[HarryHirsch]

If you can't understand how indexing turns bulk data into information you are clearly beyond help. Hint: there is a whole industry involved in data mining, and since time immemorial what distinguished a library from a pile of books is the library index.

[PeterisP]

Yes, and if I have the right to the bulk data, then I automatically have the right to all the knowledge that I can mine or infer from that data. THAT is the point that there is no difference. I can create information from data - and saying "raw data is okay, but the information mined from it isn't okay" is ridiculous.

If I have unconditional permission to read books from library, then that allows me (I don't need any extra permission) to use what I read to create a library index - even if you explicitly don't want me to have such an index.

And the public information permissions really are unconditional - what I see in public space is public info. There's no "... unless you write it down" or "...unless you plan to keep that data forever" or "... unless you don't gather too much" or "... unless you tell it to others" or "... unless you profit from it" or "... unless you make interesting conclusions from the raw data" - it's just that, public and unrestricted.

Once I have a legally obtained fact in my mind or my computer, I'm allowed to do pretty much everything with that knowledge, barring very specific exemptions such as blackmail or insider stock trading.

[mikeash]

Saying your opponent is "beyond help" is a great way to have them dismiss your side entirely.

I'm disappointed, as I was hoping for some sort of informative argument, as someone with no strong opinion either way.