I'm working the geography thing but now am considering a private list version of each as well for those that don't want to be outed.

Also I'm avoiding labels that aren't useful to me personally, such as gay or hetero. Likewise, ethnicity isn't a big concern of mine, but ethnic interests or cooking might be.

Thanks for stopping by.

Just because we can access, collect, and publish something, does not mean that we have either the legal or the ethical right to do so. As you pointed out, we can easily create an object that is geographically based, but how do we determine that everyone included in this object is willing to have their location publicized by someone other than themselves.

This is where I see the real issue. When someone else takes my information and does something with it, I no longer contorl how, when, or where information relating to me is used.

This is a problem of common courtesy, respect for others, and will eventually become a legal issue. Someone somewhere will do what you have described and something bad will happen, out of which will arise a precedent-setting legal process.

While it wouldn't necessarily be illegal to create a list of “politicians who take bribes” you very easily could be sued for libel over the issue – even if only a few people ever see your list. As you move from public figures like politicians (where for libel you must be wrong and malicious) to private folks like most of us the level of proof necessary to prove libel/slander is reduced.

Good points. Thank you.