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

[Todd Walton]

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

> This is why I prefer to not use third party services that gather any kind
> of data.
>

My personal comfort level tends towards data promiscuity.  I have a few
personal data elements I consider high-value and guard closely, and the
rest of it I pretty much let loose.  Like Dave said, I don't care if you
know where I am on Wednesday night.  On the other end of that, I keep an
eyeball tuned to phishing attempts that use that loose data.  A separate
axis of concern for me, aside from the data itself, is how many damned
logins I have to maintain, and how many newsletters and reminder emails and
"we miss you" emails I get.  I absolutely hate junk mail, both physical and
electronic.

So, I'm generally loose.  But I understand that not everyone is.  And I
understand that some people have very good reasons for being more private.
I agree with much of what you say, Jim.  I'd urge the user to relax more,
but I'd urge the organizer to be accepting of others' electronic
preferences also.  In my role as organizer I take pro-active steps to
accept participants who are less loose with data or just plain don't like
technological gewgaws.  And, anyway, how darn hard is it to keep track of
RSVPs without a website to do it with?  Surely not that hard.

The balance tilts when the value of the technology goes up, of course.  I
use Meetup to manage one of my groups.  Although you're certainly welcome
to attend the meetings without having signed up for Meetup, and you can
communicate via postcards or carrier pigeon with anyone willing to share
with you their mailing address, there is certainly some pressure to sign up
with Meetup.com and join the group.  But I'm okay with that.  There is a
level of complexity involved in organizing meetings, scheduling them,
making the calendar public, maintaining a mailing list, getting RSVPs,
selectively allowing others to co-manage the group, etc.  Meetup makes all
of that easy.

It's a balance, I suppose.  If your point is that third party services that
gather data should never be used, then I'd say good luck with that.  If
your point is to say that we should be more selective about using them, and
conscious of their ramifications, then I'm with you.

--
Todd