Big Brother (and not the one on tv )!!

[beatz]

Check this out:

http://netscan.research.microsoft.c...31/2003&NGID=20004&NGName=alt.design.graphics

MS research dept monitoring everything that
happens in newsgroups and profiling the users.

This one is about alt.design.graphics that i visit from time to time but just type your fav newsgroup in the searchbox and maybe you will find your name and emailaddy on the list as well...

Way too many stats i think.

 

[devolution]

They also seem to keep track of individual users, which without their permission is highly illegal in most countries.

Example "[email protected]":

http://netscan.research.microsoft.com/Static/AuthorThreadsByNG.asp?ngid=20004&aid=21017399&ngdate=03/31/2003&ngtype=M

Copy the link - clicking it doesn't work for some reason.

 

[devolution]

Their 'privy policy':

http://netscan.research.microsoft.com/site/privacy/NS-PrivacyStatement.asp

 

[devolution]

Who knows, MS Research could be some Government funded department?

 

[devolution]

Even worse...

This is my Profile, that is being kept on their system WITHOUT MY PERMISSION...

http://[email protected]&NGDate=3/31/2003

 

[Nexus]

Same amount of info available on any messageboard. Doesn't appear terribly outrageous at all. Anyone recording newsgroup activity can provide the same types of stats.

Recently I saw this website called FastSeduction.com that has done a very intricate job of reformulating content form the newsgroup alt.seduction.fast. I know the person running the site, and I'm sure he'd run the same kinds of stat reporting if he thought it was useful, and may already be doing it, who knows.

FS About Page: Although postings made to USENet are copyright of their respective authors, the republishing of such articles in another freely accessible medium (such as this web site) is considered acceptable and primarily classified as "fair use".

If Google used its deja archives to give stats like that, I think it'd be a useful tool if enough abuse prevention measures were put in to block automated e-mail harvesting.

At any rate guys... this is all publicly available information. They're just reporting on it. They're not watching what you've read, and nothing to stop you from using multiple e-mail addy's to mask your ID.

~ Nexus

 

[beatz]

The point is not that it's "publicly available information".

The question is how is it compiled and how is it presented.

MS does that on a public website.

There is a reason why for instance reverse whois is forbidden (like searching for a registrants name and show which domains he owns) and there is also a reason why reverse phonelookup is forbidden in some countries like germany.

As its indeed a question of how and where.