4 ms·

Reminds me of stallmans endless ranting about freedom and software. The evidence is that the masses don't care. They just want stuff that works and solves prob

• Mithrandir 16y ago
  Disagree. People usually aren't aware of these privacy problems, and would care if they did know. Result: this page. Same goes for free software: more casual users (probably) would use more free software if they knew about it. And the bit about it just working is mostly FUD.
• potatolicious 16y ago
  If the average person knew that their Google searches can potentially lead to credit rejections or trouble with health insurance providers (hypothetical at this point, but with recent trends not as farfetched as before), I think they certainly would care. The reason why the masses don't care is because they don't know why kind of havoc this sort of lack of privacy can cause. I for one am glad someone is educating the layman in an accessible and non-condescending way.
  • axod 16y ago
    Highly hypothetical - to the extreme. How would any insurance co. know if it's me, or someone else in the household? Also afaik health insurance is mainly a US phenomenon thank god.
    • epi0Bauqu 16y ago
      http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704648604575620750998072986.html http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870464860457562... There are lots of ways this could play out. If you go to the site and register (increasingly likely), they might be able to detect you individually. Secondly, providers are starting to line up data by email address and other personal facts, so they may be able to match you like that. But even if they aren't absolutely sure it is you, they can still use the information to put you in different initial pools that could be used, for example, to ask you more specific follow-up questions that then put you in different risk pools.
      • axod 16y ago
        It's a tangential question, but why shouldn't insurers be able to know a fair amount about you to assess risk? If you're endlessly searching for cancer cures, perhaps they should be aware of that. Of course the solution is the US is universal health care for all. But that's never going to happen.
  • 1337p337 16y ago
    I think that the lack of understanding about how this stuff works really is the root of non-tech people being apparently apathetic about it. Of course, the observation is all anecdotal on my part, and a lot of people seem to have anecdotal evidence (One that stands out in my mind: http://twitter.com/dozba/status/19237941121388544 http://twitter.com/dozba/status/19237941121388544 ). I wonder if anyone has done a study about how accurately the average user models this stuff internally.
• tiles 16y ago
  And yet Stallman's endless ranting was instrumental in getting the Open Source movement started, and developing the GNU tools which brought us Linux, which is used widely in embedded systems and on servers, as well as by small businesses to cheaply bring users applications that solve problems for them. Sometimes solving problems for developers does trickle down.
  • fluidcruft 16y ago
    I don't think Stallman would be particularly keen on your mistaken impression that he has anything at all to do with advocating Open Source.