Randy, you may not be familiar with the background of Mary's question. Someone made an uncomplimentary post about CNN reporter Richard Quest. As he is an FTer (albeit with a somewhat different user handle), and has publicly connected that handle with his real identity the question was raised as to whether the post was a TOS violation.

I agree with your reply (it would be ridiculous to allow any public figure to be free of criticism here simply by registering) but it does open some dangerous doors. A number of members have identified themselves on FT and given information about their jobs. Sad to say, we have some people here who would not be above using that as a back door way of making a personal attack.

(eg: "No. I am not attacking PosterJoe as an FT member, but I just did a "Google" on him and found out that he is an incredibly bad lawyer with absolutely no ethics.")

Perhaps the answer lies in the U.S. Supreme Court's "Times" decision. In effect, it makes public figures fair game for almost any criticism while still protecting private individuals.

Under it, someone in a position like Kip Hawley's would have very little protection but a lower-level TSA employee would have the same rights as anyone else.