Recent theoretical discussions of transparency frequently center on questions relating to technical and digital surveillance, such as the phenomenon of Wikileaks (Boothroyd 2011), the sharing of selfies (Metelmann and Telios 2018), and Edward Snowden’s revelations of the United States National Security Agency’s mass surveillance of digital data (Birchall 2015). The discussion has indeed become increasingly urgent owing to digital and technical developments. When it comes to theorizing transparency, however, an overly strong emphasis on such developments involves a risk of presentism. Yet, questions relating to transparency in communities are not new, nor are they necessarily dependent on digital systems.