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Console Do Not Track – Proposal for a standard environment variable

consoledonottrack.com

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Re: Console Do Not Track – Proposal for a standard environment variable

#21

Post by chrisseaton »

HappyTypist wrote: post #6
cupofjoakim wrote: post #3

I support this fully and I'm very disappointed that the maintainers of these projects are hesitant to adopting it, many citing that they'd be interested only if other major players adopt it first. Cmon, it's such a minor change. Getting these PR's in means _you are_ a major player (atleast to some) and you might be able to drive change in a positive way. Why not jump on the opportunity?

Let's add some competitive pressure: start forking projects that don't support it.

Have you got the time, expertise, and network to maintain Homebrew?

Re: Console Do Not Track – Proposal for a standard environment variable

#23

Post by [deleted] »

sparkling wrote: post #10
ccsalvesen wrote: post #4

This is negative consent. I can't fathom why we are supposed to be ok with that. The variable should be named DO_TRACK.

I see where you are coming from, but realistically this will have better chances of being adapted. Also the "do not track" term is already a thing for browsers, so might just stick with it.

[deleted]

Re: Console Do Not Track – Proposal for a standard environment variable

#24

Post by Anunayj »

cupofjoakim wrote: post #8
bouke wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed. And don’t such tools require GDPR consent to allow tracking or processing PII?

This is a great point actually - but it probably depends on if the data is regarded as "personal data" or not. IP-addresses is considered sensitive which would mean that if they're saving that it is probably not ok. I'm not a lawyer though :)

Storing IPs by themselves are not against the GDPR, and you do not really require consent for storing them for legitimate reasons, (Think nginx access logs, or rate limits on API endpoints/ banning IPs abusing your service). [1] Pairing IP addresses with other potentially identifying information can also be a little bit of a legal gray area (Look at Fingerprint.js) if done for legitimate reasons (Like fraud detection).

Though honestly most users do not really care about the check box that says "I agree to give you access to all my personal information and sell it to everyone" when they click install, and it's such a sad situation. GDPR had a great potential, it's sad it was unable to do it's best.

[1] https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protectio...

Re: Console Do Not Track – Proposal for a standard environment variable

#25

Post by naikrovek »

I'm sure everyone doing tracking of console programs is just chomping at the bit waiting for the creation of an easy-to-remember way for users to opt out...

more useful would be something like this that lets users opt in or out of the various TYPES of tracking that are done.

for example, I don't care about application usage telemetry. if you want to know that it's hard for me to remember a particular subcommand and am often looking up help for that subcommand, I don't care if you want know that.

if you want to show me "we're hiring" horsepoo, well you can go away. opt out. same for "please donate, I'm not rich enough yet" messages. and straight ads can just die.

options to tweak those things granularly would be welcome, if we're just daydreaming about things that will never get adopted.

Re: Console Do Not Track – Proposal for a standard environment variable

#26

Post by seemslegit »

This is a losing proposition that will only lend credence to the inherently violent opt-out approach to data collection.

Instead how about a do-not-hire-or-collaborate-with registry of the individual contributors participating in projects that employ those tactics and see how they like trying to opt out of it.

Re: Console Do Not Track – Proposal for a standard environment variable

#27

Post by sneak »

wongarsu wrote: post #16

"PRs and Status" is a very optimistic headline for a list of rejected pull requests. I like the idea, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. I can understand why some Homebrew devs think it's just an attempt from someone to pad their resume. It's essentially a single person setting up a website, then submitting a bunch of untested pull requests to a bunch of projects. I imagine this would work much better if a…

Chicken and egg problem, naturally.

I'd love it to gain more traction. It was an idea and I thought it would be better an idea and a website than just an idea.

It was strange to see it get labeled as a marketing attempt during my attempts to gain some traction, considering I'm not selling a damn thing.

I have severe focus issues, so it had to be a one-day project unfortunately, which is why a couple of the patches weren't tested very well. Treasure your flow state when you get it.

Ultimately I didn't invest any more time into it as developers who put default-on spyware in their apps don't actually want more people opting out. It's a doomed concept.

Re: Console Do Not Track – Proposal for a standard environment variable

#28

Post by sneak »

ccsalvesen wrote: post #4

This is negative consent. I can't fathom why we are supposed to be ok with that. The variable should be named DO_TRACK.

Out here in the real world, Homebrew is spyware by default.

Sometimes you gotta play the hand you're dealt.

Re: Console Do Not Track – Proposal for a standard environment variable

#29

Post by sneak »

seemslegit wrote: post #26

This is a losing proposition that will only lend credence to the inherently violent opt-out approach to data collection. Instead how about a do-not-hire-or-collaborate-with registry of the individual contributors participating in projects that employ those tactics and see how they like trying to opt out of it.

That is another website on my to-do list: one that names and shames spyware developers who create these commits. Git blame writ large.

Re: Console Do Not Track – Proposal for a standard environment variable

#30

Post by Cthulhu_ »

sneak wrote: post #28
ccsalvesen wrote: post #4

This is negative consent. I can't fathom why we are supposed to be ok with that. The variable should be named DO_TRACK.

Out here in the real world, Homebrew is spyware by default. Sometimes you gotta play the hand you're dealt.

If that's the case, why would anyone bother with an opt out?

Anyway, out here in the real world, there's legislation that forbids opt-out tracking.

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