For the first time ever, I tried to use a data.gov resource in anger. There was limited value in what I found. (I already knew the current count, and needed the count for dates in the past).
What are other people's impressions from their uses of the service? Answer sought: What's the timeline look like for the number of Centrelink service-centres in operation over the last decade? Quickly found: Location of Services Australia Offices https://data.gov.au/dataset/ds-dga-70c2b2fe-2a32-450e-98dc-453fe4a02aae/details Leads to: https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/location-of-centrelink-offices If you divine that 'Activity Stream' means 'Previous versions', leads to https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/activity/location-of-centrelink-offices Choosing the oldest first: > dhs-spatial updated the dataset Location of Centrelink Offices > 3 years ago | View this version | Changes Clicking on <View this version> goes to: https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/70c2b2fe-2a32-450e-98dc-453fe4a02aae?activity_id=30b279cd-8e9e-40f3-b393-91fbe4e35181 Which gets <Error [500]> (and with no explanation, and a poorly-formatted display). A check of <HTTP error 500> confirms it's the most useless in the set: > ... the server encountered an unexpected condition that prevented it from fulfilling the request ... I wonder what the access stats are, and whether anyone's cared enough to report the problem. Contact Us says: > Data.gov.au is now supported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. > ... please contact us on [email protected] and allow for up to 5 business days turn around. > Account registrations are temporarily unavailable > New user account registrations are temporarily unavailable. If you intend to register as a new user, please contact [email protected] for assistance. Some years back, ABS was changed from a service-organisation to part of the government's mass surveillance apparatus. Service to the public is unlikely to ever again be a priority. (For the record, the current display shows 320 - default-mapped to postcode - ? The oldest available, 1 year old, lists 319 in the .csv). -- Roger Clarke mailto:[email protected] T: +61 2 6288 6916 http://www.xamax.com.au http://www.rogerclarke.com Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd 78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Law University of N.S.W. Visiting Professor in Computer Science Australian National University _______________________________________________ Link mailing list [email protected] https://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link
