tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post490946712055906984..comments2024-03-07T23:20:49.790-07:00Comments on Genealogy's Star: What's so private about genealogy?James Tannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02989059644120454647noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-49186755549256481342013-07-10T06:19:04.222-07:002013-07-10T06:19:04.222-07:00Recently I went on to Ancestry to look for informa... Recently I went on to Ancestry to look for information about a VERY distant cousin. Information was supposedly available from a member's tree but, when you clicked on the name, it was all marked private. However the person's parents were shown. Given that and the last few censuses, including the 1940, a complete family could be assembled.<br /> As you indicated, if it is on public record, then it would not be private any more.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-84063009501941367922013-07-07T05:11:05.066-07:002013-07-07T05:11:05.066-07:00In some countries, finding that an ancestor was fr...In some countries, finding that an ancestor was from a different ethnic or religious group would be more serious that an out-of-wedlock birth in our countries.<br /><br />However, by reaffirming the "don't post it" advice, James, you're also answering your own questions regarding cloud storage and local databases. Put more compactly, family-history data involves such details. If cloud storage is a valid alternative to local databases then we need more control. This was the main thrust of my post above.Tony Proctorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18330460400737261264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-78834795103893775182013-07-04T15:25:51.197-07:002013-07-04T15:25:51.197-07:00Perhaps you could give an example of a culture whe...Perhaps you could give an example of a culture where the alienation or retribution might occur. There are, of course, issues that probably do not bear repeating. But the issue of sensitivity usually involves, in my experience, living participants in the sensitive subject matter, such as out-of=wedlock births and such. Again, if you don't want the world to read it, don't put it online. James Tannerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02989059644120454647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-90903360206485004322013-07-04T12:59:23.333-07:002013-07-04T12:59:23.333-07:00With regard to sensitive information, James, I rem...With regard to sensitive information, James, I remarked on one of your other blogs that there's a cultural vein to this which destroys the myth that it's just about living people. In some cultures, publicising sensitive information about someone's ancestors could cause alienation of a family, or even retribution towards them. Although I agree with your suggestion that you shouldn't publish data that you don't want the world to see, it does constitute a bit of a show-stopper for anyone who wants to put their definitive data "in the cloud".<br /><br />There may be advantages when using the cloud in areas of data sharing and longevity, but until data-control issues for privacy, sensitivity, and intellectual property are addressed then I don't see local databases disappearing any time soon. This may be less of a problem for people who only want to publish a family tree, or pedigree chart, but it's certainly a big problem for family history. I couldn't possibly commit my own data to cloud storage without some way of controlling visibility for the private or sensitive parts, ideally establishing some IP consideration in the areas of narrative contributions, and indicating whether any copyright relates to pictures, etc.<br /><br />In the specific area of privacy, I have suggested elsewhere that it's only a matter of time before a public database gets challenged through Data Protection law - especially in Europe where it's strict - because someone has committed to many details for living relatives (e.g. addresses, adoption details, work record, legal, medical, etc)Tony Proctorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18330460400737261264noreply@blogger.com