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Comment by gizmo | Hacker News Reader

Going out of your way to specifically track people who indicate they don't want to be tracked is worse.

My point is that your `wc -l access.log` solution will also track people who send the Do Not Track header unless you specifically prevent it from doing so. In fact, you could implement the exact same system described in the blog post by replacing the Python code run on every request with an aggregation of the access log. So what is the pragmatic difference between the two?

Even the GDPR makes this distinction. Access logs (with IP addresses) are fine if you use them for technical purposes (monitor for 404, 500 errors) but if you use access logs for marketing purposes you need users to opt-in, because IP addresses are considered PII by law. And if you don't log IPs then you can't track uniques. Tracking and logging are not the same thing.

May I remind you that your own suggested solution was using access logs for marketing purposes!

Google cloud and AWS VPS and many hosting services collect and provide this info by default. Chances are most websites do this including this one you are using now. HN does up bans meaning they must access visitor IP.

Why aren't people starting their protest against the website they're currently using instead of at OP.

We all know that tracking is ubiquitous on the web. This blogpost however discusses technology that specifically helps with tracking people who don't want to be tracked. I responded that an alternative approach is to just not. That's not hypocritical.

Again, you don't answer the question of what's the difference between a image pixel or javascript logging that you visited the site vs nginx/apache logging you visited the site?

You're upset that OP used an image or javascript instead of grepping `access.log` makes absolute no sense. The same data is shown there.

It's rude to tell people how they feel and it's rude to assert a post makes "absolutely no sense" while at the same time demanding a response.

One difference is intent. When you build an analytics system you have an obligation to let people opt out. Access logs serve many legitimate purposes, and yes, they can also be used to track people, but that is not why access logs exist. This difference is also reflected in law. Using access logs for security purposes is always allowed but using that same data for marketing purposes may require an opt-in or disclosure.

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