Genealogy Chat

Robert - Pax! Sue

Ok Sue Is "I agree"( only the bit about the elderly) better? You will be getting me paranoid soon! Bob

Thanks Robert for 'not disagreeing'. Bob - Strong word - paranoid! paranoia - n. Mental derangement, esp when marked by delusions of grandeur, persecution, etc. What was that about ID cards? Sue

In general I agree with Robert. It is possible that some people are getting paranoid about this site. Burglars don't look up your address on the web...They just walk down the street and pick a likely house... Confidence tricksters will send their stuff to all and sundry - we all get some - There is no indication on this site of the age of the individual. Your address is not a secret...It is on hundreds of lists all over the world for all sorts of reasons. Remember; there are many organisations gathering details about you; where you go, what you buy, where you buy it, how much you spend on drink, books, entertainment and anything else you can think of. When you are on the net every site you log on to sends you a "cookie" which tells them what you click on and where you go. If you want to worry about something then take a look at all those cameras that record your every movement; worry about those international organisations that collect data about your spending habits and think about the proposed identity card which will be "swiped" at every opportunity. Who will use the information that is collected from that?

A lot of companys numbers are with held i used to work for Harrods and in customer services when i had to phone someone regarding a complaint i could not get through however i contacted the telephone engineers dept and they can get round it and they put me through to the customer. I agree pro's and con's to with held number thing just have to decide which is better the pro's and accept the con's. I have to say found B4U search website really creepy that someone can just type your name in and get address site should be called stalkers free for all! I agree though can have uses i suppose it should be up to the individual whether they want their name included. Also re the option out box on electoral register I thought it would take you off the public one which companies can buy and anyone can look out but keep on the private one? Zoë

To Honeymonster, they get a message "this person does not accept anonymous phone calls". I don't think public organisations like hospitals should be making them anyway. Nuisance phone callers try to withhold their numbers as do burglars as a final check that a house is empty. This deters both. Bob

Bob I suppose your hospital think that they don't have a problem with the majority of calls, I would imagine that most don't barr withheld calls, then why should they make special arrangements with your number. They aren't to know that you have this barred are they?I would imagine that you could miss a few calls this way as in my experience calls via a switchboard usually show as withheld. We have caller display, so this shows. Dave

Funny you should say that I had that problem with our local hospital. I asked why a hospital should want to withhold their number when it's in the phone book.They never got back to me. If it is an automatic withhold there are usually ways round it, typing a code, or in organisations going through the switchboard. I can disable call barring so they should be able to disable withold. Are we al going mad?(er). Bob

Robert, we thought about having withheld number barring, but some people and companys have automatic number withhold. If we had that, then some important calls from the doctor, hospital, McMillan nurses etc would not get through. So, even that has to be thought about carefully. Also, some people may have their number withheld without their knowledge, as we did. We asked for our number to be ex directory, and they automatically made it withheld as well. Took me ages to explain to the girl on the phone that they are two different things.

Sue , don't disagree. Just been on the UKinfo site and their latest 2003 disk has 63 million residential and business names on the e/role which sounds complete(ish) and 17 million telephone numbers which sounds right. I am pretty certain that the law does not allow ex/dir numbers on them. I have "anonymous call barring" on my phone which stops any calling who withholds their number. I think this should be free, especially to the elderly Bob

I think the exclusion box on the registration form doesn't necessarily apply to these website anyway. It's intended for companies who buy electoral information for mailing lists etc, but full electoral registers are still public record and can be viewed at libraries anywhere. So, i always thought that the online versions were the full list. zoe

Robert I think those of us who voiced anxieties were concerned most of all about the vulnerable people such as elderly relatives who think they have done all they can to protect themselves by not disclosing information to 'all and sundry', only to find that it is available for anyone to see online. Sue (equally not wanting to cause agro!)

Thats true Nesta but on the other hand please think about it first. Many of the people using these systems are people like us lot on GC trying to find lost relatives and friends. I have used them for this with wonderfull results. I am in the phone directory but have registered with the phone and mail preference schemes. I personally can't see what's secret or private about my address. Please note everyone I am not trying to cause an argument. Just putting forward the cons. Bob

If you DO NOT want your details to be included on the discs and websites that give out names and address, there is a way that you can protect yourself in the future. When you next receive an Electoral form from your local council, there is a box that you need to tick if you do not want your information passed on. Thought this information might be useful for you to pass on.