[theme-reviewers] tracking code in themes

[Chip Bennett]

That was attempted to be covered by:

Note: API calls, e.g. GoogleFonts, are acceptable.


Any wordsmithing/improvement needed? The intent is NOT to prevent
legitimate calls to third-party resources.

Chip

On Thu, Mar 8, 2012 at 2:30 PM, Emil Uzelac <emil at themeid.com> wrote:

> So no more Google or MS JS libs either correct?
>
>
>
> On Thu, Mar 8, 2012 at 2:17 PM, Chip Bennett <chip at chipbennett.net> wrote:
>
>> Roughed-in Privacy guidelines:
>> http://codex.wordpress.org/Theme_Review#Privacy
>>
>> These privacy guidelines are adapted from the Plugin guidelines regarding
>> "phoning home". Please comment so we can revise/improve, as necessary.
>>
>> I've renamed "Theme Settings and Data Security" as "Security and
>> Privacy", with "Theme Settings and Data Security" and "Privacy" being
>> sub-sections under this guideline.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Chip
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Mar 8, 2012 at 1:53 PM, Chip Bennett <chip at chipbennett.net>wrote:
>>
>>> On Thu, Mar 8, 2012 at 1:38 PM, Trent Lapinski <trent at cyberchimps.com>wrote:
>>>
>>>> Woh.
>>>>
>>>> It is truly a shame you guys have already made the decision to restrict
>>>> PressTrends use from WordPress.org without any discussion, or reason.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Nothing is being restricted. You are free to use PressTrends in your
>>> WPORG repository-hosted Theme. We're merely stipulating that you have to
>>> *disclose* to end users that the Theme is using this service, and that you
>>> have to allow end users to *opt-in* to use of this service.
>>>
>>>>
>>>> There is absolutely nothing wrong with knowing how many people are
>>>> using your themes, and what version numbers they are using. In fact, I wish
>>>> WordPress.org itself provided this kind of data publicly.
>>>>
>>>
>>> I refer you to Free Software philosophy<http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html>
>>>  [*emphasis *added]:
>>>
>>> The freedom to run the program means the freedom for any kind of person
>>> or organization to use it on any kind of computer system, for any kind of
>>> overall job and purpose, *without being required to communicate about
>>> it with the developer or any other specific entity*. In this freedom, *it
>>> is the user's purpose that matters, not the developer's purpose*; you
>>> as a user are free to run the program for your purposes, and if you
>>> distribute it to someone else, she is then free to run it for her purposes,
>>> but *you are not entitled to impose your purposes on her*.
>>>
>>>
>>> Simply put: you, as a developer, do not have the right to this
>>> information without the user's informed consent.
>>>
>>>>
>>>> There is absolutely no private information that is garnered from
>>>> PressTrends.
>>>>
>>>
>>> From the PressTrends privacy policy <http://presstrends.io/privacy>:
>>>
>>> Themes containing the PressTrends tracking code track the following
>>> information only: number of posts published, number of comments, blog name,
>>> theme version, site url, and the number of plugins.
>>>
>>>
>>> Those data, in that combination, ARE potentially personally
>>> identifiable.
>>>
>>>>
>>>> This isn't a privacy issue, and the metrics it does gather are
>>>> extremely valuable to theme developers.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Whether such data constitute a privacy concern is a matter for each end
>>> user to decide for him/herself.
>>>
>>>>
>>>> The only thing PressTrends "tracks" is theme activations of what theme
>>>> version number of the theme is being activated, the average number of
>>>> posts, comments, and plugins, and abandonment rates telling you if people
>>>> have stopped using the theme after 30-days.
>>>>
>>>> I have absolutely no problem disclosing this better in our
>>>> documentation, but to make it an option that has to be enabled makes the
>>>> data it does gather pretty much useless.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Useless to whom: the end user, or the developer? If the service is
>>> useful to the end user, then make the usefulness argument to end users. If
>>> the service is *not* useful to the end user, then it absolutely should not
>>> be enabled by default.
>>>
>>>>
>>>> It enables us to see if our users are upgrading their themes to the
>>>> latest versions, and gives us insight into those who stop using our themes.
>>>>
>>>> Having to turn PressTrends off by default and then asking users to
>>>> enable it as a theme option makes the data useless because you will only
>>>> get activation numbers from people who enable the theme option which means
>>>> they are already using and configuring your theme.
>>>>
>>>> If this is truly a requirement, this should be in the theme review
>>>> guidelines.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Certainly. I will copy the similar policy wording from the Plugin
>>> repository <http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/about/guidelines/> (see
>>> #7: No "phoning home"), and find the appropriate place for it in the Theme
>>> guidelines.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> Chip
>>>
>>
>>
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>
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