7 ms·

I'd feel a bit weirded out at the prospect of someone going through my digital records after I pass. Not so much for my own embarrassment (I'd be too dead to fe

I'd feel a bit weirded out at the prospect of someone going through my digital records after I pass. Not so much for my own embarrassment (I'd be too dead to feel that, after all), but to protect the trust and confidentiality of everyone I've communicated with.

admax88q 7y ago
On the other hand it would be super interesting if we _could_ get in to people's data maybe several generations after they've passed. Imagine what historians could learn about what life was like hundreds of years ago if those people left the same digital footprints that we're creating today.
- JimProuty 7y ago
  See the "Lasting Impressions" episode from "The Orville" which involves exactly that plot. Pretty good episode, actually.
  - QuercusMax 7y ago
    The Orville (especially season 2, but really from ~Ep 4 onward) is actually a really solid series. I'm a big fan; after the second season it's really more like "TNG with minor Seth McFarlane moments" than "Family Guy does Star Trek".
- wccrawford 7y ago
  But also imagine all the wannabe journalists that would just do character assassinations on long-dead people revered as heroes for a quick buck and some internet fame. They would completely ignore all the harm it would do. Worse, there would be those that would do that same thing with plenty of intent to cause harm, especially to the groups they are prejudiced against. It's the problems from the "right to be forgotten", but taken to the next level.
  - 781 7y ago
    > But also imagine all the wannabe journalists that would just do character assassinations on long-dead people revered as heroes That's an easy one. Pretty much anyone of notice living today will be labeled a "savage meat eater" and canceled. They will say "many people were already vegan, why was he/she still eating meat? Clearly a monster. Cancel"
    - 0x54D5 7y ago
      Eating meat is not going anywhere. Veganism is a US based fad. The rest of the world isn't cutting meat consumption. In fact it's growing... by a lot. https://www.bbc.com/news/health-47057341 https://www.bbc.com/news/health-47057341
    - chacha2 7y ago
      If they fund industrial farming they would be right to make that moral judgement.
- vmurthy 7y ago
  With people sharing so much publicly (social media et al), can't historians learn about what life was hundreds of years ago without having to dig into private data ? :-)
charlieo88 7y ago
Yeah, I had to clean off a computer of a friend who passed to make it "safe" for his son to use. That was an eye-opener experience.
- chadwittman 7y ago
  Can you share more on this? I'm assuming embarrassing content viewed or created?
  - charlieo88 7y ago
    He had some pay websites. He had told me once that his biggest revenue generator was girls dressed in superhero costumes, not PG-13 stuff. However, one surprise was the VAST quantity of photos of women's feet.
MrGilbert 7y ago
At the end, it doesn't matter if you go through the digital or "analog" records. I had to do the same after mom & dad passed away. I found a lot of open questions I'll never get an answer for. Ultimately, this made me a more open and honest person towards my siblings. They should never find something "surprisingly" in my digital or analog records. It also changed a bit how a communicate online. I never write something I wouldn't say anybody face to face.
- baroffoos 7y ago
  Yeah I totally want my relatives hacking my devices and browsing through a collection of furry porn.

admax88q 7y ago

On the other hand it would be super interesting if we _could_ get in to people's data maybe several generations after they've passed. Imagine what historians could learn about what life was like hundreds of years ago if those people left the same digital footprints that we're creating today.

JimProuty 7y ago
See the "Lasting Impressions" episode from "The Orville" which involves exactly that plot. Pretty good episode, actually.
- QuercusMax 7y ago
  The Orville (especially season 2, but really from ~Ep 4 onward) is actually a really solid series. I'm a big fan; after the second season it's really more like "TNG with minor Seth McFarlane moments" than "Family Guy does Star Trek".
wccrawford 7y ago
But also imagine all the wannabe journalists that would just do character assassinations on long-dead people revered as heroes for a quick buck and some internet fame. They would completely ignore all the harm it would do. Worse, there would be those that would do that same thing with plenty of intent to cause harm, especially to the groups they are prejudiced against. It's the problems from the "right to be forgotten", but taken to the next level.
- 781 7y ago
  > But also imagine all the wannabe journalists that would just do character assassinations on long-dead people revered as heroes That's an easy one. Pretty much anyone of notice living today will be labeled a "savage meat eater" and canceled. They will say "many people were already vegan, why was he/she still eating meat? Clearly a monster. Cancel"
  - 0x54D5 7y ago
    Eating meat is not going anywhere. Veganism is a US based fad. The rest of the world isn't cutting meat consumption. In fact it's growing... by a lot. https://www.bbc.com/news/health-47057341 https://www.bbc.com/news/health-47057341
  - chacha2 7y ago
    If they fund industrial farming they would be right to make that moral judgement.
vmurthy 7y ago
With people sharing so much publicly (social media et al), can't historians learn about what life was hundreds of years ago without having to dig into private data ? :-)

charlieo88 7y ago

Yeah, I had to clean off a computer of a friend who passed to make it "safe" for his son to use. That was an eye-opener experience.

chadwittman 7y ago
Can you share more on this? I'm assuming embarrassing content viewed or created?
- charlieo88 7y ago
  He had some pay websites. He had told me once that his biggest revenue generator was girls dressed in superhero costumes, not PG-13 stuff. However, one surprise was the VAST quantity of photos of women's feet.

MrGilbert 7y ago

At the end, it doesn't matter if you go through the digital or "analog" records. I had to do the same after mom & dad passed away. I found a lot of open questions I'll never get an answer for. Ultimately, this made me a more open and honest person towards my siblings. They should never find something "surprisingly" in my digital or analog records. It also changed a bit how a communicate online. I never write something I wouldn't say anybody face to face.

baroffoos 7y ago
Yeah I totally want my relatives hacking my devices and browsing through a collection of furry porn.