By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions. We in turn value your personal details in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Please log in or register. Registered visitors get fewer ads.
A random rant, but I loathe how they’re used. I get how it helps in terms of remembering passwords etc. (though, even then, makes it difficult to pass a device on) but for it to allow sites to store personal preferences so targeted ads can be flung at you at every opportunity? Another case of spying from afar for cash. Wish they had never been created.
I hate Cookies (online) on 11:32 - Jan 28 by Ryorry
I'm a 'reject all' er. Does that not help?
As Help said, there are always necessary Cookies. And some sites don’t seem to have a reject all option, so it’s more difficult to shut everything down.
The interesting thing is that George Orwell wrote 1984 about things like state surveillance, but in our times it is commercial surveillance (including the internet and things like loyalty cards) that dominates. But many seem happy (or indifferent) for that to be the case.
As it is, I block trackers and fingerprinting, but it is TWTD that has far more of these than other websites. Indeed, currently 47 are being blocked.
[Post edited 29 Jan 2024 7:31]
0
I hate Cookies (online) on 07:46 - Jan 29 with 2301 views
The interesting thing is that George Orwell wrote 1984 about things like state surveillance, but in our times it is commercial surveillance (including the internet and things like loyalty cards) that dominates. But many seem happy (or indifferent) for that to be the case.
As it is, I block trackers and fingerprinting, but it is TWTD that has far more of these than other websites. Indeed, currently 47 are being blocked.
[Post edited 29 Jan 2024 7:31]
Not directly. Of course advertising uses a lot of these and I would recommend clearing your cookies and stopping third party cookies if your browser allows. Twitter and YouTube will use them when links are turned into usable and graphic visuals of tweets and videos. Blocking ads WILL be the the end of twtd.
Please remember (everyone) that we have a VIP adfree service for £2 a month.
If you liked my post, please take the time to upvote it. It's very much appreciated.
I hate Cookies (online) on 07:46 - Jan 29 by GavTWTD
Not directly. Of course advertising uses a lot of these and I would recommend clearing your cookies and stopping third party cookies if your browser allows. Twitter and YouTube will use them when links are turned into usable and graphic visuals of tweets and videos. Blocking ads WILL be the the end of twtd.
Please remember (everyone) that we have a VIP adfree service for £2 a month.
Sorry, Gav. Not meant as a criticism of TWTD, and as you say there are ways round it, if people are concerned, which I tend to think they aren't.
As it is, would you make more money from me if I signed up to the ad free version? If so, I might be tempted to do so because I'd rather fund you directly than indirectly. And it would be nice to get rid of the ads.
Sorry, Gav. Not meant as a criticism of TWTD, and as you say there are ways round it, if people are concerned, which I tend to think they aren't.
As it is, would you make more money from me if I signed up to the ad free version? If so, I might be tempted to do so because I'd rather fund you directly than indirectly. And it would be nice to get rid of the ads.
It's hard to say. Some would make us more than others and personalised ads will make us more, however the ad free version will be the fastest way to view the site, even faster than if someone blocks ads so I would always suggest that but not everyone can afford it or are willing.
If you liked my post, please take the time to upvote it. It's very much appreciated.
I hate Cookies (online) on 08:31 - Jan 29 by GavTWTD
It's hard to say. Some would make us more than others and personalised ads will make us more, however the ad free version will be the fastest way to view the site, even faster than if someone blocks ads so I would always suggest that but not everyone can afford it or are willing.
I’m willing Gav…how do I sign up?
0
I hate Cookies (online) on 08:54 - Jan 29 with 2181 views
For starters, cookies are not magic-tracking devices. They don't remember your password but remember that you have been authenticated, usually as a token for the server to check to see if it's valid, sometimes called Session cookies. These are essential, without them most sites would just not work. So when we are talking about necessary cookies, it is usually these kinds of things. There may be multiple necessary cookies for a site to function.
Can they be used for tracking? Yes, absolutely, the values they store are opaque as far as the browser is concerned, hence the popups to either allow the non-essential ones or not. Depending on your browser, multiple addons will stop tracking cookies, things like Privacy Badger. I'd recommend anyone who cares about their personal data and controlling it to use Firefox over Chrome or any Chrome based browsers (Edge, Brave etc.).
I know DJR said that TWTD has tracking cookies and has around 47 but that is genuinely quite a low number. The reason these things and loyalty cards exist is that people do not want to pay for things like Twitter, Facebook and even TWTD but do want to use the service for free in exchange for their personal information.
At the end of the day, these services are not free to run. Servers cost money. Maintenance costs money.
Also Gav, can you send me a PM so I can sign up for the £2 p/m service please. Many thanks.
On a side note, I'm surprised TWTD doesn't have a Patreon yet or something similar.
I hate Cookies (online) on 08:54 - Jan 29 by DanTheMan
There's some misinformation in this thread.
For starters, cookies are not magic-tracking devices. They don't remember your password but remember that you have been authenticated, usually as a token for the server to check to see if it's valid, sometimes called Session cookies. These are essential, without them most sites would just not work. So when we are talking about necessary cookies, it is usually these kinds of things. There may be multiple necessary cookies for a site to function.
Can they be used for tracking? Yes, absolutely, the values they store are opaque as far as the browser is concerned, hence the popups to either allow the non-essential ones or not. Depending on your browser, multiple addons will stop tracking cookies, things like Privacy Badger. I'd recommend anyone who cares about their personal data and controlling it to use Firefox over Chrome or any Chrome based browsers (Edge, Brave etc.).
I know DJR said that TWTD has tracking cookies and has around 47 but that is genuinely quite a low number. The reason these things and loyalty cards exist is that people do not want to pay for things like Twitter, Facebook and even TWTD but do want to use the service for free in exchange for their personal information.
At the end of the day, these services are not free to run. Servers cost money. Maintenance costs money.
Also Gav, can you send me a PM so I can sign up for the £2 p/m service please. Many thanks.
On a side note, I'm surprised TWTD doesn't have a Patreon yet or something similar.
[Post edited 29 Jan 2024 8:55]
Thanks for the more expert advice. It is the lack of singular reject options that get me. Some sites ask you to scroll through hundreds of names individually declining each one. So I just reverse out and never visit the site again. But then there is worse on downloading apps and games on devices which "need" to access parts of your phone the really don't.
Thanks for the more expert advice. It is the lack of singular reject options that get me. Some sites ask you to scroll through hundreds of names individually declining each one. So I just reverse out and never visit the site again. But then there is worse on downloading apps and games on devices which "need" to access parts of your phone the really don't.
They are supposed to be cracking down on that, it was bending the rules of the legislation that was written. The popups are supposed to have a very simple way of rejecting all non-essential cookies.
I hate Cookies (online) on 11:12 - Jan 29 by GavTWTD
No, we'd have to part-refund you on request.
Note that VIP access is for only one login.
Ouch! I only have one login anyway, well apart from TNBlue which i used to sneak on with occasionally when I was banned. I retired that when I got Blueas back!
[Post edited 29 Jan 2024 11:21]
"A+++++", "Great Comms, would recommend", "Thank you, the 12 inch black mamba is just perfect" - Ebay.
I hate Cookies (online) on 10:43 - Jan 29 by DanTheMan
They are supposed to be cracking down on that, it was bending the rules of the legislation that was written. The popups are supposed to have a very simple way of rejecting all non-essential cookies.
How much is hidden behind the disingenuous phrase 'legitimate interest'? All equally objectionable to me but hidden on separate options etc on many sites.
0
I hate Cookies (online) on 11:54 - Jan 29 with 1830 views
I hate Cookies (online) on 11:31 - Jan 29 by redrickstuhaart
How much is hidden behind the disingenuous phrase 'legitimate interest'? All equally objectionable to me but hidden on separate options etc on many sites.
In my experience as a developer, I've not seen a site where they try and sneak tracking cookies through as functional ones. You're essentially breaking the law doing so and the risk vs. reward just is not high enough.
The legitimate ones are there to make websites work. Cookies were around before web advertising was even a thing, whether to make authentication work, shopping carts on websites, or simple personalisation (say table vs. thread mode for a forum). There are plenty of honest uses for them, they've just got a bad reputation because they can also be used for tracking.
For what it's worth, those sites should not be hiding the options, the legislation was fairly clear that it had to be simple to reject all non-essential cookies. If they don't do so, they are breaking the law and should be reported to the ICO. Chances are they will fix it quickly as it's not worth the fine.
I hate Cookies (online) on 11:54 - Jan 29 by DanTheMan
In my experience as a developer, I've not seen a site where they try and sneak tracking cookies through as functional ones. You're essentially breaking the law doing so and the risk vs. reward just is not high enough.
The legitimate ones are there to make websites work. Cookies were around before web advertising was even a thing, whether to make authentication work, shopping carts on websites, or simple personalisation (say table vs. thread mode for a forum). There are plenty of honest uses for them, they've just got a bad reputation because they can also be used for tracking.
For what it's worth, those sites should not be hiding the options, the legislation was fairly clear that it had to be simple to reject all non-essential cookies. If they don't do so, they are breaking the law and should be reported to the ICO. Chances are they will fix it quickly as it's not worth the fine.
The ones they call legitimate interest, are usualy multitudinous and link to dozens of third party companies and advertisers
0
I hate Cookies (online) on 12:16 - Jan 29 with 1782 views
I hate Cookies (online) on 12:09 - Jan 29 by redrickstuhaart
The ones they call legitimate interest, are usualy multitudinous and link to dozens of third party companies and advertisers
They shouldn't, and if you suspect them of doing so, you should contact the ICO as it's a fairly serious breach of the laws around this.
Some cookies are non-essential but considered legitimate which you should still be able to reject, such as...
- Analytics for websites, which can be used to see how users interact with your website, where they go, what they are clicking on etc. - Security purposes - Personalisation (which I mentioned before).
Legitimate interest cookies are allowed to contain small amounts of personal data but they must "have a minimal privacy impact, or where there is a compelling justification for the processing."
Because the language around these cookies is not quite as strong as the others, it is the one that is most often used for bad purposes but they should be few and far between. In cases where they are, it needs reporting as the ICO just will not have the manpower to police the internet.
I hate Cookies (online) on 08:54 - Jan 29 by DanTheMan
There's some misinformation in this thread.
For starters, cookies are not magic-tracking devices. They don't remember your password but remember that you have been authenticated, usually as a token for the server to check to see if it's valid, sometimes called Session cookies. These are essential, without them most sites would just not work. So when we are talking about necessary cookies, it is usually these kinds of things. There may be multiple necessary cookies for a site to function.
Can they be used for tracking? Yes, absolutely, the values they store are opaque as far as the browser is concerned, hence the popups to either allow the non-essential ones or not. Depending on your browser, multiple addons will stop tracking cookies, things like Privacy Badger. I'd recommend anyone who cares about their personal data and controlling it to use Firefox over Chrome or any Chrome based browsers (Edge, Brave etc.).
I know DJR said that TWTD has tracking cookies and has around 47 but that is genuinely quite a low number. The reason these things and loyalty cards exist is that people do not want to pay for things like Twitter, Facebook and even TWTD but do want to use the service for free in exchange for their personal information.
At the end of the day, these services are not free to run. Servers cost money. Maintenance costs money.
Also Gav, can you send me a PM so I can sign up for the £2 p/m service please. Many thanks.
On a side note, I'm surprised TWTD doesn't have a Patreon yet or something similar.
[Post edited 29 Jan 2024 8:55]
Firefox should be your Browser of choice. All browsers used to keep your browsing in a cache - just the one huge directory. Firefox were the first to change it so that a separate cache was created for each web address you visited. The rest have followed (eventually). When you leave TWTD and visit 'that' website, let's call it 'the one with the pictures of the fallen Madonna with the big boobies' then the TWTD trackers can't see the new cache directory. So rest easy, you won't be getting adverts for a Butt-plug attachment for your Black and Decker drill any time soon.
Don't believe a word I say. I'm only kidding. Or am I?
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
