[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #53069: Consider implications of FLoC and any actions to be taken on the provider (WordPress) front

[WordPress Trac]

#53069: Consider implications of FLoC and any actions to be taken on the provider
(WordPress) front
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 Reporter:  helen           |       Owner:  (none)
     Type:  task (blessed)  |      Status:  new
 Priority:  normal          |   Milestone:  5.8
Component:  General         |     Version:
 Severity:  normal          |  Resolution:
 Keywords:                  |     Focuses:  privacy
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Comment (by robscott):

 Replying to [comment:3 jorbin]:
 > @robscott In general, WordPress is very hesitant to add new options.
 It's a part of the [https://wordpress.org/about/philosophy/ WordPress
 Philosophies] which specifically state "Decisions not Options".
 >
 > > When making decisions these are the users we consider first. A great
 example of this consideration is software options. Every time you give a
 user an option, you are asking them to make a decision. When a user
 doesn’t care or understand the option this ultimately leads to
 frustration. As developers we sometimes feel that providing options for
 everything is a good thing, you can never have too many choices, right?
 Ultimately these choices end up being technical ones, choices that the
 average end user has no interest in. It’s our duty as developers to make
 smart design decisions and avoid putting the weight of technical choices
 on our end users.
 >
 > This philosophy point is fairly influenced by the writing of Havoc
 Pennington, the two essays of value here are
 https://ometer.com/preferences.html and https://ometer.com/free-software-
 ui.html

 Understood, hence my use of the word decision in this statement:
 "empowering webmaster to make decision for themselves" - adding a filter
 to add an HTML header to the website is not a decision most people who run
 WP sites can make (without a developer) and hence, it's valid privacy
 control; adding the header (or not adding the header) would seem to be
 taking the decision away from the majority of website owners?

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Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/53069#comment:4>
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