“Every man is independent of all laws, except those prescribed by nature. He is not bound by any institutions formed by his fellowmen without his consent.”
Consent is the gate. Without it, institutions formed by others have no rightful hold on a living man or woman. With it—especially when it is silent, assumed, or extracted by confusion—nearly any commercial or statutory claim can be made to look binding.
Under Common Law, agreement must be knowing, voluntary, and intentional. Under maritime/admiralty commercial practice, silence is often painted as agreement. That is why presentments, registrations, and “standard forms” are designed for easy acquiescence and hard rebuttal.
How consent is harvested
Consent is sought through registration, licensing, signatures, court appearances, answering to the ALL-CAPS NAME, using government ID as proof of the person, and failing to rebut presumptions on the record. Each act can be spun as joinder: you agreed to play the role of the artificial person.
True consent requires capacity and clarity. An artificial person has no living mind; a living man or woman has both. Mixing the two is the classic trap. You may choose to act in public capacity for a limited purpose; you need not live there by default.
Withholding and conditioning consent
You may refuse offers that do not meet verification. You may accept only on conditions (see Conditional Acceptance). You may reserve rights without prejudice when you must communicate. You may remain silent after reserving your position, so silence is not later sold as confession.
Maxims that matter: consent makes the law between parties; one who is silent may appear to consent; one who errs is not deemed to consent; unequal things ought not to be joined.
Educate yourself on what is being offered. Ask who claims, under what authority, and where the injured party is. Verify documents, wet-ink originals, and chains of title. Do not rush to fill blanks that establish joinder. When in doubt, do not volunteer the legal NAME as if it were you.
Related: Rebut the Presumption, Noticing Presentments, Null and Void Contracts.