4 ms·

Why is tracking a bad thing? It allows better monetization of the web which is good for everyone.

asyx 2y ago
Only if you believe that the current mode we are in is good.
travisgriggs 2y ago
Was tempted to downvote. But hey, we’re supposed to talk about things. Do you support the abstract argument that ________ allows better monetization of _________ which is good for everyone. ?? If so, we can agree to disagree. If however, “it depends”, I think you need to clarify why your proposition is true where other variants (e.g. “Indentured servitude allows better monetization of the lower classes which is good for everyone”) are very clearly not so.
wruza 2y ago
It’s bad at least because people don’t like to be watched or stalked, even if no “real” harm accompanied. Privacy is a thing that most people agree should exist. You can’t always have it, but it doesn’t mean you have to surrender it either. That is, in an ideal world. It allows better monetization of the web which is good for everyone. In the real world, targeted ads initially promised to be related to user’s interests but never kept that. You don’t see what’s interesting for you, only what was paid a lot of money for, by people who find your parameters most suitable for their bait, blanket style. Users get heavily underserved their ads and mostly see generic money grab bs instead, cause money ranks better than interests and google is no socialist despite so much pretending.
pjerem 2y ago
> It allows better monetization of the web which is good for everyone. It’s not true but let me explain : « Free » (like in free beer) web is : - Good when it’s really free (like, people sharing things because they are nice, free software…) - Not good when there is a business behind. I have nothing against businesses. I love throwing my money at a lot of them. But I hate when I’m their product. The master stroke of Google, Facebook and others have been to let the entire world think we are entitled to free things. It’s not true, you always somehow pay, if not with your money, then it means you are the money.
user3939382 2y ago
Care to post your browsing history from the last week? Please include private tabs.
cookiengineer 2y ago
Because tracking is inherently an anti democratic thing. See pretty much every lesson in history ever, from the Schutzstaffel of the Nazis, to worker unions being doxxed, to lobbyism. Our democracy relies on private information being secret, and any one sided party having that information is able to rule over the other. There's a reason why Putin is so successful when utilizing his FSB and SVR apparatus. The "i don't have anything to hide" reasoning is bullshit, because you didn't post your email addresses password publicly for everyone to see. Therefore, your reasoning is based on the assumption that you misinterpret what everyone vs some party you inherently trust means. Look at US politics, where 50% of the population now regrets having shared their medical data with doctors, because the current administration decided to prosecute past visits to the gynecologist if a woman decided to not be pregnant. Something that was not illegal in the past is now illegal, therefore data in itself is incriminating by default.
- heavyset_go 2y ago
  In the same vein, the founding of the US relied upon anonymity. The Federalist Papers, Common Sense, etc all had anonymous authors, the Fourth Amendment is in a way a response to general warrants used to persecute anonymous authors, etc.
dzikimarian 2y ago
It's not. It enables free content, but most of it is crap quality. Assume there's no ad network that tells you that user is into high-end bikes. You cannot produce cheap rage bait and then market bikes, because you'll likely miss your target audience. You have to produce good biking content and then advertise bikes to be effective. This is basically "break for our sponsor" you see on YouTube - for me personally youtube sponsorships are way more bearable than typical ad infested "news" site
tcfhgj 2y ago
It's bad for everyone, considering how it increases prices and boosts consumption

asyx 2y ago

Only if you believe that the current mode we are in is good.

Was tempted to downvote. But hey, we’re supposed to talk about things. Do you support the abstract argument that ________ allows better monetization of _________ which is good for everyone. ?? If so, we can agree to disagree. If however, “it depends”, I think you need to clarify why your proposition is true where other variants (e.g. “Indentured servitude allows better monetization of the lower classes which is good for everyone”) are very clearly not so.

wruza 2y ago

It’s bad at least because people don’t like to be watched or stalked, even if no “real” harm accompanied. Privacy is a thing that most people agree should exist. You can’t always have it, but it doesn’t mean you have to surrender it either. That is, in an ideal world. It allows better monetization of the web which is good for everyone. In the real world, targeted ads initially promised to be related to user’s interests but never kept that. You don’t see what’s interesting for you, only what was paid a lot of money for, by people who find your parameters most suitable for their bait, blanket style. Users get heavily underserved their ads and mostly see generic money grab bs instead, cause money ranks better than interests and google is no socialist despite so much pretending.

pjerem 2y ago

> It allows better monetization of the web which is good for everyone. It’s not true but let me explain : « Free » (like in free beer) web is : - Good when it’s really free (like, people sharing things because they are nice, free software…) - Not good when there is a business behind. I have nothing against businesses. I love throwing my money at a lot of them. But I hate when I’m their product. The master stroke of Google, Facebook and others have been to let the entire world think we are entitled to free things. It’s not true, you always somehow pay, if not with your money, then it means you are the money.

user3939382 2y ago

Care to post your browsing history from the last week? Please include private tabs.

cookiengineer 2y ago

Because tracking is inherently an anti democratic thing. See pretty much every lesson in history ever, from the Schutzstaffel of the Nazis, to worker unions being doxxed, to lobbyism. Our democracy relies on private information being secret, and any one sided party having that information is able to rule over the other. There's a reason why Putin is so successful when utilizing his FSB and SVR apparatus. The "i don't have anything to hide" reasoning is bullshit, because you didn't post your email addresses password publicly for everyone to see. Therefore, your reasoning is based on the assumption that you misinterpret what everyone vs some party you inherently trust means. Look at US politics, where 50% of the population now regrets having shared their medical data with doctors, because the current administration decided to prosecute past visits to the gynecologist if a woman decided to not be pregnant. Something that was not illegal in the past is now illegal, therefore data in itself is incriminating by default.

heavyset_go 2y ago
In the same vein, the founding of the US relied upon anonymity. The Federalist Papers, Common Sense, etc all had anonymous authors, the Fourth Amendment is in a way a response to general warrants used to persecute anonymous authors, etc.

dzikimarian 2y ago

It's not. It enables free content, but most of it is crap quality. Assume there's no ad network that tells you that user is into high-end bikes. You cannot produce cheap rage bait and then market bikes, because you'll likely miss your target audience. You have to produce good biking content and then advertise bikes to be effective. This is basically "break for our sponsor" you see on YouTube - for me personally youtube sponsorships are way more bearable than typical ad infested "news" site

tcfhgj 2y ago

It's bad for everyone, considering how it increases prices and boosts consumption