Charlie, 
I don't want to really come down on one side or another of this argument, but I do have to disagree with you about practical obscurity.  I recall an incident shortly after 9/11 when a gentleman came to the local courthouse (we are the state capitol), and requested a map of the courthouse area, including the utility information.  The girl in the auditor's office gave him what he wanted, but asked me later in the day why someone would want this information.  I don't know the answer, but concidering the timing of the request, I thought it was unwise of her to help the fellow.  They now are moe careful about helping strangers with information requests.  The point is, at least the fellow had to come to the courthouse because he didn't know how to access virtually the same information online.  If he did, the county would not have known about the inquiry at all.  They have now put some limits on the information available online.
There may be people on the ground in several areas, but I don't think this is a reason to allow the open internet access to all the records. Why make things easier?   Practical obscurity may not be a shield, but it is better than nothing.