[Foundation-l] should not web server logs (of requests) be published?

[Erik Zachte]

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://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/networking/2006/08/08/search-history-gives-insig
ht-into-lives-of-aol-users-39280576/

Erik Zachte