Should I take this answer as your consent to publish your personal information found in the public record over the internet?

Yes Rebecca Shaefer's information was public record.  It isn't anymore because California realized open and bulk release of the public record made targets of their citizens. They didn't consider it a red herring. They considered it a very serious threat to their citizens.

William Sheehan agrees with you that the public record should be treated as a commodity available for publication on the world wide web. He started a web site in 2001 listing the home addresses, phone numbers and social security numbers of police officers. It was all information Mr. Sheehan had found in online public records.

In response to this incident Washington State Senator Bill Finkcheiner said, "This isn't just bad for police officers and corrections employees. It really doesn't bode well for anybody. Access to personal infromation changes when that information is put in electronic from" From this statement I don't think Senator Finkcheiner agrees with your theory of the public record as commodities.

No I don't want to make a point that all public records should be made private and controlled. But bulk transfer and online availability of the public record online is resulting in legislature that bit by bit is taking removing the much of the public record. Texas and many other states have already passed laws allowing police officers, security guards and other special groups to have their records declared confidential. So the next time you do an update on that police officer who took out a home equity loan last year, don't be suprised if the federal tax lien filed against him last month doesn't appear on your screen. 

Treating the public record as a commodity without regard to the security and safety of the public will only lead to more records being taken away from public view. Unless laws are passed prohibiting the bulk transfer of the public record from public entities to private corporations for exploitation over the web.