Just thought I'd point out that the method they used for the obfuscation is a simple CSS rule. It can be quite easily disabled with the developer tools, an extension or a proxy.
Thanks to Quora, now you can’t read anonymously
11–20 of 191 posts
Re: Thanks to Quora, now you can’t read anonymously
#12You can turn it off, but then you can't see who viewed things. (Similar to how LinkedIn and OkCupid work with anonymous browsing.) And if you really want to see I'm sure you can do so via another account. (I think it is possible because okc and linkedin hide private data but quora hides public data.) Instructions: http://www.quora.com/Views-on-Quora/How-do-I-turn-off-the-Vi...
That's fine by me!
Re: Thanks to Quora, now you can’t read anonymously
#13I've never signed up to Quora, but the last time I visited, it looked as though I was logged in which I assumed was via my Twitter cookie. (I don't have a Facebook account.)
It's not happening now so possibly was part of some A/B test.
That coupled with this passive browsing would be a step too far.
Re: Thanks to Quora, now you can’t read anonymously
#14I've learned to go with the flow and trust them when they make changes like this. My first impression is usually to want the 'old Quora' back but once I get used to them, the changes do nearly always improve the experience. I would imagine this will be the same. They are very skilled at interpreting needs and desires we didn't know we had and quickly correcting themselves the times they do make mistakes (like the rec…
I'd be curious to know what/how you use Quora. I've had an account on there forever, but it just doesn't quite seem to hit the right level of utility for me to go back to it.
Re: Thanks to Quora, now you can’t read anonymously
#15Well as Eric Schmidt said, “If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place." ;) http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/01/21/top-10-the-quotable-e...
With the exception of "stealth" startups? ;)
Re: Thanks to Quora, now you can’t read anonymously
#16Quora has gone the way of expert-sexchange, showing up in Google search results for interesting questions, but then overlaying/replacing most answers with blur and "sign up to read".
Borderline SERP cloaking, to say the least.
Re: Thanks to Quora, now you can’t read anonymously
#17What value does this have over, say, an anonymized view count? While it's nice to know that people have seen what you've written, does their identity really need to be known?
What people you are following have viewed now shows up in your feed. This will presumably improve discovery, as your feed is the primary way to find interesting content on Quora.
Re: Thanks to Quora, now you can’t read anonymously
#18Well as Eric Schmidt said, “If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place." ;) http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/01/21/top-10-the-quotable-e...
Bullshit.
That quote is based on the (false) premise that privacy is there to conceal illegal/shady activities. It puts you in one of two groups; You're either guilty of something and have a reason to hide it, or you're not guilty and have no reason to hide anything. It doesn't include the possibility that you might not be guilty of something but may still want to keep something hidden. I'll give you an example. You might NOT want to give your phone number when you register on some social website because you don't want that data used for marketting purposes.
Re: Thanks to Quora, now you can’t read anonymously
#19Well as Eric Schmidt said, “If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place." ;) http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/01/21/top-10-the-quotable-e...
Yes, Schmidt showed a complete lack of understanding of why anonymity is still often a necessity online. Do we really need to keep going over the examples that clearly show he is wrong?
Re: Thanks to Quora, now you can’t read anonymously
#20Well as Eric Schmidt said, “If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place." ;) http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/01/21/top-10-the-quotable-e...
I am not sure I follow your logic here...
Either you are being sarcastic, or idiotic. Please tel me which one.