In Some Places, the WWW Ain't So Wide
For any web community, it’s worthwhile to debate the point at which you “force” a visitor to register for your site or login. Can people see all of your content, for example, without logging in? Many times, the right place to force the registration/login is when the visitor wants to interact with the website, such as when leaving a comment.
In some places, like Xiamen, China, the government makes up the rules for you. It seems that after the Internet was used to help organize a protest against a chemical plant, the government has laid down the hammer in banning anonymous online postings and censoring online chatroom conversations.
The new rule goes something like this: “The names registered must be the same as the ones on your identity card.”
That’s some crazy Big Brother kind of stuff right there. It’s incredible to think about the parts of the world with teeming billions who have grown up in the Internet age (and can kick all of our American bottoms in games such as World of Warcraft and run rings round us in science and math in their spare time) but who are actively stifled in the ways they can communicate, collaborate (not such a good word in some places!), and express themselves.
