Re: Annoying people without providing full name is now illegal!


"Patricia Heil" <pajheil@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:kXfyf.8432$%W1.4930@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> "Ignoramus18851" <ignoramus18851@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:iAyxf.1929$c8.1593@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >
> > Those posters who like annoying and following around other
> > contributors, while hiding their identity, may be surprised to learn
> > that this is now apparently against the law and, in fact, a felony (up
> > to 2 years in prison).
> >
> > Annoying and following around other contributors, without concealing
> > identity, is apparently still legal.
> >
> >
http://news.com.com/Create+an+e-annoyance%2C+go+to+jail/2010-1028_3-6022491.html
> >
> > ``Annoying someone via the Internet is now a federal crime.
> >
> > It's no joke. Last Thursday, President Bush signed into law a
> > prohibition on posting annoying Web messages or sending annoying
> > e-mail messages without disclosing your true identity.
> >
> > In other words, it's OK to flame someone on a mailing list or in a
> > blog as long as you do it under your real name. Thank Congress for
> > small favors, I guess.
> >
> > This ridiculous prohibition, which would likely imperil much of
> > Usenet, is buried in the so-called Violence Against Women and
> > Department of Justice Reauthorization Act. Criminal penalties include
> > stiff fines and two years in prison.
> >
> > Buried deep in the new law is Sec. 113, an innocuously titled bit
> > called "Preventing Cyberstalking." It rewrites existing telephone
> > harassment law to prohibit anyone from using the Internet "without
> > disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy." ''
> >
> > For the record, I disagree with this law and would not personally want
> > to see it enforced, but we should be aware of it.
> >
> > Igor Chudov
> >
>
> Surely the question of what constitutes "annoyance" is going to wellnigh
insoluble? I presume what is intended is prohibition of personal or sexual
attacks, but remarks likely to annoy people could be pretty wide open to
interpretation. It sounds like another feeding trough for impoverished
lawyers to me.
I doubt this Newsgroup in particular could survive long in view of the
offensive language used by some parties. However with a sense of humour I
doubt if much of it - obnoxious though it is - really merits a courtroom. A
killfile, or a good line in put-downs - would suffice!
I do have sympathy with debarring those who hide their identities.
If one has a point of view, however nauseating ,one should be honest
enough to put one's name to it -otherwise expect to be discredited a priori,
and not treated as a "homme serieux"!
Even Ahmadinejad uses his real name - I think!


.

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