...maybe one's face and written notes are more public than the messages one leaves on a private answering machine?

I think you can make a better case for publicizing art found in thrift stores than you can for publicizing random pictures or notes found on the street. The items in thrift stores have the virtue of being voluntarily donated, and not merely lost or accidentally dropped.

But ultimately, like I said before, I think it's about balance. The guy who did the Psycho Ex-girlfriend site a few months back, I thought was going way too far. His motivation seemed to be simple cruelty. I'm sure his friends all knew who this woman was, and I'm sure she was mortified and embarrassed (maybe tortured isn't going too far) to have her rawest emotions posted for mockery's sake.

Good found art reveals something universal without identifying, endangering, or injuring the person who made it. That's what I mean by balance, anyway..