4 ms·

Wait a minute, there is tracking involved in a code editor? No, it's not in anyone's best interest. It can't be. Any info collected with tracking could also be

Wait a minute, there is tracking involved in a code editor? No, it's not in anyone's best interest. It can't be. Any info collected with tracking could also be used for other, malign purposes, covertly and illegally. I understand your perspective, I wish it was true as a fact. But it isn't. What I've learned in the recent years - don't trust anything that tracks and collects data unless it's your own thing.

jhall1468 8y ago
There's a pretty wide area between a skeptic and a conspiracy theorist, but this kind of mentality certainly leans toward the latter. Logic dictates it's vastly more likely the data collected is to improve the editor, than a multi-national multi-billion dollar company collecting data to use it illegally.
- dschuetz 8y ago
  No, it's an issue of trust. I wasn't implying that Microsoft does such things. Such things could happen without them even knowing about it. With security in mind I just can't take the risk myself or expose my clients to such risks. VSCode is obviously a consumer product, not an enterprise solution, so I advise my clients to use more trustworthy software, without built-in tracking capability.
- fiblye 8y ago
  Google collects far more data than Microsoft does. They have zero problem processing it all. It’s not like it’s human sifting through it by hand.
- caprese 8y ago
  Great-grandparent OP was most accurate in that this crowd cares most about privacy regardless of what it is used for, and that it would have little utility outside of this crowd, but your dismissive response is as if you've been in a coma for 10 years. As grandparent OP said, in recent years this has moved waaaaay beyond theory territory and been shown time and time again that <Corporate Sector> + NSA + FBI + CIA + intelligence agencies around the world all employ different ways of collecting analytical data broadcast over the internet. NSA just taps the servers without telling anyone. FBI sends National Security Letters containing gag orders preventing companies from telling you that the federal government is now a data sharing partner. CIA just pays companies for it. FISA court issues secret rulings justifying the legality of it all. Whether that bothers you or not is up to you. Most people don't care. I usually don't. I wouldn't say "logic dictates this won't happen" when it is pretty much only the multi-national multi-billion dollar companies subject to this kind of tampering, and most incentivized to monetize the analytics by allowing these and unknown third parties in. To avoid the security exhaustion, some people would simply prefer their text editor not be "smart", which is a euphemism for internet connected.
jlgaddis 8y ago
> Wait a minute, there is tracking involved in a code editor? I recall a recent thread here on HN where I learned that the Windows Calculator was sending data ("telemetry") back to the mothership. Nowadays I think I'd be more surprised if a Microsoft product were released that didn't phone home.

jhall1468 8y ago

There's a pretty wide area between a skeptic and a conspiracy theorist, but this kind of mentality certainly leans toward the latter. Logic dictates it's vastly more likely the data collected is to improve the editor, than a multi-national multi-billion dollar company collecting data to use it illegally.

dschuetz 8y ago
No, it's an issue of trust. I wasn't implying that Microsoft does such things. Such things could happen without them even knowing about it. With security in mind I just can't take the risk myself or expose my clients to such risks. VSCode is obviously a consumer product, not an enterprise solution, so I advise my clients to use more trustworthy software, without built-in tracking capability.
fiblye 8y ago
Google collects far more data than Microsoft does. They have zero problem processing it all. It’s not like it’s human sifting through it by hand.
caprese 8y ago
Great-grandparent OP was most accurate in that this crowd cares most about privacy regardless of what it is used for, and that it would have little utility outside of this crowd, but your dismissive response is as if you've been in a coma for 10 years. As grandparent OP said, in recent years this has moved waaaaay beyond theory territory and been shown time and time again that <Corporate Sector> + NSA + FBI + CIA + intelligence agencies around the world all employ different ways of collecting analytical data broadcast over the internet. NSA just taps the servers without telling anyone. FBI sends National Security Letters containing gag orders preventing companies from telling you that the federal government is now a data sharing partner. CIA just pays companies for it. FISA court issues secret rulings justifying the legality of it all. Whether that bothers you or not is up to you. Most people don't care. I usually don't. I wouldn't say "logic dictates this won't happen" when it is pretty much only the multi-national multi-billion dollar companies subject to this kind of tampering, and most incentivized to monetize the analytics by allowing these and unknown third parties in. To avoid the security exhaustion, some people would simply prefer their text editor not be "smart", which is a euphemism for internet connected.

jlgaddis 8y ago

> Wait a minute, there is tracking involved in a code editor? I recall a recent thread here on HN where I learned that the Windows Calculator was sending data ("telemetry") back to the mothership. Nowadays I think I'd be more surprised if a Microsoft product were released that didn't phone home.