(Via Slashdot) The New Jersey state legislature has a disturbing bill before it:
The operator of any interactive computer service or an Internet service provider shall establish, maintain and enforce a policy to require any information content provider who posts written messages on a public forum website either to be identified by a legal name and address, or to register a legal name and address with the operator of the interactive computer service or the Internet service provider through which the information content provider gains access to the interactive computer service or Internet, as appropriate.
Ignoring the questions of how a state would enforce such a measure on the internet at large — this seems like swinging a handful of baseball bats in a china store to get rid of one problem gnat.
While I’ve seen how anonymity or pseudonymity can ruin a forum (c.f. usenet), there are several venues where anonymity is required for a forum to function — e.g., support groups for various issues (alcoholism, drug abuse, sexuality issues), or even venues for folks seeking career advice (e.g. The Actuarial Outpost…at least the non-water-cooler portions thereof).