Course talk:ARST573/Privacy

Cathryn-

1)This page is looking really great! Privacy is a huge issue to take on and I think you have done a great job covering the really important pieces and breaking things down in an understandable way. Acts and legislation are not always easily understandable or written in an easily explainable language. I think you have done a great job with writing and explaining the information in a way that most people will be able to understand and gain knowledge from. Privacy is a really imprint issue in the archives profession and having quick sources like this with a significant amount of detail, I believe will be helpful.

2) I really liked your first sentence, it sums up (in my option) the issue perfectly.

3) I agree with previous comments about stating early on that you are focusing on Canada. In the History section under background I was immediately confused as to where and to whom you were referring to. Many countries have privacy issues and I think it is important to let the readers know quickly what this page will cover beyond seeking out titles in the outline.

4) When reading through your page I almost missed when you moved into the United states from Canada, I would suggest perhaps making these titles larger.

5) Is the focus Entirely Canada? or are you splitting it Equally with the united states? because I think your break down of Canada is wonderful and the states is a huge place but perhaps find a way to mention that each state would also have dealt with privacy legislation. If Canada is your focus I would maybe try and make it more clear as to why you are including the information about the United States.

6) I agree with earlier comments I think that links to the actual acts would be very useful and helpful to readers.

7) I felt that the Germany case study, although interesting, was out of place with the rest of the page that focuses on Norther North America

8) Overall I am very impressed at how you have handled such an important and tough topic.

Hi Morgan, I re-wrote the history section, so hopefully it makes more sense. I added more to the privacy laws in the United States and added a section on FOI that briefly mentions State laws. I experienced a lot of difficulties locating the actual laws about privacy for the U.S. the best I can provide at the moment are links to general overviews of individual laws.

Hi Cathryn, I agree with Allison that your case studies are great! Just one spelling/ grammar point - I think in your intro it should be "Focussing" instead of "Focus" in the last paragraph. Great job overall!

Thank you for letting me know. I will make the change you suggested.

Hey, Cathryn!

This is amazingly comprehensive. You did a lot of work on this, and you should be proud of yourself.

The one suggestion I have is relatively minor. I think you should get rid of the "Background" heading all together, and have definitions and history be your main sections. I know that would make Definitions a short section, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Good luck!

Thank you for the suggestion Rosie, I will put into effect your suggestion.

I think your choice of case studies is really great! They're super interesting and complex and they definitely add to the content of your page. I see what people are getting at with the East Germany example for sure, but at the same time it IS such a great example that I'm really torn on where I fall on the idea of getting rid of it. Ultimately it's up to you but I just thought I'd throw in my two cents on the debate so you know there is someone who's stand beside you if you decided to keep it! Maybe if you added a bit more framing around it in the context of your wiki?

I have re-written my introduction, explaining my focus on both Canada and the United States. Also I provided a brief explanation why I added the case study on East Germany. I would like to hear if this makes the page flow better. If not, do you think it would be better to delete that section?

I think that if you don't want to include anything on international privacy concerns or a really broad view of privacy and archives and the issues surrounding it in general, you should go even simpler with framing that case study. Instead of calling attention to it in your overview, just add a sentence to the beginning of that section like: "Issues stemming from the Stasi files after the fall of the Berlin Wall in East Germany provide a view into the way privacy rights are handled in other parts of the world, and the ways in which they can take on a deeper meaning, especially when the collection of personal information is used as a means of repression and authoritarian control." (Which is basically the sentence you have in the introduction now.) That way you're not calling attention to the fact that everything else is the US and Canada right off the bat.

Hi Cathryn,

Great job! I'm really liking the progression of your page. I appreciate the time you've put into researching each of these acts

Some thoughts: -Having "Privacy Laws in Canada" as one section with each of the acts as sub-sections; "Privacy Laws in United States" as another section w/ acts as sub-sections. It might help this section flow more smoothly versus the bolded sub- and sub-sub sections of both countries running into another (I found this to be the case for my page at least). -I think the inclusion of case studies is a great section -- it provides some appropriate examples of privacy issues for archives. -Because you mention East Germany, it might make sense to include a section (though perhaps not as detailed as Canada & US) for more examples of /links to Privacy legislation outside North America, rather than getting rid of the East Germany example altogether (which is an excellent example). -Maybe there are some cool photos of Stasi files that are available for upload? :)

Thanks for your comment Alison I really appreciate it. I will try and find some more information about privacy in Germany. I think your suggestion of having an international section is a great idea! I will take into consideration your suggestion of having seperate sections entitled "Privacy Laws in...", I'm a little concerned that it might sound a bit repetitive.

Hey Cathryn, Great job so far on such a broad topic. You may want to add to your overview that you focus solely on Canada and the U.S in your wiki. Reiterating what others have noted, you may want to separate out, through the use of headings, national from provincial legislation. Because you only look at North American legislation, it seems a bit out of place to have a case study on East Germany on the page even though it is very interesting. I am sure you are going to do this, but links to relevant legislation/acts will enhance your wiki. Again, great job so far!

Hi Cathryn, I think your page is looking great so far. You've looked at a lot of legislation! I wanted to ask if you were planning on talking about non-Canadian privacy regulations? If you weren't, you might want to think about breaking up your formatting so that Provincial legislation is its own 2nd level heading. Like, 1.1 Federal and 2.1 Provincial for headings, if that makes sense. Even if you're planning on discussing other forms of privacy legislation, you could probably nest them until a heading like 3.1 Privacy Legislation Outside of Canada or something along those lines. Also, make sure you add in the references end tag so we can see your citations! At the very bottom of your page, you need < references / > except without the spaces after and before the triangular brackets. Best, Allison

Hey Cathryn, I agree with Allison -- great spread of acts here. I have a suggestion re: headings as well. It might make sense to delineate the various sections even further (e.g., 2 Provincial, 2.1 Alberta, 2.1a Personal Information Privacy Act (PIPA), 2.1b [Relevant information]. That way you can separate the specific act from the knowledge you've gathered about it (instead of having it on the same line). Otherwise, good work so far! I look forward to reading more. -Alison W

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for all your wonderful comments! I have added more content, though I have taken down my references for the moment until I have finished writing all my content. To answer your question Jessica, I will be only looking at Canada at the United States. I will be sure to add links to all the legislation I listed. Do you think it would be easier if I listed all my comments about how each of the individual laws affects archives, under the section "Effects of Privacy Legislation on Archives" or would it be better suited under each of the relevant laws? I have also changed the title of the page so that it is easier to find. Also, does anyone know how to delineate the sections so that it lists as 1.1a, 1.1.b....ect.?

The choice of heading you use (ie how many equals signs you put around your heading) is what does the headings. I don't know it there is a way to make the sections lettered instead of numbered. You have them tiered now, which is great! Although looking at the list, I'm sort of wondering about my suggestion to break things up into Federal and Provincial. Maybe you should try just bolding the name of the legislation instead of making them sub-sub-headings so that your provincial list isn't a mile long and see how that looks in your table of contents?

Re: Effects of Privacy on Archives, I think it depends on how much you have to say about the laws and the effect they have. Would a third sub-heading (2.3) under Privacy Legislation be appropriate, maybe? That way it's linked directly to Privacy, but you've got your solid idea grouped together and not broken up into snippets.

Hi Cathryn,

I linked your page! I am doing a sister page on Freedom of Information...

I know your page is still in progress, but I have some suggestions as you continue drafting: -in your introduction, you can mention that your wiki is mainly focused on the Canadian context (others have suggested this to me as well) -some sections you could consider:

• a Definition section
• a Challenges to Privacy Laws section (including freedom of information legislation, digital records...)
• a section on Archives and Privacy, or
• a section on International Legislation; or a list of countries that have Privacy Laws.

and, please link my page!! ;) #shamelessendorsement

Jessica

Small suggestion, I think the page would benefit from links out to the Acts you describe, so readers have easy access if they want to consult the originals. Jessica's suggestions above, especially archives and privacy, would be great additions; I think it will be a handy reference when you're finished!

I just want to second the idea of links out to the Acts. That's a great idea, Shyla!