[Devoured Death]

As many people will be aware, Metal Archives has recently had an overhaul. This has included a new "members" section, which features information on past and present participants from bands/projects. This information not only supplies full names next to pseudonyms, it provides dates of birth, cities of residence etc where available.

Upon contacting Metal Archives, I was told that this information could only be removed if there was proof I lived in a country where such information being leaked could be detrimental towards myself (ie, a Damaar kind of situation). I argued the fact that some people's public associations with their bands could affect their employability to which I was simply told that if this information was put into the public domain, then it was fair game for them to print it. This insinuates to me that the only solution is that if any musicians want to operate anonymously, the use of sites such as facebook must be ruled out. I myself use facebook privately to keep in touch with foreign, and out of town friends, I was always careful with what I posted on there and kept personal information to an absolute minimum. This said, I obviously slipped by accepting a few "fanboy" adds, which is the only place where this information has slipped. My fault, I know, but should we really have to be hiding information such as our birthdays from our friends for fear of it being leaked onto sites like metal archives?

Am I the only one who's outraged by this blatant invasion on my privacy? Does anyone else have any thoughts? Ideas? I've known friends who have managed keep relative anonymity through playing in bands for over 10 years, only to recently have it sprung by the new metal archives nerds. The biggest point I can see though, is what relevance does this kind of information have towards the music we make?

[Wraith]

I realized this fishy new feature as well. Luckily I am not that famous and don't use facebook. But if you're Tony Iommi and your birthdate is on Wikipedia, it's not a big surprise really.

But I totally agree with you that such senseless information should be removed immediately if the involved persons complain.

[The_Elite]

Heavy Metal attracts the most autistic of people who have to have every press of a record, every name of a band member etc. it should be no surprise really- it's shitty if Archives won't delete the info though.

[Xeniteia]

Some bands list their full name and address on records, so this information isn't that hard to find. However, it's a lack of respect for people IMO.
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Scrutare et vide quia propheta a Galilaea non surgit!

[Wraith]

...but it's really strange they don't want to remove it. Seems to me that bands like GHOST have some special rights there (you got banned if you added their real names). Or GORGOROTH, where it was forbidden to add the lyrics (!).

Get yourself a lawyer and look for other victims. It will change soon, I believe.

Edit: It's a generally annoying tendency that one has to deal with such bullshit nowadays.

[Dodens Grav]

I don't think there's any legal standing to force somebody to remove information that's public domain, Wraith. I do agree with the sentiment that it's disrespectful, however, and I would be uncomfortable if I were put in a similar position. It is unfortunate that people have to be more vigilant than ever in protecting their personal information that they don't want shared.
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Reviews of: Dead Congregation, Faustcoven, Mgla, Portrait, Revelation, Against Nature, Ironsword, Valkyrie, Ogre, etc.

[God Slayer]

[AmaLurra]

We all know who Ghost are anyway, more or less.

[Wilhelm]

[ogmetal]

[AmaLurra]

Well Tobias is definately the vocalist, Soulseller confirmed that a few weeks back on a Repugnant thread about some different recordings from their album. Though it was known before, that sorta cemented it. Other members, not too sure, though they've been named here before.

[Descension]

Bump for ridiculousness!
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#NuclearWarMeow

[Nosliw]

In addition to Metal-Archives' personal band member information on the site, it's even worse if you use Google and a number of people search and/or white pages websites to find all kinds of info, such as home addresses, telephone numbers, government data, and even one's political party vote/affiliation. This is especially true for the US, as there is an alarming amount of private and personal information you can dig up. It's good to track down rip-offs and deadbeat assholes but it's fucking shit for voyeuristic/autistic/asberger people who wants to dig up dirt and information for stalking purposes or something.

And regarding Metal-Archives, talk to the admin guys about your situation. If they can forbid people from posting certain information on certain bands, I'm sure they do this on a case-by-case basis.
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[Uncolored]

dan please contact me uncolored666 at gmail dot com and I will try to solve your concerns
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[ascha]

yeah i've never really understood this behavior as none of the information affects the music in any way. i have met people though who are extremely eager to flex their metal muscles and drop names of band members and all their other projects just to seem knowledgeable on the subject. i imagine that kids like this are the reason that issues like this exist
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