NONE: ONLINE-ADS>> A Proposal for Browser-Based Data Storage and Release
ONLINE-ADS>> A Proposal for Browser-Based Data Storage and Release
Mark J. Welch, Esq. (markwelch_at_ca-probate.com)
Thu, 09 Jan 1997 16:04:06 -0800
(Brownies?)
Sender: owner-online-ads_at_o-a.com
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We have all heard the debates about "cookies," and about the use
and collection of data by web sites and companies seeking to use
that data to disseminate information to individuals based on their
individual demographics or preferences.
But we all know that the media, and to a lesser extent individual
users, are resistant to the use of "cookies" or other techniques that
are perceived to invade the user's privacy. Hence, Netscape and
IE now allow the user to refuse cookies or approve them one at
a time.
Yet many of us are willing to share "some" information about
ourselves, and we readily share it by filling in site-specific forms,
either because we want to receive information or because we
want access to "registration-required" web sites.
What I find irritating is that every site has to separately ask
for -- and I must separately enter -- the same data over, and over,
and over again. Name, company name, mail address, age,
CPU type, single/married, whatever. I always type the same
darned information. Why not save me the time?
Why doesn't someone create a protocol so that the web browser
(or a plug-in or other method) can store commonly-requested
data locally, and I can enter all (or part) of that information
at my leisure while offline? Then, when I log on, a web site
could send a query for certain information (NAME/ADDR/
CITY/ZIP). At that point, if I have said "release all" (analogous
to "accept all cookies"), the data would be sent to the site
without any intervention. If I said "ask me" (analagous to
"ask before accepting cookie"), then my software would alert
me to the request, and I could approve or deny the request
("no, I don't want www.penthouse.com to know who I am").
And if I said "reject all requests," the software could simply
reject them without intervention.
I could envision a more complex system of approvals and
rejections -- for example, a check-list for each item of data
("release - ask - don't release") so that I could indicate that
it's okay to release my name, my city and zip code, and
my computer type, but that the computer should ask before
releasing my email address, street address, telephone,
sex, or age, and that I will never release my birthdate,
mother's maiden name, social security number, or list of
web sites most-often or recently visited, unless I manually
type it into a web-page form.
Note that after a decade or so, Microsoft Windows has
some of these capabilities -- a shared database so that each
program being installed can gather common information
without asking for it again. Companies like DoubleClick
and FireFly gather some of this information, but I am not
entirely comfortable with the notion of a private company
holding that data and releasing it to whoever asks for it.
In theory, of course, this data-storage system does not
need to be stored locally in the browser or plug-in -- it
could be stored on a remote, secure server with which
I register -- but I suspect that users' comfort level would
be higher if data were stored locally. (If data were stored
in a central location, as with DoubleClick, the data could
be incredibly useful -- indeed, it could be frightening on
a "1984" scale.)
I would appreciate any comments or thoughts on this
idea. If it has been discussed before, I'd appreciate pointers
to URLs or forums (fora) where it has been discussed.
___________________
Mark J. Welch, Attorney at Law, http://www.ca-probate.com/
Web Site Banner Advertising Programs: http://www.ca-probate.com/comm_net.htm
Public Service Banner Ads: http://www.ca-probate.com/psa_bann.htm
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