On Sat, 2006-10-14 at 13:07 +0100, Anne Wilson wrote: > On Saturday 14 October 2006 08:26, Ric Moore wrote: > > On Fri, 2006-10-13 at 16:52 +0100, Anne Wilson wrote: > > > > > > Surely this is easy enough to resolve? If Fedora publish the script that > > > is used to harvest the IP and do whatever is required, surely it would be > > > simple enough for anyone who needs to, to check that their privacy is > > > preserved? After all, this is one of the main arguments in favour of Open > > > Source Software. > > > > Do a google on "adclick" to see just what users concerns might be, abuse > > happens. You're completely correct that an OpenSource model be used. > > Are you suggesting that this collection of statistics is akin to the adclick > trojan? I don't think so. No, just user concerns is all. I just mentioned that anyone would have a concern, especially since adclick schemes do abound. > > In the end we all have to make some decisions about trust status. Take mail > messages, for instance. I have kmail set to not display html messages. I do > have a folder, though, where I filter certain messages and which is set to > allow html mail. This is because I trust the originators and I have listed > them specifically in procmail. If I choose to run Fedora I have to be able > to say that I trust the developers/maintainers. > > The irony of this is that they could have collected this information without > us knowing anything about it (and for that matter they could do a lot worse > than that). It's only because they have been honest and open about it that > the argument/discussion exists at all. I agree with you 100%, Anne. We're all about OpenSource here and we do trust that. Unfortunately in the M$ world trust is not as implicit. I found a site devoted to forums for the families of the incarcerated and their concerns. There's a lot of hand-wringing and heartfelt emotions on that list. Great idea for a community resource portal. I applaud that type of social activism. But it was plastered with ads. I checked the html source and found M$. OK, using M$ costs, hence all the ads. Then I looked further down and found adclick. THAT set the hair on the back of my head straight up. No wonder all the ads were about bailbondsmen, lawyers and cheaper phone rates. There is no telling where all that information goes to, either. I started snooping when they asked me to remove my URL from my signature file. Heck, I'm just small potatoes, why the proprietary stance? So, I looked and saw just how they guarded and guided their citadel towards making a profit. Forgive me for drifting around in the issue, but privacy is always a concern, so using Open Source is a great idea which I applaud. I contacted that site's Admin about my issues, in reply they saw no need for concern. Well, to me making a buck off of the "pale and down trodden" is. That blew my mind and I jerked my account immediately in protest, after giving them an earful. It was one of my better crafted rants. <eg> Ric -- ================================================ My father, Victor Moore (Vic) used to say: "There are two Great Sins in the world... ...the Sin of Ignorance, and ...the Sin of Stupidity. Only the former may be overcome." R.I.P. Dad. Linux user# 44256 Sign up at: http://counter.li.org/ http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/oar http://www.wayward4now.net ================================================
