Hacker News Reader

Comment by staunch | Hacker News Reader

And yet it clearly violates our expectations of privacy. You don't think clicking a menu on a desktop app will send a report back to Microsoft HQ.

There are many ways to improve software that do not involve analyzing unwitting users, like making it clearly opt-in.

View on HN

If it were opt-in, I would absolutely opt-into it. I want the companies who make products I use/consume to succeed - that's why I never install ad-block. I watch tons of shows on YouTube and niche video sites, and I know the ads are what help these companies stay alive.

While I know installing ad-block is still opt-out (not -in), it's still a choice of a click that I'm making. I want to support you, but I don't want the choice of privacy made for me.

By doing that, you're implicitly saying "exploit me". You are helping them succeed, but only in the way that they want. I don't think subjecting yourself to such torture, when it will only bring more of the same, is a good idea.

You post on Hacker News, which is a marketing vehicle for YCombinator. Your content helps make it more attractive to prospective startup founders, which lets YCombinator reach their target market with virtually no marketing expense.

Why is sending usage data to Microsoft saying "exploit me", but contributing free marketing to YCombinator is something you do daily?

The world doesn't have to operate on zero-sum principles. There's nothing wrong with helping someone or something out "just because".

One big difference is that I'm fully in control of what I post on HN, whereas "usage data" is far less well-defined. I can literally see every single byte that gets sent to HN, but "usage data" is so vague (and likely intentionally so) that it could mean just about anything you do with the product.

With respect to "exploit me", that was more in reference to not using an adblocker.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com