[theme-reviewers] tracking code in themes

[Emil Uzelac]

I have to agree with Chip and now that we wasted so much time lets drop the
subject please. It does not lead anywhere really.
On Mar 9, 2012 2:36 PM, "Chip Bennett" <chip at chipbennett.net> wrote:

> Sayontan,
>
> As with the JetPack reference: you're preaching to the choir here<http://www.wptavern.com/forum/general-wordpress/1085-wordpress-phone-home-8.html#post21620>
> .
>
> If I may invoke the words of mothers everywhere:* two wrongs do not make
> a right*. Just because WordPress itself isn't disclosing to my
> satisfaction with respect to data collected via api.wordpress.org doesn't
> mean that the Theme repository has to allow similar lack of proper
> disclosure.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Chip
>
> On Fri, Mar 9, 2012 at 2:28 PM, Sayontan Sinha <sayontan at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Chip,
>> The "adherence to free software philosophy" cuts both ways. Take a look
>> here: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/akismet/stats/. The pie chart
>> there tells you about active versions, and this is provided by WP for all
>> its plugins, *without the informed consent of the end user*. One might
>> argue that WordPress is not a "third party", but that doesn't change the
>> fact that users never provide their consent to let WP mine information on
>> which version of a plugin they will use.
>>
>> While as a theme and plugin developer, and as a user I don't particularly
>> care where this discussion lands (I am never going to add tracking code
>> myself but I am perfectly okay if WP introduces this in the repository), it
>> does seem like this team is trying to propose something that WP doesn't
>> adhere to by itself. Of course, I am certain that PII such as web site
>> information etc. aren't collected, but this is a privacy gray area
>> nonetheless.
>>
>> Sayontan.
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Mar 9, 2012 at 12:01 PM, Chip Bennett <chip at chipbennett.net>wrote:
>>
>>> The very act of pinging a third party upon activation of a Theme - and
>>> doing so without the informed consent of the end user - is a violation of
>>> the free-software principle that users have the right to use software "*without
>>> being required to communicate about it with the developer or any other
>>> specific entity*".
>>>
>>> The rest of your arguments still miss the fundamental point that the
>>> issue here is not the usefulness/benefit of the service, but rather that
>>> the *informed consent of the end user* is paramount, and is required,
>>> both as a matter of adherence to free software philosophy and also as a
>>> matter of wordpress.org policy.
>>>
>>> Chip
>>>
>>>
>>
>> --
>> Sayontan Sinha
>> http://mynethome.net | http://mynethome.net/blog
>> --
>> Beating Australia in Cricket is like killing a celebrity. The death gets
>> more coverage than the crime.
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>
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