I'm trying to locate a friend, can someone help me? Her name is
Glyniss Battersby from New Jersey. I lost her telephone number and
address and I would like to contact her. What search engine should I
use to accomplish my goal?

Dear newt324-ga;

Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question. I
noticed that your original question, ?What search engine should I use
to accomplish my goal?? was never answered.

Normally our policy prohibits us from providing personal information
about a person. But since the cat is already to of the bag (by way of
a commenter) and your interest still lies primarily in HOW it was
done, I will be glad to show you since giving you this information IS
permissible.

First is this database where anyone can enter the first name (or first
initial) of a person and his or her last name and find quite a bit of
public information. At the moment this database is free to the public:

ZABASEARCH
http://www.zabasearch.com/
(You will note that this particular database shows more information
than you were actually given.)

Then there?s America?s largest public phone directory that is
accessible to anyone. If the person you are seeking has a published
telephone number, they?re in here. Sometimes you can find a person and
other times you can find their relative, who you can call and ask
about the person you are looking for:

SWITCHBOARD.COM
http://www.switchboard.com/

You can find dozens of other databases that can help at SKIP TRACER PORTAL
http://www.pimall.com/nais/SKIPTRACE.HTM
(I wish I could see your face because you?ll probably be overwhelmed
at how many different resources there really are! People just can?t
hide anymore, can they?)

If you want to pay a service to do the research work for you, you can
use a service like US SEARCH:
http://www.ussearch.com/consumer/index.jsp


I hope you find that my research exceeds your expectations. If you
have any questions about my research please post a clarification
request prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating
and your final comments and I look forward to working with you again
in the near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher

Thank You

Living in Europe, I fail really to understand why publishing the phone
number and address of someone is ?dangerous  and pretty stupid?,
unless of course the person?s telephone number is unlisted. In the
town where I live, several hundred thousand names, addresses and
telephone numbers are routinely published in the telephone directory
and I?d always imagined that the situation was similar in the U.S. Or
could this be another example of that particularly virulent disease
known, I believe, as Political Correctness?.

Dear
For anyone reading boyo62's comment and are somewhat confused,
please understand that the comment was written in  context of 
4 prior comments which have been removed.
- the first comment listed the address and telephone of the person 
  in question.
- The second comment expressed extreme indignation at the first comment 
  calling it stupid and dangerous.
- The third comment was by the original questioner (Newt324) agreeing with the 
  second comment and explaining that he merely wanted to know a way to locate 
  his friend's address.
- The fourth comment was again by the original questioner reitering his third 
  comment but asking the first commentator "BTW how did  you find the 
  information anyway?" 
  At which point the question was rapidly answered by a researcher.
  It looks like this virulent disese of Political Correctness has 
  now spread to the Google editors (laugh!)

  Mongolia

  PS Hope there are not other infectios diseses going around this forum
     (Ebola, Mad Cow Disese)

Hi Mongolia,
Thanks for clarifying matters. I have to say, though, that such a
succinct yet wholly accurate description of the preceding events could
only come from someone professionally involved with GA, e.g. as an
editor?; anyway, very nice meeting you and may you long avoid all
these terrible diseases!!

Hello boyo62
Your generous  words are much appreciated. I do have
to disappoint you in informing you I have absolutely 
nothing to do with the "Google Empire" either as an
employee of the organisation, a google researcher/editor  
or even as a "Mystery Shopper" employed by google.
My only connection to Google is in signing on to this
forum where I ask an odd question here and there and 
at times of intense boredom I also contribute an odd
comment here and there.
As a fellow commentator I am sure our paths may intertwine
on many future occasions.
Mongolia

I do not see anything "politically correct" in the fact that Google
Answers does not want to publish the phone numbers, email addresses,
or other contact information of private individuals. Although this
kind of information may be found on the Web, it is found BY
SPECIFICALLY LOOKING FOR IT. On GA, if someone's name, address, and
phone are posted, this is rather like scrawling it on a public wall.
Anyone can stumble upon it, and the potential for unpleasant use of
the information exists. I wouldn't want my name, address and phone
published on an open forum. I doubt that many people would.

Hi again Mongolia, point taken, but in that case my admiration for
your recall can know no bounds. You hadn?t even commented on this
question yet could accurately reconstruct the whole sequence of
events. Chapeau !!
My comment on PC, Pinkfreud, had no bearing on GA?s policy regarding
the disclosure of personal information. It was directed, as Mongolia
has pointed out, at another comment that said  the first comment was
?dangerous and very stupid?. This I failed to understand because, in
my opinion, the ?cat is out of the bag? (to borrow Tutuzdad?s words)
once we have an unlisted telephone number. We may not like having our
name, address and telephone number published on a website, but what
makes that more dangerous than publication in a telephone directory ?.
Since my own name closely resembles that of a famous electrical
manufacturer , I have in the past received my fair share of irate
?phone calls from dissatisfied customers of the latter and this was
long before the creation of the web.

>> We may not like having our name, address and telephone 
>> number published on a website, but what makes that more 
>> dangerous than publication in a telephone directory ?

What makes it more dangerous is, as I have said, that, in order to see
such information in an online telephone directory, you have to
specifically look for it. You have to type in a certain name. It isn't
just out there for everyone to see. To put it rather indelicately,
this is like the difference between your phone number being listed in
the phone book and your phone number being scrawled on the wall of a
public restroom.