Internet Getting Harder To Use

According to TechCrunch Facebook Asks Every User For A Verified Phone Number.

I also noticed more then a few fellow YouTubers were required to provide a cellphone number before their video would be accepted. Apparently YouTube sometimes requires a user answer their phone and write down a verification number. Otherwise whatever video they uploaded will be rejected.

A number of sites now require some sort of a third party account that too requires a phone number before they can comment. When I log off this blog the same thing happens. Although I've been able to circumvent this phone number requirement I'm quite certain that will not always be the case.

There might come a day all sites will require following this verification procedure after logging in before being allowed to use them. The way I feel about this is. It jeopardizes the safety and security of everyone who wants to use the internet. Here's why.

Eventually everyone's real name could be exposed (w/o asking permission) after programmers think it a swell idea (like Facebook already does) to match real names to their phone number. This may seem like a good idea because of irresponsible people posting recklessly. The thing is, it not only provides law enforcement the tools they need but so too at the same time every stalker, ex husband/lover, scammers/thieves or any other bad guy with evil intentions the same name information.

When it comes to law enforcement they have the tools they already need if someone is doing something illegal. Every site (every last one-including this one) records the ISP address & the name of their internet provider of those who visit. In a matter of minutes anyone's identity can be tracked down by law enforcement. So there's no point in exposing peoples' identities unnecessarily.

Wait you say. What about the bad guys using proxies and fake ID's to carry out their foul deeds? All the more reason why we shouldn't have to provide phone numbers if only innocent legitimate law abiding users are the only ones exposing themselves. Besides does anyone really believe a whole bunch of these proxies aren't actually be hosted on government servers or can't be traced? Is anyone that naive?

Then there are the people who's only phone they have are provided by their employer. Imagine the litigation a company could be exposed to for something one of their employees said.

Anyone else notice how complicated it's getting to visit a site for something they are interested in? Some have video pre-rolls. More and more are using flash screen popups. Almost all are slow loading because of the dozens and dozens of ads along with their unnecessary links. Still others are now loading pages you never intended to read (or care about) as you scroll down.

For almost everything I read these days I use RSS feeds. Unfortunately some of these boogers are now loading only a sentence as a tease in an attempt to force a reader to click onto their highly monetized sites loaded with tons of stuff that wastes everyone's time and bandwidth. There should be a special place reserved in hell for them.

Irregardless of what some people may think the internet was created for the free exchange of ideas. Instead the internet is becoming a place where people are being tricked into revealing not only their private information to marketeers, government agencies, but every other wacko throughout the world.

I've been on the internet since the beginning using dial-up 'Compuserve ' then later 'AOL. We've come a long way, but maybe not a better one.

I Pledge...
The day I cannot log into this blog or YouTube w/o using a verification number via phone.. is the day I will use neither. I may not take these both down, but I won't login from that day forward either.

I personally have nothing to hide. People can ask me almost anything. I've led a clean life, but over these many years I've experienced and read about way too many bad things that have come to people after they allowed themselves to be exposed to the looney tunes who roam this Earth.

Think of it this way. No one would take the chance of going into an unknown (possibly bad) neighborhood. The internet is little different. It not only can affect they themselves but the people around them who have nothing to do with what that person said online.


That Said
I intend to (yeah I know I said it before- maybe I'll actually do it this time) take this blog in another direction with less commentary after this post.