One of Hong Kong's favourite online forums for heated debate and salacious rumours will soon force its users to reveal their identity before posting their opinions.
The IceRed.com chat site is set to announce that users will have to register their names and contact information before they post, effectively removing the anonymity that has led to the site becoming rife with character assassinations and poison prose.
The move will probably be seen by many as a sign the relatively unrestricted nature of the Hong Kong Internet is coming to an end, and that the laws of the offline world are successfully carrying their threats of punishment into the online realm.
IceRed chief executive Tim Lam said the changes were designed to clean up the quality of the discussions by making people more accountable for what they say.
'We hope it will stem the number of abusive postings on the Web site and make our users more responsible. IceRed will not be a place where you can come and anonymously slag people off or post libellous material,' he said.
Users will be able to use pseudonyms when posting, but IceRed will know who they are. Users can now post without identifying themselves.