I looked at the iaf.net stuff, and I can't see what the 'privacy' problem is.
The Internet needs a good way to locate people, and their server is fast. You
can't expect the required computing technology for such a system to be free,
so they use advertising. If they found your address so easily, do you really
think you were 'private' in the first place?
 
Here are the real problems and potential problems:
 
If they don't take your name out when you ask, that's bad. You can tell the
phone co that you want an unlisted number.
 
The phone company provides your access to dial tone, and manages phone books;
in this case iaf.net does not provide your access, but the model for address
collection can be different because all the ISPs and schools out there can't
really collaborate so easily. (It reminds me of when the chess server became
fee-based. At first, a hue and cry. But, in the end they survived and now
offer more services than ever. It seems that when someone comes up with a nice
new service that breaks with tradition, there is a minor uproar as a few
people see progress rushing past them, but in the end it works, if it's a good
service.)
 
My address came up some 35 times. If that happens a lot, and if they are
counting entries as addresses, they have fewer than 3 million addresses. Maybe
a lot fewer.
 
They had addresses for me that I haven't used in years, but which were updated
very recently. Bad.
 
I can't see whe privacy issue. If you're out there corresponding with scads of
people, you can't imagine that you are "private" any more. And the Internet
*does* need a good way to locate people. I don't know if iaf.net has the
answer, but I'm willing to let them try. I hope it will someday be possible to
locate anyone who hasn't stated specifically that they don't want to be
locatable. And I don't want to have to pay to locate people, either.
 
Maybe all ISPs can set up an effective lookup service, and let their users opt
out (as the phone company does). Schools and .gov and other domains should
join in too. Isn't it about time finding people got easy??
 
Carl