But, what about when what stupid people do starts effecting not-stupid people? And, what about when stupid policies get put in place and become generally accepted by stupid people, so they vote that they're OK for smart people, too?mrbadger wrote:..Stupid gets what stupid deserves. Or have we turned into a world where people don't have to expect to take responsibility for their own actions? Because that's not going to work.
"Wrong" is just wrong. I agree - If you don't want to abide by the service contract of a service, don't use that service. But, calling itself a "service" does not entitle just anything to do... just anything, does it?
Microsoft Windows is one of those "products as a service" sort of things, these days, or is becoming one. So, because one is using it, Microsoft says it can use their data for whatever it wants... until you go through a laborious process to tell it that it can't. And, even then, that's not always the case.
Stupid people joined Facebook and are now screaming when they realize that, yes, just like it told them it was, it's using them to make money by using their data.
But, now, everyone else is doing it, too. They're doing it because they can make lots of money from doing it. And, what was once considered an innocuous, barely meaningful, use of personal data or habits has now become much more powerful and much more intrusive. Personal data collection has gotten out of hand.. It has progressed faster and stronger than we have been able to put brakes on it through regulation and consumer protection laws.
Microsoft pushes ads through Windows 10. If you tell them not to use your data to facilitate that, you'll still get advertising, it just won't be "as" targeted as it used to be. They still collect a good bit of your data, too, and you can't stop that. So, use a Linux based OS? OK, sure, but then I can't do a lot of things that rely on third-party applications that are only running on Windows... Windows made itself indispensable and is what everyone writes for, these days.
If there was a "Don't Track Anything" button and I had to pay a reasonable fee to shut off such activity, I would. But there isn't and I can't. Why? Money, that's why, and I am being unwillingly "used," even if I purchased a product, as a tool for someone else to make money. I get nothing but the inconvenience and possible very real danger of having private data exposed to disreputable sorts.
Where is my option to truly opt-out? It's gone. Why? Because lots of stupid people accepted their own exploitation without complaint, often with full enthusiasm, and set into motion a system that is solely built to feed off of others.
Something has to be done to stem the flood of exploitation. We can't as quickly "opt-out" of the Internet as fast as it can exploit our privacy. If we developed any of the possible, and largely fanciful, replacements, they'd still fill up with opportunists without proper regulation and or protections put in place.
Bwa Booom ) A "Gated Community". Fortunately they escaped somewhat unscathed, but more the wiser. Note this type of "community policing" within "gated communities" took a hit in some places after the whole Travon Martin thing in Florida. Granted some of these groups might be okay, but most devolve into nightmares. One such in Missouri was on the news recently for fining a resident $1000 for painting his house "purple". I was gray, the paint said gray and didn't look purple. I never heard where that led, but it's indicativeof the usual output of said "Homeowner's" groups gone horribly wrong.