In a message dated 11/28/2010 2:34:37 PM Pacific Standard Time, erikzachte@infodisiac.com writes:

Repost with shortened url:

WJhonson:

...

The issue with the AOL Search Scandal is a red herring. People are not going to be searching for their own phone number or Social Security numbers within Wikipedia. And even if someone searches for such a thing, there is no way to know that they are looking for details on themselves, or on someone else.

Our entry on that regardless notes a lawsuit *four years old* with no resolution http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AOL_search_data_scandal

Indicative I suggest of it being a non-story.

Many people did search for their own name occasionally, and relatively often did search for local shops and local news. Each of these clues were ambiguous and insignificant by themselves, but once put together often did paint a unique picture of one single person.

Apparently de-anonimization is a nice pursuit for some would-be detectives, and quite possibly also for government officials in some parts of the world where privacy is considered a risk to a state's stability.

The AOL data were taken offline very quickly (and the research team disbanded), but copies had already been made, and you can still find the data online now.

http://www.gregsadetsky.com/aol-data/

The following article paints a rather graphical picture of how search terms came to haunt back their author.

http://tinyurl.com/322a5pk

Erik Zachte

You ignored my point. Regardless of what occurred with the AOL details, that is a "Red Herring" as I said, because such an event would not and could not occur with Wikipedia details.

People regardless of whether or not they searched their own personal details within the AOL search engine... would not search their own personal details within the Wikipedia engine.

Do you know understand my point? What this thread is about is releasing details of activity *within* Wikipedia. We have no control over details of activity *outside* Wikipedia.

Thus, the event described here as the atom bomb of personal exposure, is moot (not relevant, not related, a red herring) to this thread.

W