Anonymous Cop Calls for Online Anonymity to be Illegal (Trolling the Trolls?)
Besides the laughable irony of calling for the end to anonymity while keeping one’s identity hidden, the idea of ’registering with the government’ for an online identity is creepy to the extreme.Apparently this alleged police officer’s ’plan’ is to permanently associate your real name and identity with anything that gets put on the internet under your name - a ludicrous idea with a decided lack of understanding about identity theft, constitutional rights, and how the internet actually operates. This is less ’policing the internet for public safety’ and more ’doing the NSA’s job for them’ in a world of total authoritarian control .
Nothing bad ever happened when someone used their real name while doing it? (Looking at you, Adolf Hitler!)
Luckily, most people* balk at giving out personal information and volunteering for massive databases, so this crazy idea of "Trolling Should Be Illegal" doesn’t have legs.
Is this a massive troll, trolling the trollers? You decide.
(*Facebook would disagree)
From Information Liberation...
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Anonymous Cop Pens Bizarre Editorial Calling for ’End of Anonymity on the Internet,’ Says All Internet Posters Should be Forced to Register with the Government for ’Public Safety’
Chris | InformationLiberation
An anonymous police officer writing for Salt Lake City’s KSL.com penned a bizarre editorial calling for the end of anonymity on the internet. "Officer Anonymous" says everyone who wants to post comments online should be forced to register their email with the government in person at the DMV and be cataloged in a national database. The officer says this will end the problem of "trolling" and people "hiding behind the Internet."
From KSL.com’s "Ask a cop" column titled, "…Trolling should be illegal":
SALT LAKE CITY — First off, I am not talking about those silly wild haired dolls with jewels in their belly buttons. I am also not speaking about the ones that live under bridges and eat small children. I am speaking about the spineless bottom feeders who sit at their computer all day bullying other people with inflammatory comments and remarks.A troll’s sole purpose in life is to comment about an article, statement, question in a forum or other Internet venue so that comment will upset the target person or persons to the point where they are yelling at their computer and punching the monitor.
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A troll thrives on a back and forth argument where one ultimately challenges the other to a fist fight or threatens to find out where the other person lives so they can settle this in person. These arguments tend to be typed in all caps lock. There are professional troll organizations where this becomes a quasi profession. Lame, I know.
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So why should trolls go to jail? They are causing or inciting a riot plain and simple. The sole purpose is to upset as many people as possible through malicious or deceptive statements. They then sit back and watch the carnage. There is no benefit to anyone except themselves. The victims of these trolls are upset the rest of the day. They are driving aggressively on the roads, yelling at their co-workers and being consumed with a way to find out who that person on the Internet was.
This is not good for public safety. This is why I think the only way to combat this is to change the way we run comment boards and forums. Anyone who wants to comment or post anything needs to do this with their official email address registered by the government. This will be verified in person at your local driver’s license division. No more anonymity on the Internet. Every time you post anything, your picture and name will pop up.
You trolls can still keep your precious usernames like halochamp34 and doritoskiller709, but it will be tied to your official email, the one and only email you can have. No more fictional emails and no more hiding behind the Internet. If you want to make public comments and be in the public domain of the Internet, then you should be brave enough to show your actual face.
This would also take care of many other problems on the Internet, like fraud and phishing scams or having an online relationship with a fictional person (sorry Manti Te’o). You may not see the brave statements about how you are a third-degree black belt and 6’4” 230. Which is apparently the standard height, weight and skill of every person on call of duty.
How refreshing it would be to see who actually posted those racially charged comments. It would be interesting to see if they posted at all. Do you think those same people are making those same remarks in person? I don’t think they are. It would take awhile for them to adjust to sunlight, or being around people. I bet it would be nice for their parents to have access to their basements again. They could finally put in that game room they always wanted.
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Read the full article at: informationliberation.com
