Some DDs may find this interesting. Most messages I post publicly to the Debian lists bear my home address and phone number, theoretically giving any random person the ability to phone me, knock on my bedroom window in the middle of the night, whatever. Of course I prefer random people not to do these things, but the interesting part is, as far as I know, no one has ever made any use of the address or phone number at all. (One or two DDs have kindly sent me postcards, but these followed private e-mail exchanges. The DDs didn't get my postal address off the public lists.) It appears that Chicago mafiosos, California weirdos, Korean spammers, Cuban spies, whoever, don't have time to come all the way out to Blacksburg, Virginia, to bug me. They've not even time to pick up the phone and call me. This is somewhat reassuring. (Maybe they don't knock on my window at night because they don't want to find out what kind of firearms I keep in the house? Maybe I'm just boring and have nothing of interest to such people. Your theory is as good as mine.)
However, since those of you (DDs and others) who want to talk to me almost invariably e-mail me---since you seldom or never phone me---it seems reasonable to conclude that, far from threatening privacy, the personal information in my signature may simply represent a waste of bandwidth. I'm not advocating that other DDs publish their home addresses and phone numbers, of course. In the first place, it's no one's business but theirs. In the second place, depending on where they live or whom they wish to avoid, publishing could be unwise. Nevertheless, when I used to live in Idaho, I remember how the governor of the state lived in my neighborhood. We all knew which house was his. We used to see him driving his car to work at the state capitol in the morning. If the governor, who commanded the state militia and held the prison keys for hundreds of state felons, wasn't overly concerned, then who am I, I thought? So my home address is found on the lists---and, as it turns out, no one even cares. Anyway, if this interests you, there it is. Phone me if you like. -- Thaddeus H. Black 508 Nellie's Cave Road Blacksburg, Virginia 24060, USA +1 540 961 0920, [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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