The Growing Do Not Knock Movement

You made your phone number unlisted, and joined the National Do Not Call Registry. Your e-mail program filters out spam before it even reaches your inbox. You installed a pop-up blocker on your Web browser. You even have a DVR box that lets you, with a mere touch of a button, fast-forward through those painfully long bursts of ear-splittingly loud advertising.

You thought you'd finally won the battle against the advertising industry.

But advertisers have one last hope. Even if you've cut yourself off from marketing in other forms, solicitors know where you live and can still reach you on foot. The Associated Press reported in 2003 that door-to-door selling is on the rise, partially in response to regulations like the National Do Not Call Registry.

Fortunately, a handful of New Jersey municipalities, including Red Bank, Colts Neck, and Woodbridge Township, have decided to fight back by establishing Do Not Knock registries. These townships allow residents to sign up for the registry, by adding their names to a database that all peddlers or solicitors must consult before going door-to-door.

If you're annoyed by solicitors in your town, there are steps you can take to help a registry form in your area. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, call the office of the mayor or bring it up at the next public meeting.

With a little persistence, you can help bring the Do Not Knock Movement to your town.