3 ms·

> Protect your privacy > Just link your name, home address, and phone number for this random company Yeah, no thanks. Edited to clarify for those who may be

by uoaei 3y ago

> Protect your privacy > Just link your name, home address, and phone number for this random company Yeah, no thanks. Edited to clarify for those who may be unfamiliar with the concept of PII.

rsyring 3y ago
Do you really consider your address private information?
- rchaud 3y ago
  There's a big difference between having one's name and address appear on a public land registry database, vs just handing it to an SF tech startup. At some point that data will monetized. Remember unroll.me? [0] If this organization registers as a nonprofit, that's one thing. Outside of that, I wouldn't trust such services any further than I could throw a pitch deck claiming to make the world a better place, with your PII. [0] https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/17/21027159/unroll-me-email-privacy-ftc-settlement https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/17/21027159/unroll-me-email...
  - nolastan 3y ago
    While I don't intend to register as a non-profit (there's CatalogChoice already), I could see registering as a Benefit Corporation / B Corp. Would that hold any weight, or would you still just view that as "an SF tech startup"? There is no pitch deck for Mel as I don't intend to raise VC funding – precisely because I don't want to be pressured into doing something that goes against my values like selling user data.
nolastan 3y ago
Totally understand the privacy concern. If it helps, I'm a person, not a company—and I put my photo and personal links right on the homepage so folks can decide if they would like to trust me with this sensitive information.
- rchaud 3y ago
  It's not 2004 anymore, people may need a bit more than your photo and links in exchange for what you're asking.
  - nolastan 3y ago
    I'm in the process of reaching out to existing customers, with an aim of getting some reviews on TrustPilot. Do you have any other ideas? I accept that there's a certain percent of folks who will not trust me with their address, so I'm not trying to change anyone's mind or pressure anyone into signing up if that's the case. Back when I worked at SaveUp, and we gave real cash prizes to people every day, we always had people claiming we were a scam. We even posted videos to YouTube of our selection and giveaway process, and posted new testimonials to our site every single day, but certain folks simply couldn't be convinced.
    - rchaud 3y ago
      I would say register as a nonprofit, but that may not be feasible if you're planning to run this as a business. People have soured on tech companies ostensibly doing something for the public good; it never works out as it should, because behind companies are investors, and at some point, they'll want returns. The classic example is unroll.me -- auto-unsubscribe with no strings attached*! Asterisk: many strings attached. There's just no guarantee that introducing a middleman won't bite me in the ass later. https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/17/21027159/unroll-me-email-privacy-ftc-settlement https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/17/21027159/unroll-me-email...
keurrr 3y ago
Well, the spammers sending you junk mail already have all this? Not much to lose here :)
- uoaei 3y ago
  Except for a widening of the attack surface... this goes further than "nothing to hide".
- rchaud 3y ago
  Spammer mail takes the shotgun approach, it isn't targeted at all except very roughly by zip code (restaurant coupons work this way). Everybody in my building gets the same junk mail.

by uoaei 3y ago

> Protect your privacy > Just link your name, home address, and phone number for this random company Yeah, no thanks. Edited to clarify for those who may be unfamiliar with the concept of PII.

rsyring 3y ago

Do you really consider your address private information?

rchaud 3y ago
There's a big difference between having one's name and address appear on a public land registry database, vs just handing it to an SF tech startup. At some point that data will monetized. Remember unroll.me? [0] If this organization registers as a nonprofit, that's one thing. Outside of that, I wouldn't trust such services any further than I could throw a pitch deck claiming to make the world a better place, with your PII. [0] https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/17/21027159/unroll-me-email-privacy-ftc-settlement https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/17/21027159/unroll-me-email...
- nolastan 3y ago
  While I don't intend to register as a non-profit (there's CatalogChoice already), I could see registering as a Benefit Corporation / B Corp. Would that hold any weight, or would you still just view that as "an SF tech startup"? There is no pitch deck for Mel as I don't intend to raise VC funding – precisely because I don't want to be pressured into doing something that goes against my values like selling user data.

nolastan 3y ago

Totally understand the privacy concern. If it helps, I'm a person, not a company—and I put my photo and personal links right on the homepage so folks can decide if they would like to trust me with this sensitive information.

rchaud 3y ago
It's not 2004 anymore, people may need a bit more than your photo and links in exchange for what you're asking.
- nolastan 3y ago
  I'm in the process of reaching out to existing customers, with an aim of getting some reviews on TrustPilot. Do you have any other ideas? I accept that there's a certain percent of folks who will not trust me with their address, so I'm not trying to change anyone's mind or pressure anyone into signing up if that's the case. Back when I worked at SaveUp, and we gave real cash prizes to people every day, we always had people claiming we were a scam. We even posted videos to YouTube of our selection and giveaway process, and posted new testimonials to our site every single day, but certain folks simply couldn't be convinced.
  - rchaud 3y ago
    I would say register as a nonprofit, but that may not be feasible if you're planning to run this as a business. People have soured on tech companies ostensibly doing something for the public good; it never works out as it should, because behind companies are investors, and at some point, they'll want returns. The classic example is unroll.me -- auto-unsubscribe with no strings attached*! Asterisk: many strings attached. There's just no guarantee that introducing a middleman won't bite me in the ass later. https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/17/21027159/unroll-me-email-privacy-ftc-settlement https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/17/21027159/unroll-me-email...

keurrr 3y ago

Well, the spammers sending you junk mail already have all this? Not much to lose here :)

uoaei 3y ago
Except for a widening of the attack surface... this goes further than "nothing to hide".
rchaud 3y ago
Spammer mail takes the shotgun approach, it isn't targeted at all except very roughly by zip code (restaurant coupons work this way). Everybody in my building gets the same junk mail.