Is there value in being able to post anonymously? If you think you are by the way you are wrong.

So, would you post here if you were required to use your real name?

I've asked this before on some other threads. When I saw this article it made me curious.

Would you comment or post on the net if you had to reveal your real name on each post? Would a requirement to reveal your name make you less likely to post?

Monday, December 22, 2008

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) -- State Rep. Steve Hartgen, a former newspaper publisher, says he might introduce a bill to force people to use their real names when posting comments on the Internet.

"A modest proposal that simply required the posting of a true name with respect to comments and blogs would go a long way," Hartgen, R-Twin Falls, told the Times-News, adding that the absence of such a provision "discourages people from participating in civil life. To me, it reflects a coarsening and cheapening of public debate, which I think is not healthy for Idaho."

Hartgen, who was appointed to the Legislature in July and won election in November, is a former publisher and managing editor of the Times-News but hasn't been affiliated with the newspaper since 2005.

His suggestion has prompted an outcry from Web users, who argue that it would chill the spontaneous exchange of ideas on the Internet.

"Here's a reality check for Steve: A lot of people use pseudonyms because they face employment or other personal repercussions for making their real opinions public, particularly if they criticize the powerful," wrote Seattle resident Dave Neiwert, a former Times-News staffer from the 1980s and now a freelancer and blogger at Crooks and Liars. "I know you know all about that, too, Steve. Taking away that cover will remove valuable voices and important perspectives from the public dialogue."

Neiwert told the newspaper the bill likely wouldn't withstand a court challenge.

"It's just true silliness," he said. "Most of the public is capable of discerning the stuff between an anonymous commentator and the stuff from a serious journalist."

Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, said the state shouldn't intervene. People who are concerned about comments on the Internet should contact the company running the offending Web site, she said.

"It just seems to me that ought to be a policy of the publication," she said.

Hartgen said he might propose a bill that relies on the state's Consumer Protection Act, now aimed at protecting consumers and businesses from deceptive trade practices, to require people to identify themselves.

I often use a quote from a movie: "The people should never fear their government. The Government should fear it's people." It's just a quote from V for Vendetta. But if I had it as a signature line on anything only under my real name, I would probably find myself under investigation.