Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!udel!ee.udel.edu From: new@ee.udel.edu (Darren New) Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk Subject: Re: Lifestyle Information ( was Re: Safeway Stores to Accept Charge Cards) Message-ID: <50420@nigel.ee.udel.edu> Date: 11 Apr 91 16:19:35 GMT References: <9418@rsiatl.Dixie.Com> <6750019@hp-vcd.HP.COM> Sender: usenet@ee.udel.edu Organization: University of Delaware Lines: 37 Nntp-Posting-Host: snow-white.ee.udel.edu In article seurer+@rchland.ibm.com (Bill Seurer) writes: >Excerpts from netnews.comp.org.eff.talk: 10-Apr-91 Re: Lifestyle >Information (.. John Eaton@hp-vcd.HP.COM (386) >> An ice cream store sold the list of kids that signed up for its birthday >> club to the Selective Service. If you were listed as 18 years old and had >> not registered then they sent you a reminder. >There are lots of good reasons to oppose the collection of lifestyle >data, but PLEASE don't use examples of people getting caught breaking >the law (even if you COMPLETELY oppose the law they break) as an example >of why something shouldn't be done. I was going to let the original post pass to save bandwidth, but... The store in question was Farrells (sp?). They gave away free sundays to people on their birthday. Needless to say, many people had many birthdays per year when visiting Farrells. When Farrells sold the list, people who *had* signed up for Selective Service (now there's an oxymoron) had to prove several times that they were already signed up because their birthdays didn't match in the database. It caused much grief for many people, especially as (in my experience) the *it's your birthday* suprise was done more to embarass the "birthday girl" than to get the free icecream (due to the use of fire sirens, base drums, much shouting and running about, etc). Anyway, my point is that the data used was *bogus* with no kind of validity check and it was acted on in a way as to make you prove your innocence (by not checking only names but also birthdays in the database). Maybe this could be avoided if Farrells insisted on having your SSN :-). -- Darren -- --- Darren New --- Grad Student --- CIS --- Univ. of Delaware --- ----- Network Protocols, Graphics, Programming Languages, FDTs ----- +=+=+ My time is very valuable, but unfortunately only to me +=+=+ +=+=+ When you drive screws with a hammer, nails look better +=+=+