Someone left a comment on my post about the Forteleza requiring registration. So I said, why not I’ll bite. Let’s go register. But as the poster also offered, (you really have to appreciate the irony and sarcasm it inspires) you can’t register for the e-Government site on-line. LOL
From the FAQ:
¿Dónde me puedo registrar?
El proceso de registro de datos se llevará acabo en las Colecturías Participantes del Departamento de Hacienda, llamando a la división de Tecnologías de Información Gubernamentales de la Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto al (787) 977-9200 o en las Oficinas Regionales de PRFAA en Estados Unidos.
¿Puedo registrarme sin visitar una colecturía? SubirSubir
NO, para proteger su privacidad todo ciudadano tiene que asistir a una colecturía o un centro comercial participante para iniciar el proceso de registro. Luego será el ciudadano el que active este proceso en línea.
Alright, so it is not so stupid. Protecting citizens against identity fraud is serious business, but is there no other way?
UPDATE: I’m still trying to determine whether the Governor’s statements at the Microsoft convention have been publicly announced. There are few news items that look related, but further research is necessary.
I still think its nonsense to ask for offline registration. Identity fraud protection is a noble goal but this is not the way to do it. The goverment has enough information online to reasonably screen web users and there are plenty of technologies that can help with this.
It just seems like a technological decision was reached ou of fear, not out of usability or technology criteria.
I guess this explains the Governor’s presence and comments at the Microsoft event:
http://www.endi.com/2005/06/21/negocios/238201.asp?category=Negocios&title=Expande+Microsoft+operacion+en+la+Isla&artdate=2005/06/21