Posted by Jakeman on November 30, 2005, at 19:57:09
It's my understanding that all posts on Babble are archived on Google. I was surprised one day when I was researching a medication on Google.com and one my old posts on dr-bob.org popped up. My question is: is there a way to post on this site without it going into the Google archives?
Tonight on PBS Newshour there was a discussion about Google that was worrisome. Two guests were interviewed who had written books about the company. They said that all searches on Google, all posts, all gmails, are permanently saved in Google's database, and are linked back to the user's internet address. They use it for marketing purposes.
I discovered this phenomenon by accident after I had been doing some searches related to credit counseling. All of a sudden, there were advertisements coming up on the sidebar for bankruptcy attorneys in my town.
The reporters on PBS stated that under the Patriot Act the government could, it chose to, require Google to provide a complete record of an individual's internet activities. They also suggested that attorneys may be able to subponae these records as part of a civil or criminal lawsuit. The example given was a divorce case.
I'm not sure if I want my postings on dr-bob.org to be available forever for public scrutiny on Google or other search engines. Is there a way to "opt-out" to that my postings stay on this site and don't go out all over the internet?
warm regards ~Jake
poster:Jakeman
thread:583853
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20051013/msgs/583853.html