MikeMcLean 0 #1 March 11, 2008 http://www.wtvq.com/content/midatlantic/tvq/video.apx.-content-articles-TVQ-2008-03-05-0011.html Quote Kentucky Representative Tim Couch filed a bill this week to make anonymous posting online illegal. The bill would require anyone who contributes to a website to register their real name, address and e-mail address with that site. Their full name would be used anytime a comment is posted. If the bill becomes law, the website operator would have to pay if someone was allowed to post anonymously on their site. The fine would be five-hundred dollars for a first offense and one-thousand dollars for each offense after that. Thought experiment: If this bill becomes law, do we all still believe that websites are "someone's house"? Could a law requiring all homeowners to identify guests pass? If not, why is a website different?It wouldn't hurt you to think like a fucking serial killer every once in a while - just for the sake of prevention Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Icon134 0 #2 March 11, 2008 Wouldn't this be an example of a law that is unenforceable?Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigway 4 #3 March 11, 2008 Good thing this is a South African website and has nothing to do with USA law. .Karnage Krew Gear Store . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vpozzoli 0 #4 March 11, 2008 Quote Wouldn't this be an example of a law that is unenforceable? Why would it be unenforceable? Website operators (whatever is meant by that) are the ones who would have to pay the fines and they are anything but anonymous. Ciao, Vale Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vpozzoli 0 #5 March 11, 2008 Quote Good thing this is a South African website and has nothing to do with USA law. Right, apart from the fact that the site is hosted in Canada. I guess that if this bill is passed into law all US social networking sites will just migrate en-masse to Canada, eh? Ciao, Vale Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sartre 0 #6 March 11, 2008 Thought experiment: What if Mike McLean gave it a rest already? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Icon134 0 #7 March 11, 2008 Quote Quote Wouldn't this be an example of a law that is unenforceable? Why would it be unenforceable? Website operators (whatever is meant by that) are the ones who would have to pay the fines and they are anything but anonymous. Because of exactly what bigway said. Ultimately it would just serve to force anyone who didn't want to adhere to the law out of country and thus out of the sphere of control... Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LisaM 0 #8 March 11, 2008 Argh, this ticks me off. First, as a "website operator", am I supposed to background check everyone that wants to register?? Second, hello, the first amendment! Third, if you don't want to be bullied, don't post! If you don't want your kid to be bullied or be put in danger, don't let them post or watch them like a hawk! Communicate with them. ~ Lisa ~ Do you Rigminder? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vpozzoli 0 #9 March 11, 2008 Quote Thought experiment: What if Mike McLean gave it a rest already? Where's the fun in that? Ciao, Vale Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skybytch 273 #10 March 11, 2008 Quote Second, hello, the first amendment! What part of the first amendment gives us the right to express our opinion anonymously? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LisaM 0 #11 March 11, 2008 It doesn't directly. But the first amendment allows us freedom of speech. This would limit that freedom of speech by putting provisions on it. You can say what you want but.... I can go to a convention or rally and speak my mind without anyone knowing who I am. According to this, I would have to announce my full name before being allowed to speak. That seems like an infringement on freedom of speech to me. I do see your point and flat out you are right, it doesn't. But the first amendment has been around a lot longer than the internet. ~ Lisa ~ Do you Rigminder? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Squeak 17 #12 March 11, 2008 Quote Good thing this is a South African website and has nothing to do with USA law. Yeah but it's only a State Bill and Kentucky at that and I live in Australia, so I dont give a fuckYou are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky) My Life ROCKS! How's yours doing? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
futuredivot 0 #13 March 11, 2008 kinda like marriage laws, the commitmeng is null when you're out of the country?You are only as strong as the prey you devour Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigway 4 #14 March 11, 2008 Quote Quote Good thing this is a South African website and has nothing to do with USA law. Yeah but it's only a State Bill and Kentucky at that and I live in Australia, so I dont give a fuck It might turn out like online gambling where there are no americans. Wow, Could you imagine the thought of this site with americans being banned from being members because of the implications HH would have to be concerned about {shudder} .Karnage Krew Gear Store . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #15 March 11, 2008 Quote Quote Good thing this is a South African website and has nothing to do with USA law. Yeah but it's only a State Bill and Kentucky at that and I live in Australia, so I dont give a fuck Considering that Kentucky is full of hillbilly bumfucks (at least in the eastern half) I ain't going to worry too much about this bill. I don't think it's gonna pass. Hmmm.... this rep. Tim Couch, wasn't he the record-setting quarterback at Kentucky who went on to a substandard short-lived career in the NFL?"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tink1717 2 #16 March 11, 2008 Wow, 15 posts and it hasn't been moved to Speakers Corner. That's got to be some kind of record. Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off. -The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!) AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeMcLean 0 #17 March 11, 2008 Quote It doesn't directly. But the first amendment allows us freedom of speech. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." It's already illegal to scream "fire" in a theater (left as an exercise to the reader how that fits w.r.t. the definition of abridged). So clearly there is a legal precedent for placing some limits. Is "anonymous" versus "non-anonymous" another reasonable limit? Who knows, it's an interesting question either way.It wouldn't hurt you to think like a fucking serial killer every once in a while - just for the sake of prevention Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shotgun 1 #18 March 11, 2008 Quote Could a law requiring all homeowners to identify guests pass? "Identify" as in look at the ID and record the name and address of anyone who comes into the homeowner's house? No, a law like that would never pass. (Well, not in the US anyway.) I suspect that Tim Couch has been posting in Speaker's Corner, and certain people are not agreeing with his political/religious views. So now he wants it to be required for them to provide their addresses so that he can go TP their homes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeMcLean 0 #19 March 11, 2008 Quote First, as a "website operator", am I supposed to background check everyone that wants to register?? If the Kentucky law passes, then possibly. You will be liable for anonymous posts - a Kentucky based user could file a police report if he/she reads an anonymous posting. The Kentucky courts will fine you (if you don't show up in person to defend yourself). If you fail to pay the fine, a judge may well issue a bench warrant. If you are identified in the state of Kentucky for any reason (a small speeding ticket, for example) then once they identify you, you will be arrested. Note also that one of the unintended consequences of the new RealID program could well be that the bench-warrant identification could apply across state lines (i.e. boarding an airplane you could be identified as "the website operator with a bench warrant in Kentucky" and an arrest could occur). Scary isn't itIt wouldn't hurt you to think like a fucking serial killer every once in a while - just for the sake of prevention Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeMcLean 0 #20 March 11, 2008 Why speaker's corner? This isn't "politics, guns, religion" nor a soap-box address.It wouldn't hurt you to think like a fucking serial killer every once in a while - just for the sake of prevention Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LisaM 0 #21 March 11, 2008 It is scary. I thought it was based off where the site is hosted? Isn't that why folks are talking about the hosting going outside the US? ~ Lisa ~ Do you Rigminder? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Broke 0 #22 March 11, 2008 Quote kinda like marriage laws, the commitmeng is null when you're out of the country? Does that mean when you are out of country it is not cheating?Divot your source for all things Hillbilly. Anvil Brother 84 SCR 14192 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LisaM 0 #23 March 11, 2008 Quote Why speaker's corner? This isn't "politics, guns, religion" nor a soap-box address. Sure it's polotics, isn't it? And it's too serious for Bonfire. ~ Lisa ~ Do you Rigminder? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeMcLean 0 #24 March 11, 2008 Quote It is scary. I thought it was based off where the site is hosted? Isn't that why folks are talking about the hosting going outside the US? Assuming the law passes, it's up to the wording of the final passed bill. This law aside, failure to pay a fine becomes a bench warrant. The bench warrant in enforceable as soon as the police get their hands on you. If the website owner is out of country, the police (normally) can't go to your country of residence and extradite you for a small offense. You are still at risk if you visit the place where the warrant is. Are there any dropzones in Kentucky?It wouldn't hurt you to think like a fucking serial killer every once in a while - just for the sake of prevention Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LisaM 0 #25 March 11, 2008 I have a rigger listed in Kentucky so there must be! *shakes head* ~ Lisa ~ Do you Rigminder? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
