Demaestro - 4:24 pm on Aug 6, 2010 (gmt 0)

There seems to be a school of thought that collecting, collating and publishing vast quantities of publicly available information is always ok because it is "publicly available information". Well, it's a point of view but it's a dumb point of view and it's one that is generally not recognised(sic) by law.

There is another school of thought that people are somehow in "danger" and they must protect the location of their home, work and so on. Well that is a point of view but it's a paranoid point of view.

Example:

However, doubtless my address is held on some publicly available list somewhere (even if I don't want it to be) so if some bright spark decided to collect, collate and publish all the available information on who lives where and if someone wanted to find me badly, all they would have to do is subscribe to that list.

Who is this someone that people with this point of view are scared of? What are you doing in your life that you live in fear of someone

Here is a fact for you. If someone wants to find you they will. A list may make it easier, but if this someone has been properly motivated to find you then they won't let the absence of a list stop them.

I guess if I was in fear of someone then I would be moved by your school of thought but instead I am left to wonder what has so many people looking over their shoulder?

I still haven't heard one argument that wasn't born from paranoia that gives reason to not have publicly available information stored and made available to the public.