-------- Original Message -------- Subject: are Texas' most basic public records REALLY this repressed?! Date: Thu, 13 May 2004 15:16:41 -0700 From: Jim Warren <jwarren@private> In the early '90's, the Texas Controller was at the FOREFRONT of providing robust online public access to already-computerized public records -- an outstanding example of the BEST in "civil" "service"! I cited his operation in print and in seminars for public officials. But now ... I wanted to check on a possible online scam, that said it was part of a Dallas corporation. I went to the Texas Secretary of State's website, http://www.sos.state.tx.us/ , which said, in part, "On this site, you can search for a corporate name, ..." Exactly what I wanted! I clicked on the "search for a corporate name" link, which took me to http://www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/sosda/index.shtml . It said, "SOSDirect provides the following: ... * Enhanced search capabilities for business organizations including searching by entity name, ... of a corporation. * Expands records available online and includes records filed with the SOS relating to: * Corporations ..." I clicked on "Click to enter here" ... and only then, discovered that there appeared to be NO way to perform that most simple function -- ascertain whether or not an alleged/suspect Texas corporation really exists (search by name) and if so, find its corporate filing address and major officers -- without setting up an account, obtaining a user ID, and paying money. Oh! But -- ahah! Down in the smallest print of their authorized-user login page, https://direct.sos.state.tx.us/acct/acct-login.asp , I discovered, "You may login as a temporary user for this session by completing this temporary login form. NOTE: This will allow you to do web inquiries and place orders, but not submit filings." Right! All I wanted to do was a simply one-time search for basic public information about a Texas corporation. Clicking "temporary login form" took me to https://direct.sos.state.tx.us/acct/acct-templogin.asp -- which intrusively asked for all sorts of *personal* information. WHY THE HELL should a citizen have to give name, address, phone and email-address ... MERELY to see already-computerized PUBLIC records online?! (Is that kind of surveillance information also required of those who walk into Texas' Corporations Department, and ask at their counter, for access to their basic public records?) Okay ... so I sighed in disgust, and filled in all the required -- UNnecessarily intrusive! -- personal information, and clicked "Continue". That took me to https://direct.sos.state.tx.us/acct/acct-templogin.asp?spage=templogin1 ... which, contrary to the assurance that it would "allow you to do web inquiries", instead, demanded CREDIT CARD information. After, of course, already capturing all my personal data. Nonetheless, on the chance that it was simply slipshod web-page design, and really would allow me to do the most simple of searches without a credit card, I clicked "Continue", sans credit card info. That took me to a nearly-blank webpage that said only: "Microsoft VBScript runtime error '800a000d' Type mismatch: 'cdate' E:\INETPUB\SOSDIRECT\ACCT\../common/common-func-payment.asp, line 55" So much for being a "temporary user for this session ... to do web inquiries"! (And just to top it off the quality of this website, these personal-data capture pages included the line: "Instructions: INSTRUCTIONS NEED WRITTEN." That's it; nothin' else. Which is of course, meaningless. SHEESH! I didn't want to file documents. I didn't want to give them a whole batch of personal information, nor establish an account, just to see if they had ONE PUBLIC record (a single alleged corporate name). And I certainly don't see ANY reason to require that a citizen identify themselves, give significant personal information, set up an account, and pay fees, JUST to access the most basic of PUBLIC government records! --jim Jim Warren; jwarren@private, public-policy advocate & technology writer [self-inflating puffery: InfoWorld founder; Dr.Dobb's Journal first editor; Soc.of Prof.Journalists-Nor.Cal.James Madison Freedom-of-Information Award; Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award (1992, its first year); Playboy Foundation Hugh Hefner First-Amendment Award (1994); founded the Computers, Freedom & Privacy Conferences; blah blah blah] _______________________________________________ Politech mailing list Archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Moderated by Declan McCullagh (http://www.mccullagh.org/)
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Thu May 13 2004 - 22:45:47 PDT