Anon posting Poll Question

[Antigen]

http://fornits.com/wwf/polls.php' target='_new'>

Should anonymous posting be banned in the SIS forum
	Yes, it'll cut down on hostile arguments.
	No, we'll lose valuable input from people who are not comfortable registering right now
	No, the admins are not your goddamned oldcomers!
	Not sure/Don't care

http://fornits.com/wwf/polls.php?view=7' target='_new'>View Results

I believe that human beings arrive on this Earth wanting to know absolutely everything, and the best thing we can do as parents is to get out of the way -- just be there to let them know what opportunities are there
-- Dorothy Werner, media liaison for the National Homeschool Association

[Majiktrvls]

Ginger, in my opinion, folks would be much less confused when shit starts flying if they knew who was outraged. None of us have to give our real selves to the name. Noone in the real world calls me Majiktrvls. But, for the sake of identifying myself, that is who I am on here. Who cares what my real name is, and if they do, just ask. But, if we were all named Majiktrvls, who could tell the difference?

[JDavid]

All posts require one to swipe their national photo ID card which contains the readout of their dna sample, retina scan and fingerprinting.  Posts can only be made at centralized facilities in each major city under heavy guard.  All posts must be reviewed by the grand council in order to obtain authorization prior to being placed in the view of the public. Any post not authorized by the grand council counts as one strike against the attempted poster, with the fifth strike penalty being immediate execution.  Just kidding.

[Antigen]

Thanks for your thoughts. Please, ya'll, keep `em coming.

J, I hear ya'. That's what I'm afraid some people might think. Not exactly believe as fact, mind you, but... just that ppl might be a little suspicious and not want to bother weighing the risks. Ya' know?

Now, just because I'm a geek and, therefore, somewhat compulsive about explaining things, here's what really happens. Every time anyone hits any page or image on a website, the sysadmin has access to their IP address. That's the number that identifies your machine or proxy or local network out of every other one on the net so that the server knows where to send the requested data. It's not like broadcast where no one can tell who's tuned into the signal. It's interactive; we're not all looking at the same thing at the same time so this is just how it has to work.

It doesn't matter one bit to me if anyone uses real or bogus info when they sign in. Frankly, half the profiles that I have out there describe a 98 year old male farmer from Alaska or some damned thing. It's not that I'm trying to pull anything on anyone. It's just that I feel that it's none of anyone's business who I am or what I do unless I decide to tell them.

HOWEVER, whether a poster to this forum is logged in or not, I do have enough info about them to make a fairly educated guess as to their identity. I rarely do that because I just don't want to be nosey. But it can be done. Further, any poster can include graphics that report the same data. That doesn't tell who's posting, but it does tell who's reading.

Finally, in the event that I ever have to deal with something like credible threats or fraud (knock wood, hasn't happened yet and hopefully never will) I could take that IP address, together with the time and date, and hand them over to either the user's ISP or to law enforcement in the jurisdiction of the their ISP. I would still probably never know the identity of the poster. But someone would. So anonymous posting is fair enough protection for any legal, legitimate need but it is in no way a secure means of covering serious criminal behavior.

But, considering the usual subject matters here, it's asking a LOT of someone to just trust me not to abuse what info I can get. So I'm disinclined to mess with it, unless there's an overwhelming demand for it.

I'll leave the poll open for at least a few days.

Errors, like straws, upon the surface flow;

He who would search for perls must dive below.

Prolougue (from preface to
the Panther Book)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0510337112/circlofmiamithem' target='_new'>John Dryden, All for Love, Prolougue

[ehm]

Nowhere on earth does everyone get along all the time. If people want to register anonymous, all they have to do is exactly that! But, when people first find this site, they are seemingly filled with paranoia and mistrust of everyone, I was. I was in shock. Of course, that is because of what Straight did. Do we want to have an option taken away from SIS forum, that is one of the ways to make people feel safer? What's the big deal? Change happens. Those of you seeking the nostalgia of the good ol' days should stop dreaming, and be happy that new people find this site all the time. Isn't that the point? I wasn't here then, but I am now, and I am greatful. I say forward! Not back. We aren't babies who need babysitters. If you can't stand what people say, speak out or, IGNORE IT! Didn't we all learn this little lesson in grade school? Changing that option will only make people more creative in their anonymous posting. Other than that it may be the same. I really don't think  "anon control" is the solution. I don't know, I'm just brainstorming. At least we don't have anon parents arguing that Straight was a blessing, or idiots posting endless threads about people who like to eat poo. People are people, and not all people are nice. I like it here, and I get alot from this board, and the people here, even if there are disagreements.
Morli

[ This Message was edited by: Morli on 2003-04-05 00:56 ]

[00987123]

Hi.
Morli

[85 Day Jerk]

I said it in another post, and I'll say it again.
Anonymous posting in this forum right now is like the highways being filled with "anonymous motorists"  who do not register their vehicles, carry no insurance, and have no valid tag.  Would you feel differently about being anonymous after a hit and run accident happened to you?
      There are already uninsured motorists all over the road where I live and not much can be done.  At least here we have the opportunity to take a stand and regain control of our forum.


_________________
In the line of fire, you know what to say
They gave us no choices, just one shade of grey
Back at that hellhole, behind Tyrone Mall
We walked in darkness, kept hitting the walls
I took the time to feel for the door
I had been treated, but what the hell for?

[ This Message was edited by: 85 Day Jerk on 2003-04-04 20:45 ]

[Anonymous]

My opinion is this: If people don't want to name themselves, what's the big deal? We are supposed to be a free society, with freedom of expression and speech. Quite personally, I don't understand the obsession with NEEDING to have someone identify themselves. I think that is controlling and selfish. If people want to post anonymously, why be a bunch of fascists and say people can't? Do you think that KNOWING who is attacking you somehow makes the attack more comfortable? Angry people and positive people post on these boards. If you censor one - you censor all. And then, instead of a board, we have a cult. If people want to post anonymously, that's their business. People should focus on what is said, and not who is saying it. And if you disagree or are angered by it - instead of letting them push your buttons, you can simply state why you disagree. But to chase away the people we don't know and like, because the things they say make us angry or sad, I mean - c'mon! We can't do that! Surely you know that you can't dismantle our liberties. And the comparison to cars doesn't work because we are't chunks of machinery, we are human beings, Americans, and you can't censor us or demand that we tell you who we are. Besides, what's the motive to do that anyway? To control what's said? To keep the "bad" posts from being read? Geez. Whose idea was this? Certainly not a freedom fighter, that's for sure. I think it's a fascist idea. That's my opinion. - Leigh Ann

[JDavid]

There are two different no choices in the poll, so you'd have to add both no totals together to get the real end result.

David

[Antigen]

On 2003-04-05 12:56:00, JDavid wrote: "There are two different no choices in the poll, so you'd have to add both no totals together to get the real end result. David "

Also see the Fornits' views and musings about polls. http://fornits.com/wwf/polls.php

Right now, it's a dead heat at exactly 45.45% for and against. But I'm not making any decision based just on the poll. It's really just intended to get some thoughtful conversation going.

Leigh, I get what you're saying. I'm not inclined to try and control anyone's behavior. Every time in my life I've made that mistake I've found myself negligent in controling my own not long after. I actually enjoyed being a nuke better than an oldcomer because I wasn't required to fuck with people so much.

Anyway, I get what you're saying to, Rob. But I'm not sure that doing this would actually solve the problem. Basically, all it does is cull the active users down to only those who are interested enough in posting here to go to the trouble of registering and remembering yet another username and password. And, as a casualty, we lose all those who may be suspicious of what I might do with the info and all those who have trouble figuring out how to register.

Look, here's a more anarchistic, libertarian minded solution. Whenever you have trouble figuring out who's insulting you or who said what, just quote part of the message you're responding to and ask the author to register. They can do it if they want to or not if they don't.

"The FARC is part of the history of Colombia and a historical phenomenon", (President Pastrana) says, "and they must be treated as Colombians". ... They come and ask for bread [aid from Washington], and you give them stones.

Robert White is a former American ambassador to Paraguay and El Salvador, and former No. 2 man with the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, is president of the Centre for International Policy in Washington D.C.
http://narconews.com/' target='_new'>Robert White

[Majiktrvls]

Somehow my point in asking for less "anonymous" postings was missed. We had folks slinging mud at the wrong "anonymous" left and right. I was looking for a solution, not more problems. Nor was it meant to attempt to take away personal liberties, just simply to find a way to clarify which anonymous was enraged at any given time.

[Froderik]

But...I wonder how could you really track someone if they use a dial-up connection? Every time I dial in, my ip address is different. Similar #'s at the beginning, but different "host" numbers. Email me or send a private message if you don't care to discuss this beneath prying eyes.

[Anonymous]

Its that little eye in the corner of fornits pages, yep, it sees you Alex.  :rofl: Look to your left, psssssssssssst...

[Shelby]

If anon posting is banned, that ban should apply to the system administrators as well.

[FaceKhan]

How about making it so that people have to pick a name when posting (ones that are already registered by other people will not be available) but not require them to register. That makes it so people can post "anonymously" (as if there is any such thing) without the confusion of wondering which of the many people who choose to post anonymously is speaking. Of course malicious anonymous users will be able to steal other people's anonymous names but that problem will be less than what we have now.