[MassHistPres] Princeton, MA

[Lee Wright]

To clarify: My point, and I think the one several others made if I understood them correctly, is that the information to be posted is not private information: Ownership information is widely available, and the photos, I assume, were taken by standing on public property, such as a street or sidewalk.

Part of what's going on in our broader society is generational, and there's also been a good deal of fear mongering by some in the press and some with a political agenda.  While all public bodies should keep private information private, to yield to the fears of the uninformed, including providing the option of opting out, has the potential to deprive the broader public of this nicely assembled collection of public information of historical interest.

Of course if there is indeed some private information (i.e., information that isn't available publicly), then one might provide the option of opting in or out of listing that particular piece of data.

Best regards--

Lee Wright  |  Marlborough


On Mar 26, 2011, at 6:41 PM, SARA WERMIEL wrote:

> From what you write, it seems that the information consists, for each building, of the names of owners and one or more photos. Apparently there is nothing about the buildings: dates, materials, style, etc.
> If my understanding of this is correct, I would ask, what is the purpose of putting this online? How do you imagine someone would use the information? What research value does it have?
> Unless you have compelling reasons to put it online (i.e., the information can answer certain questions and you can envision how people would benefit from having it), why annoy or alienate people by doing it? But if there’s a good reason, you should be able to make a case to the doubters and win them over.
> The fact that protecting one’s privacy these days is difficult is no reason to abet the process.
>  
> Sara Wermiel
> Historic Preservation Consultant
> Jamaica Plain, MA
>  
> From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Joyce Anderson
> Sent: Saturday, March 26, 2011 8:27 AM
> To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
> Cc: Alex Fiandaca; Lindberg, Matt; 'Lee, Joe'; Sheila Dubman
> Subject: [MassHistPres] Princeton, MA
>  
> The Princeton Historical Commission has in its possession a collection of index cards with each card listing the former owners of the houses.  This has been known historically  as ‘The Princeton House File’. The collection of approximately 300 index cards were compiled by two former members who were assessors for the Town of Princeton in the 1950’s. Most of the cards have been kept up to date with the current owners names on them. One member of our commission has transcribed the cards into a word document while another member has inserted current (2006) photographs of the houses, as well as historic photographs to correspond with the information. We would like to put this information on the PHC webpage for the town, however there has been concern from others in town that this should not be allowed because of the potential  for robberies and the invasion of privacy.  I would like to know if anyone on our mailing list has any comments or suggestions.
> Thank you in advance.
> Joyce Anderson
> Princeton Historical Commission
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Lee Wright  |  lee at leewright.net  |  469-233-7712




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