[LINK] National address database pinpoints properties

[Chirgwin, Richard]

Imagine that the privacy considerations could be solved: it might not be a
bad thing. Even the geocoding of address...

I know of a street with a non-existent address. At some point long in the
past ... very long! ... someone consolidated two properties into one, so the
numbers go 20 ... 22 ... 24 ... 26 ... 30.

The result is that 26 and 30 regularly get:
- credit card statements addressed to the "missing" 28; and, less regularly
- visits from police looking for Mr X at number 28.

The police and various institutions have been told that 28 hasn't existed in
living memory. But it seems pretty much impossible to persuade a database to
persistently remember the >absence< of an address (there's no name to
associate the address with; delete the name = delete the address), so every
couple of years, Mr X works the scam again, the statements come, the police
come, etc!

An accurate address database is, in that case, a good thing!

Thinking more about associating names with addresses: I can't think it would
be a good idea on a national scale; the database would 'decay' at too fast a
rate.

Richard C 

-----Original Message-----
From: Tim Lister
To: Howard Lowndes
Cc: The Link Institute
Sent: 9/03/04 16:43
Subject: Re: [LINK] National address database pinpoints properties

On Tue, 2004-03-09 at 17:15, Howard Lowndes wrote:
> >      Geocoded addresses are an index of locality, street number and
> >      coordinates of longitude and latitude. Owner/resident names are
not
> >      used for privacy reasons.
> 
> ...for how long...

dear me, a cynic in Link, who'd have thunk it? ... i've come over all
dizzy, i'll have to grab the smelling salts and have a quiet lie down in
a darkened room.

next you'll be suggesting that that nice Mr Howard is lying ...

Tim Lister
City of Sydney Greens
(02)9557 4050
webmaster at sydney.nsw.greens.org.au
http://sydney.nsw.greens.org.au
"Think Globally, Act Locally"

_______________________________________________
Link mailing list
Link at mailman.anu.edu.au
http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link