my opinion, as a large Federal issue. The internet's well, backbone so to speak, is the anoniminity (if thats a word..) that it provides. You like apples and oranges? You are free to make a public website doing just that without providing your true identity to the public. You want to discuss political issues? You are also free to do that with no one knowing.

 

While the US cannot govern the internet in other countries, doing this in America would easily break out most precious rule: freedom of speech.

 

Can you just imagine the ramifications of this is it happened? Assuming most forum users gave in their personal information to a forum admin or owner, who is going to protect that information? What if you piss someone off royally on that forum, they hack the database and get a list of full names from it? Sure it might be hard tracking down John Doe but when it has first middle and last name finding John Maximillion Doe listed...

 

Just imagine the ending to Jay and Bob Strike Back...that would happen, for sure. All it would take would be one pissed off person who managed to get their hands on private information and boom, the victims of anything from stalking, assaults or even murder/rape will start rolling in.

 

Even better is imagine the doors this would open for would be rape-ists or pedophiles. With the right tools or advantages, that random sex offender or pedophile online now has access to whom you or your children are. And with a name often comes the easy to find information such as where you live, your address, phone number and even your socical security number.

 

It opens the door for too much B.S. to happen while stripping away several of our most basic rights.

 

It will never go widespread across the country.

[Tenebrae]

Ah, another wise piece of internet related legislation in a colonial backwater.

 

Tut-tut.

 

What can possibly be gained by this law?

[StitchInTime]

While the US cannot govern the internet in other countries' date=' doing this in America would easily break out most precious rule: freedom of speech.[/quote']

It's not freedom of speech; it's a privacy issue. You can still say what you want, but you have to identify yourself, so that if you say something that is offensive you can be held accountable for what you say. As you've said, it is a threat to the privacy of individuals, and potentially, to individual safety and security.