An interesting discussion, but I think there is a danger of dismissing the traditional claims of privacy far too easily on the basis that, because many people reveal all sorts of 'private' information on social media, therefore all contraints can be thrown away regarding everyone else. Many younger people who blithely believed their FaceBook contributions were only for the benefit of chosen friends are only now beginning to realise just how leaky the whole process is, and are regretting how unguarded they were. It's easy to slag off celebs who appear to exploit their private life when it suits them but most people are not celebs promoting the next book/ movie, and there should still be some safeguards. Otherwise we're just going down the News of the World route, where anybody is fair game to hack into their phones for the sake of a good story. Giles Oakley ----- Original Message ----- From: <Lcsearch3528@aol.com> To: <bristol_and_somerset@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, February 07, 2011 10:43 AM Subject: Re: [B&S] Details of living people > Hi Roy and Josephine > > Thanks for your comments re living persons - and I quite agree, you only > need to type someone's name on a search engine now and 9 times out of 10 > there will be a link to someone. > > Lin > > In a message dated 06/02/2011 20:19:03 GMT Standard Time, > roy.stockdill@btinternet.com writes: > On 6 Feb 2011 at 18:13, Josephine Jeremiah wrote: > >> When I'm browsing the archives of other lists and forums, I often see >> references about not mentioning details of living people or giving >> information on anyone who might still be alive. >> >> However, some people let loose all kinds of personal information about >> themselves and their close families on the internet. By putting two or >> three words into Google, you can get all kinds of details about some >> people. Even those who think they are experienced with e-mail might >> not realize just how much they have divulged over the years. >> >> Last year, I heard on the news that in future people may change their >> names to escape what is recorded about them on the internet or because >> of what they'd written on the internet in their youth. > > > This is a most interesting topic, Josephine, and one in which I am hugely > interested > myself. I also believe it ought to be debated widely, since it affects > ALL > genealogists > and family historians. Indeed, there are fewer topics of greater concern > to us all. > > Personally, I think the Rootsweb rules concerning living persons are > archaic, over- > zealous and verging on the paranoid. The notion that in 2011 no-one > should > be > allowed to mention the name of a living person is clearly utter nonsense > when so > much detail can be quite easily discovered, as you rightly point out, > about just about > everyone alive! Newspapers and broadcasting media publish the names of > hundreds > of living people every day. If they didn't, the media wouldn't exist! > Living persons > appear in telephone directories and myriad other records, which are found > all over the > Internet. Moreover, all of us who contribute to the Rootsweb lists are > "living persons" > too. We also wish to communicate with other living persons who are kin we > may not > even know about but the Rootsweb rules would appear to preclude this. > > Listowners seem to operate some kind of dictatorial and anti-democratic > policies in > their interpretation of Rootsweb's rules, though there are considerable > differences in > application from list to list. Some Listowners are more tolerant and > flexible, allowing > posts concerning living people where a modicum of common sense is > applied. > > -- > Roy Stockdill > Genealogical researcher, writer & lecturer > Newbies' Guide to Genealogy & Family History: > www.genuki.org.uk/gs/Newbie.html > > "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, > and that is not being talked about." > OSCAR WILDE > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > BRISTOL_AND_SOMERSET-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the > subject and the body of the message > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > BRISTOL_AND_SOMERSET-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >