[Cialug] I Don't Hate Tikly--a Thoughtful Side-Topic Opinion

[Dave Weis]

So you're volunteering to tally all RSVP's?

I think the last use of the service was to get a count of people so you
could be provided free food and beverages at a meeting planned, hosted, and
led by volunteers.

I'll be sitting out of the crusade against services that make my and
other's life easier without any risk beyond my email address and where I'll
be Wednesday night.



On Sat, Nov 2, 2013 at 2:34 AM, jim kraai <jimgkraai at gmail.com> wrote:

> ... but I do hate being forced to use third party services like it.
>
> This isn't directly Linux related, but it is related to a trend that all of
> the local technical groups are going in where we're directed to third party
> web sites to RSVP or schedule or whatever for events.
>
>
> I recall that government agencies used to be legally obligated to adhere to
> the following principle:  If data is not required by law to fulfill a
> mandated requirement, then it is unlawful to collect it.  This was an
> acknowledgement that data:
> 1. was expensive to gather (this is no longer true)
> 2. was expensive to curate (this is no longer true)
> 3. would eventually be misused
>
> Which led me to ... let's call it Kraai's Maxim:  The reasons for which
> data are collected today will not constrain the uses to which it will be
> put tomorrow.
>
> Corollary 1:  Those collecting data today are not those who will be using
> it tomorrow.
>
> Corollary 2:  It is impossible to anticipate today what uses data will be
> put to tomorrow.
>
> Corollary 3:  It should be assumed that all data will eventually be
> misinterpreted or misused in unpredictable and possibly in unscrupulous
> ways.
>
> Weak Corollary to Corollary 3:  Data that isn't collected can't be
> effectively misinterpreted or misused.
>
> - By effectively, I mean that it wouldn't stand up under rational scrutiny.
>
> - By weak, I mean that new data can be interpolated and/or extrapolated
> from what data there is depending on the quality of the source data and
> what other data sources are corellatable to the source data.
>
> So, applying the Maxim and Corollaries to tikly:
>
> (Note that tikly requires first/last name, email address, and a phone
> number.)
>
> Over the years we've learned that eventually, tikly will have an accidental
> data spill or exposure, get hacked, and/or sell out.  The only uncertainty
> is when that will happen--not whether.  Keep in mind that they can't leak
> or sell what they don't have.
>
> Note that if tikly goes under--and there's a 19/20 chance they will--their
> most significant salable asset will be that data.  Recent precedent has
> shown that prior promises and user agreements will be thrown out so the
> investors can have their claims settled partially by the sale of that data
> to the highest bidder.  Until something extraordinary happens in the
> courts, there's nothing you can do about such a sale or the uses to which
> that data is eventually put.
>
> It's a common practice to 'protect our privacy' by putting bogus data in
> their registration forms.  We need to realize that it's ethically
> problematic and potentially illegal to put bad data in a web site's
> registration forms.  So that should not be an acceptable long-term practice
> for a principled person.
>
> This is why I prefer to not use third party services that gather any kind
> of data.
>
> --jim
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