[projectvrm] transactional vs experiential data

[Johannes Ernst < >]

T.Rob got me thinking ... (I hate it when that happens! :-))

Let's say I buy a car from GM (not that I would, but bear with me and let's 
simplify assuming it is GM directly).

To buy that car, GM and I enter into a contract, which says they will do 
certain things (deliver X by Y in Z quality etc.) and I will do certain 
things (deliver $ by Y etc.). As part of 1) negotiating, 2) entering into and 
3) fulfilling that contact, certain data gets generated. For example, what we 
said to each other during negotiations. The actual content of the contract 
(on paper if it is written, oral if otherwise) and later data that proves we 
are fulfilling our various obligations, such as a recording of the mileage on 
the car at the time of delivery.

I postulate that all of this data *must* be freely usable by both parties. 
(Imagine if I was prohibited from keeping a copy of the contract! A court 
would likely let me walk free if I didn't meet my part of the contact, on the 
grounds that I had no way of knowing what my obligations were or whether the 
other party met their's)

I think this is 100% of what T.Rob called "transactional", and I'd like to 
call "contract data" here. (If there is other "transactional" data that isn't 
part of a "contract" I'd love to hear about it.)

Now once I have that car, I happily drive through the countryside, and 
generate data in the process, such as where I went, when I filled up the 
tank, and how fast I went on the freeway. T.Rob calls this "experiential".

I'd like to slice it slightly differently, and categorize it into 
"contractual" and "non-contractual":

If the car purchase went through, and both parties have no further 
obligations to each other, all of this "experiential" data is 
"non-contractual" because it has no bearing on the contract that is completed 
and done. But if, for example, GM gave me a warranty that said I can return 
the car if the engine blows within 6 months, but only as long as I never 
drive faster than 25 mph, then some of this data is clearly "contractual": 
it's data that has a bearing on whether or not I met my obligations under the 
contract I entered into with GM. In older vehicles, that data did not exist, 
but now it does, and it would be sensible for GM to require me to provide it 
to we have some evidence to support the assessment whether the warranty 
clause should or should not trigger.

(This warranty example is just an example. There may be many other kinds of 
examples where data generated by the car, "experiental data" is relevant for 
assessing contract fulfillment.)

I'd argue that "experiential" data that is "non-contractual" has no business 
of being accessed by anybody other than me. But that "contractual" 
"experiential" data should be shared with both parties.

(Obviously, we can argue about what a contract should and should not say. But 
that's not my point here.)

</thesis>

Does this sound reasonable? It sounds to me like a good lens for looking at 
what data can and cannot be private.

Cheers,



Johannes.