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News aggregator site Voat announced their intention to "stop using Google Analytics service, effective immediately." The replacement will be the GPL'd platform Piwik, which will be installed "when time permits," and will be hosted by Voat themselves. The announcement is getting a warm reception; as of 02:22 UTC on December 12, there are over 1100 upvotes for the newspost.
Google Analytics has been notorious for being disrespectful of privacy, from surreptitious geolocation, to downright creepy knee-jerk reconfiguration of website ads to the last visited e-commerce venue, in a desperate attempt to lure window shoppers to a purchase. Despite the existence of a browser add-on released by Google in 2010, those in the know have recommended alternative countermeasures not involving installing Google software, such as a hosts file entry, or installing NoScript to block execution of Javascript from unauthorized websites. However, Voat's approach seems to be a step further: taking ownership of the analytics data itself, and cutting off Google's attempts to monetize the otherwise private data stream between the website and the users it serves.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Zz9zZ on Saturday December 12 2015, @08:33AM
As a community we on Soylent need to tone down some of the hate. I know the world sucks, and there is a HUGE pile of shit just about everywhere we look, but keep in mind that it is the result of a small minority of sociopaths taking control and shoveling us all into the same barrel of crap. The justified anger everyone is feeling spills out so easily, but it has the opposite intended effect because the majority of people reading our words are decent folk just as angry as us. The anger generally causes more rifts between us, and makes the sociopaths laugh and laugh as their shenanigans upset so many people. Reddit is an awesome idea that has been co-opted for advertising and propaganda (look at this crazy thing happening with a product label as the most prominent feature); an alternative that eschews the catch-all violations of google should be a good thing... but to be fair I know next to nothing about voat
~Tilting at windmills~
(Score: 3, Funny) by Gravis on Saturday December 12 2015, @11:12AM
As a community we on Soylent need to tone down some of the hate.
fuck that, you douchebag. ;P
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 12 2015, @10:03PM
yeah i still dont know what voat is. I guess from the context its reddit with a v. and an oat.
I dont use reddit so I guess I am not sure what the deal is.
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I took a look and... it seems like a graphical reader for old usenet or something, but filled with people unlike what I recall from usenet. I dont think i'll go back.
if they use google analytics there, all the more reason to not return.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Sunday December 13 2015, @12:50AM
Perhaps. But those sociopaths exist, and are in control of powerful organizations. So systems that enable them need to be redesigned.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.