http://www.idkfa.com/v3 idkfa: syndicated http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1404&msg_id=1413 Be afraid. Be very afraid. Well, maybe not too afraid. The Internet's a terrible place, but it's also terribly convenient. But just be aware of the types of information you're exposing, even without your knowledge. Particularly to organizations like Facebook, or other organizations that have a keen interest on what you think is interesting. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Indiscernible from Magic Thu, 09 Dec 2010 15:45:19 -0900 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1404&msg_id=1413 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1404&msg_id=1412 That's a perfectly reasonable relationship between you and an online entity: you understand the nature of the agreement, and you are constantly made aware of the company's actions as a result of your feeding of information to them (e.g., the suggestions you get from Amazon become more accurate as you browse, purchase, and rate products). It's an equitable arrangement. It's the base assumption on the part of the companies that people tend to forget: "If you are using our service, you are costing us money, and we have to find a way to make that money back." Selling the information you give them is the first thing they sell, not the second, third, or last. I was severely irritated earlier this year when I applied for a business license. It took a week to get the paper license in the mail. It took two days for business printing services, credit card services, and other bullshit to start sending me junkmail to "Intersection Thereof Software." It's all about education. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Indiscernible from Magic Thu, 09 Dec 2010 15:39:38 -0900 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1404&msg_id=1412 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1404&msg_id=1409 I'm officially scared to click the shiny new link I see on the other webpage I have open. Eak! J_Maru@idkfa.com (J_Maru) Indiscernible from Magic Thu, 09 Dec 2010 15:33:23 -0900 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1404&msg_id=1409 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1404&msg_id=1407 I did stop reading after paragraph three! Now I know why you're ever so paranoid, Josh. BUT: I don't really mind people selling my preferences, as long as I'm actually using the service at hand (read: Amazon). In fact, I've 'sold' my preferences before by taking online consumer services. You can personally profit as well, even if you're preferences are just being used to better sell things to you. I like to think that I have barely enough self-control not to buy everything I desire on a whim. Scrotor@idkfa.com (Scrotor) Indiscernible from Magic Thu, 09 Dec 2010 15:08:18 -0900 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1404&msg_id=1407 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1404&msg_id=1404 Sort of wry, dry humor (my favorite), but the following is a guy's take on a "truly honest privacy policy." It's written satirically, but the point he's getting across is a valid one: online businesses are just that, businesses, that are looking to make money in any way possible. "At COMPANY _______ we value your privacy a great deal. Almost as much as we value the ability to take the data you give us and slice, dice, julienne, mash, puree and serve it to our business partners, which may include third-party advertising networks, data brokers, networks of affiliate sites, parent companies, subsidiaries, and other entities, none of which we’ll bother to list here because they can change from week to week and, besides, we know you’re not really paying attention. We’ll also share all of this information with the government. We’re just suckers for guys with crew cuts carrying subpoenas. Remember, when you visit our Web site, our Web site is also visiting you. And we’ve brought a dozen or more friends with us, depending on how many ad networks and third-party data services we use. We’re not going to tell which ones, though you could probably figure this out by carefully watching the different URLs that flash across the bottom of your browser as each page loads or when you mouse over various bits. It’s not like you’ve got better things to do. Each of these sites may leave behind a little gift known as a cookie -- a text file filled with inscrutable gibberish that allows various computers around the globe to identify you, including your preferences, browser settings, which parts of the site you visited, which ads you clicked on, and whether you actually purchased something. Those same cookies may let our advertising and data broker partners track you across every other site you visit, then dump all of your information into a huge database attached to a unique ID number, which kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Indiscernible from Magic Thu, 09 Dec 2010 14:21:00 -0900 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=1404&msg_id=1404