On Mon, 29 Aug 2011, David Nicol wrote:
I'll take this bait, swallow it, and hopefully bite off the line:
Yes, Google is going to use query data for its gain. But, Google's
business model
also involves *aggregation* and *respecting individual privacy*.
The SSL to Google Search is supposed to protect one from
eavesdropping, as has been
pointed out, by "the other people in Starbucks." And it does this.
Say you're sitting in Starbucks, searching for clues concerning an embarrassing
medical condition. Your risk is, Mallory will intercept your packets
and tell his buddies
and they will huddle and point.
If some Google tech sees your query among the millions of other queries and
points it out to /his/ buddies and they huddle and point, that doesn't
affect you the same
way, if at all. They won't be pointing at you, the victim of an
embarrassing medical
condition, they will be merely pointing at an evidence of your
existence. And such
attention might actually bring more attention, in general, to the
problem of severe
triskaidekaphobia or whatever, which would be a good thing for you --
in the aggregate.
The resulting open discussion of severe triskaidekaphobia might help
lift the crippling stigma
that has followed the victims for so long, without any unpleasant
direct confrontations.
I think you're still missing my point and focusing on defending a company
you obviously like. Contact me off the list if you want to discuss/debate
the actual dangers that companies like Google present.
Otherwise, let's focus on the crux of my argument: trusting any third party
with your personal information whose primary business is selling the use of
your information is foolish, and the use of SSL as your conduit to them
should not make you feel safer. That company is liable to be a greater
danger to your privacy than random wifi eavesdroppers.
Likewise, the use of SSL to conceal your access of highly public (and
specialized) information on metacpan also provides no tangible benefit for
90% of the users. They should offer SSL as an option, but not mandate it
for those of us who derive no benefit from it. Again: a resource like
metacpan should aim for maximum accessibility...
--Arthur Corliss
Live Free or Die
