Why is Audiogon insisting on a verified physical address in order to post?

I've been a member long enough to forget that I provided my complete address and  phone number. Common practice for some sites. No biggie. All I did was to go back to make sure the info was correct, click "update" and Bob's your uncle. 

For those paranoid about the gubermant prying into your private affairs, get real. Your private info has already been bought and traded by many companies and corporations already. 

I'm old enough to remember when sharing your private info required you signing a release (it was illegal to do so) and decades ago they reversed that, making you sign a document saying not to. Most companies never inform their clients and customers of data breaches save for the ones who truly care about their well being. Been that way, again, for decades.

What A'gon is doing is their best to keep the malcontents with bad intentions out. Nothing more. Trolls and scammers need to work in the shadows, avoiding sunshine and providing your address can be verified, defeating their desires, or at least make it harder for them.

All the best,
Nonoise

@larryi best to ask Audiogon that but my assumption is this site exists primarily to provide users the service of buying and selling things.   You have to have to provide  a valid address for that in order to avoid fraudulent or incorrect addresses that would cause issues completing transactions smoothly.   The forum is just an adjunct service.    If this were just a forum and no financial transactions involving shipping addresses were involved there would be no need to provide a valid address.  Furthermore the forums could be used to facilitate address fraud which is a real thing. Just look it up. You can’t join Audiogon just for the forum as far as I know. So you must provide an address and the address needs to be verified.  
 

Hope that helps. 

🙄Yep.

It took me 4 days to figure out "how" to verify a phone # and start posting again.

I have 2 land lines that the system would not accept, but finally tried a $20 burner phone (carry it for emergency calls) and it worked.

I was unable to contact A’Gon support through the system during this time, but did leave a message via the "report post" feature.

I don’t have a problem listing a burner phone that’s rarely used/powered up, but might feel differently if I had a real cell phone full of confidential data.

Not a computer person.

DeKay