Google Documents "sharing"

Happy New Year to you all!

It's been a bit quiet here over Christmas and I have a couple of reserve list entries to process and a few additions to crews to write up - I'll get round to those later.

In the meantime I thought I'd make a comment on the Google Documents requests I'm getting from people to "share2 the entry list.

At the moment, Google offers us the option to share documents, the process of sharing is for editing, so if we share the list it means the person we shred with can not only view but amend the document. Now that might sound like a good idea BUT the way I set this up was for the lists to be published for people to view only and for all amendments to come through me. This is so I can track anything that either contravenes the rules or spirit of the event and ensure anything that impacts financially gets accounted for properly.

The documents on-line don't contain any especially sensitive information but they do have all the data entrants sign up with so I don't want to share names, addresses and full car details (i.e. registration umbers). I especially don't want to share email addresses and phone numbers so I keep all that secured away from the internet at large. Sharing the document at Google intend would serve no useful purpose and mean a redesign of what's in place which frankly isn't worth the time.

Google don't allow me to explain this when I am presented with a request, I can grant the request or ignore it - so, if you've sent a request and had no response, don't send another please. If you think sharing is necessary or desirable then please tell me why because, as described above, I can't see the need.

I hope that explains things.

We're having a RBRR organiser's meeting next month, after I've been on my holidays to California to see some friends who are working out there for a couple years.

Jason