[bksvol-discuss] Re: validator's name included with books on the system

  • From: "Judy s." <cherryjam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:24:48 -0500

Bob wrote:
Can anyone give me a reason why a validator's name shouldn't be given along with the submitter? I can think of none.

I can, but it relates to privacy issues, so it would be the same issue for a volunteer who is either a submitter or a validator.

I chose to be anonymous so that there is one less piece of information out there on the web about me when criminals working in identity theft rings surf the web. Been there, done that, own the t-shirt, and at the LAPD's request worked directly with LAPD detectives to help break one such ring that had stolen my identity a few years back.

I learned from the LAPD's experts that even something as trivial as having one's name on bookshare's site, with or without an associated email address, potentially helps these kinds of criminals build profiles of their victims that can be used in ways I never imagined. The less information I unknowingly - and unknowingly is the key word - give out that can be used to build a profile on me by a criminal mind, the better. That's why I have chosen to remain listed as "a bookshare volunteer" for anything I've submitted.

I'd love to have readers know that a book has been validated by me because I do my best to make the submissions virtually error free. I do want readers to know they can look forward to a clean file when they download a book I've validated. smile. And if there are errors I've missed, I'd like to know so I can improve my submissions.

Perhaps the solution is to have 'nicknames' like bookshare-volunteer-18 assigned to individuals like myself, as E has suggested for at least as long as the several months I've been volunteering. I'd be fine with that, as long as there were some checks and balances in the system so that Bookshare staff never provided my actual name (or email address - I'd use a different email address for this kind of thing) to anyone who asked who bookshare-volunteer-18 is. smile.

Judy s.



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