aphex140

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Computers allow us to make more mistakes at a faster rate than any other man-made thing, with the exception of handguns and tequila.

[/QUOTE=BAMF]Do they role a die, with a 1/3 chance of being flacid?[/QUOTE]

dickie

I dont get it ?

macmanmike6100

The idea is that Google is using Gmail as a seemingly innocuous way to generate a massive database that links keywords to users. The "keyword-to-user" link is not available to anybody outside of Google, according to their privacy policy, *except* when Google is asked for such information from legitimate government agencies. Thus, it would be reasonable for the RIAA to demand the identities of those whose email included "mp3" and "download," just as they have demanded identities from ISPs for those whose computers were shown to share and access pirated music. (Admittedly, however, the above example might be considered too broad to uphold.)

While I don't think that Gmail is as conspiratorial as many believe, I do not trust data-mining companies in general, since we (the Consumer) are the prime targets. Although I have a Gmail account, I will admit that I don't use it.

gondath

I never realized Gmail could pose such a threat to privacy. I actually wanted to get one of those accounts because of the huge storage capacity. I should have known it was too good to be true. I sure won't be applying for one now. Much like anything else on the internet, the better it seems, the worse the catch is.

aphex140

google is trying to rival M.S dark shadowy world of 'parasitic' freebees

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Computers allow us to make more mistakes at a faster rate than any other man-made thing, with the exception of handguns and tequila.

[/QUOTE=BAMF]Do they role a die, with a 1/3 chance of being flacid?[/QUOTE]

balderdash111

Actually. the RIAA is not a government agency, so they wouldn't be able to get it directly.

Of course, if the FBI or other law enforcement were moved to suddenly take on the issue of online piracy (not hugely likely given all the other things they have to do, but you never know), then you might worry

tooth

What makes you think that your current mail provider, be it local ISP, Hotmail, Yahoo, whoever, aren't doing that too? Gmail just seems to be getting the press. Nobody seems to think that they are the only one logging and archiving mail and web traffic.

Doesn't matter who you use to surf or email, you are being tracked. Fact of life people, get used to it.

the_marq

Yup, the fone company, the postal service, FedEX, hell the guy sitting next to you on the bus; they COULD all be listening in on you. Don't get your panties in a bunch, most of us are not interesting enough for anyone to ever give a shit about.

Just don't plot to "K1ll teh pre$ident" over Gmail.

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The Truth:

Johnny Cash could have kicked Bruce Lee's ass if he wanted to.

#3 in a series

blahblah454

the_marq I dont think that little stunt you just pulled is fooling anyone. If I were you (and i'm glad I'm not then I would close all the blinds and turn the lights off and pretend that no one is home!...

...Im talking about that 'plot talk' if you didnt know!

MSD

ISP black boxes, Carnivore, Echelon, everything is read anyway. At least Google admits to doing it. What worries me is the hiring of people with gov. security clearance. It's only a matter of time before the company is absorbed by the Federal government.

Drider_it

ok im not a internet junkie like you all but im still as paranoid.. granted this ill avoid it likethe plague

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It means only one thing, and everything: Cut. Once committed to fight, Cut. Everything else is secondary. Cut. That is your duty, your purpose, your hunger. There is no rule more important, no commitment that overrides that one. Cut. The lines are a portrayal of the dance. Cut from the void, not from bewilderment. Cut the enemy as quickly and directly as possible. Cut with certainty. Cut decisively, resoultely. Cut into his strength. Flow through the gaps in his guard. Cut him. Cut him down utterly. Don't allow him a breath. Crush him. Cut him without mercy to the depth of his spirit. It is the balance to life: death. It is the dance with death. It is the law a war wizard lives by, or he dies.

goodhabits

in China, every single sms sent from mobile to mobile goes through a filter that looks for keywords.

do u have any idea how many sms are sent in China every day??

mazagmot

Who needs a full gig of email storage anyway? Are you trying to send yourself movies and using gmail as sort of easy to access online file storage? Any big attachments I get are saved and moved somewhere else; I don't need to all that extra trash in my inbox.

akdem

Who cares? If you don't want G-Mail, don't get it. If a company is going to offer services that blow their competitors out of the water, of course there are going to be some drawbacks. The only way they can offer such great service is by making lots of money off of ad placement. It doesn't bother me if some computer somewhere scans my emails for keywords....a Gig of storage space is definetly worth it.

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k thx.

Grondar

Everything I do in the Internet is logged, so I don't see the big deal.

If they care enough, then it's their time to waste.

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"Yes, I rather like this God fellow. He's very theatrical, you know, a pestilence here, a plague there. Omnipotence. Gotta get me some of that." -Stewie

jonwalker

Zactly. And, as someone said earlier... none of us are interesting enough for anyone to care about. If they're collecting information, so be it. They're collecting information on millions of millions of people. Better to worry about dying from a poisonous snake bite or being struck by lightening than the possibility of an occasional unsolicted advertisement.

zen_tom

[QUOTE]Right now, everything you see, read or type goes through one of the government listening filters, whether you are in China, Iraq, the US, the UK, Afganistan, whether you plan to make BOMBS or are a TERRORIST, a PAEDOPHILE, a DEMOCRAT or not. Obviously, we can't all be watched all the time, but keyword filters that look for words like BIN LADIN, HUSSAIN, BIG EXPLOSION or other such stuff might flag posts, discussion boards or emails just as quickly as anything on google.

So I wouldn't worry about it, if *THEY* really wanted to, they would have better ways of knowing everything about you than hoping you had a gmail account.

ultra_agent9

That's right, everything we do online can be tracked. If you're not doing anything shady like trying to "K1ll teh pre$ident" then you've got nothing to worry about. Even if you are, then you've probably already opened up a disposable email address that you only use for your evil plots and not mixed in with your personal mail.

I've got a gmail account and let me tell you: it blows hotmail away. I got tired of slow servers (which sometimes were down), 2mb of space (with that indicator bar telling you what percentage you were using), and truckloads of spam. So what if they are looking for keywords (done by automated programs and not by people) and looking to better target their users with ads? So far, I haven't received one spam related email with Gmail or Yahoo. I'm shutting down my hotmail address for good- they have always sucked ass.

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Champaigne for my real friends, real pain for my sham friends.

gyroscope

it is quite scary;everything you do in the internet is recorded and there ani't no privacy

ManWithAPlan

it's not a crime to search for something like that, having my ip and name and address and knowing that i searched for "free mp3 downloads" on google wouldn't prove that i downloaded anything

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In the end we are but wisps

cybersharp

This:The idea is that Google is using Gmail as a seemingly innocuous way to generate a massive database that links keywords to users.....

Seems a bit farfetched to me....are you sure that this web-site is factual? It could be a really good hoax......

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0PtIcAl

niethan

Well, this website doesn't really show us facts, which could be wrong.. it rather gives us certain points to think about. Can't really hoay them.

Missy

My friend set me up with Gmail a few months back and now you have to like log in twice, after you put in your password you have to type in some funky charecters....whats up with that?

Booboo

I have a gmail account and never have to do that missy.... weird. As to them keeping my info and what not... I dont really care, lol. If I think about it I dont exactly send any super personal information through e-mail. Its usually just saying hi, keeping in touch, or asking questions about something.

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"Your life is yours to live, go out and live it" - Richard Rahl

Bustello

Gmail is so good that I run the risk of being subjected to spies

VitaminH

If big brother wants to read the pointless emails i exchange with my friends over gmail, my only problem is they should be spending their time on something better, like the national debt, or healthcare.

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"Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

molloby

Yep- the same government whose excelent intelligence network can hunt down Sadam Hussien with a mere year of preparation and another year of action for the miserly sum of $150 billion dollars and is apparantly completley incappable of finding Bin Laden is going to be reading my Gmail acount.

Whoop de freaking do.

Note that even this site says they need a subpeona- that means a name and a case. They can't simply go to google (a private sector entity) and ask to search for whatever they want.

Garrineese

Only people that are doing something wrong should be worried about the government reading their e-mails. Personally, I could care less. If reading my e-mail helps find drug dealers, pedophiles, or terrorists, well then I surrender my right to privacy. It's not like my privacy is guaranteed against anyone else.

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You wasted life, why wouldn't you waste the afterlife?

Unright

Wasn't there the same scare in the 80s that sattelites were recording our everymove?

Same paranoia, new technology.

Stompy

I don't believe in a massive supercomputer that captures and reads every packet you send.

That would be... impossible.

I don't think ISPs log EVERYTHING, either. There's no way they could. That would just eat up massive amounts of data and would simply take too long to process.

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I love lamp.

thriolith

Meh, Gmail is the least of our worries...

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- Thriolith

gariig

I feel bad for Google. Every ISP or web mail host with a SPAM filter already reads your email. How do you think they know its SPAM? The only thing that is happening is Google is the first to come out and point blank tell you what is going on. I'd be more worried about the other companies not telling you what they are doing!

Also, all of your email is logged by your e-mail provider. No one will read it, but it's there in case the government needs to stop your kiddie pr0n ring in the courts. GMail is nice, best web based mail provider out there.

Acid Overdose

I dont see the point.... why would Gmail/Google care about anyone's private life anyway? It's not like EVERYONE that uses Gmail is so damn important...

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So fragile, so faint, so damaged, yet so stained.

Karby

i rarely use gmail for anything. since i got it, i've realyl only checked it like twice. still though, it's nice to have some(what) reliable email accounts..

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~my karma ran over my dogma.~

KinkyKiwi

lol my every move may be being tracked but it doesnt mean i like it...thats a pretty weird thought...coul dit really be possible to be able to find me by searching for someone who searched for "dolphin sex" and "barbies"? (just kidding on teh dolphin sex) but is this umm..real?

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Some mornings, it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps.
Play with each other. Play with yourselves. Just don't play with the squirrels, they bite.

Pheer

Its not like every other email provider has just as honourable intentions

I Fear Hotmail more than Gmail

Cthulhu

Google is not keeping anyones emails after they are deleted. They wanted to do that, but they were not allowed to.

Fear Hotmail and Yahoo, not Gmail.

Suave

Yeah, I only use my gmail account to send or receive files that my other freemail accounts can't (obviously I don't do it with mp3s or anything).

BoltedDown

I love my Gmail acct. Google is just trying to make a buck... and they get us to play along by offering things like the 1GB storage. If they want to read my e-mails, fine. It's a waste of their time.

-BD

jaded

i applaud google for ante it up. if not for the competion, yahoo and hotmail would never increase their free mail box sizes to a matchable level. then we\'ll still be stuck with a meager 2m box. competition is good; go google.