Hey - did you know if you click on the title of a thread it will take you to the first unread post since you last visited that thread?
but were afraid to ask: 
STOP!! Never post your email address in open forums. Bots can "harvest" your email! If you must share your email use a Private Message or use the 
smilie in place of the real @
Pretty Please - add it to our Events forum(s) and add to the calendar! >> 
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-26/google-must-face-most-claims-in-gmail-wiretap-lawsuit.html
For my personal email, I pay for a service.
For my personal email, I pay for a service.
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Why I don't use Gmail and avoid Google as much as possible
- Thread starter Basil
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BustedKnuckles
Jedi Knight
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If you could see all the flash cookies and persistent cookies that are buried in your system right now clandestinely mining the same data Google admits to collecting, you'd realize that Google is among the least of your worries.
OP
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It's why I use Ghostery on my iMac.
D
Deleted member 8987
Guest
Guest
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Personal e-mail, yes. I do have a google e-mail account.
On purpose.
Whenever some website demands an e-mail address...they get that one.
I clean it out about once a month.
It's also handy for signing up for web forums, like this one...oooops.
Just a joke.
On purpose.
Whenever some website demands an e-mail address...they get that one.
I clean it out about once a month.
It's also handy for signing up for web forums, like this one...oooops.
Just a joke.
GregW
Yoda
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It also shows a lack of brain power. I get ads for things I've already found on my own, from the exact sites I've been to. Never a competing site that might have a better deal. When I search for something I either buy it or I won't. Getting ads after that is absolutely pointless.
TR3driver
Great Pumpkin - R.I.P
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Sorry guys, nothing is private on the Internet. Google is, in my opinion, remarkably upfront about what information they collect and what they do with it. But the only safe assumption is that lots of folks are snooping on what sites you visit, contents of your emails, and basically anything that is not deliberately encrypted. If it is encrypted, then the NSA is reading it.
I never enjoyed reading other's mail, most of it is mind-numbingly boring and I have a hard enough time keeping up on my own mail. But you would be amazed at how often it was part of my previous job as sys admin, not to mention the amazing things people will put in email. Unfortunately that was before the days of sexting but imagination is frequently better than reality anyway.
GregW, you are quite right, there is no brain power involved at all. Just automated programs that work on simple keyword matches. They don't generally "know" what you did or did not buy, only what you were looking at.
BTW, if you think Google is bad, try reading the terms of service for Facebook some time. They basically say that anything you put on their site is their property, to do with as they please, including selling to the highest bidder.
Just curious Basil : Do you even have a stated privacy policy for BCF, beyond "We log everything" ?
I never enjoyed reading other's mail, most of it is mind-numbingly boring and I have a hard enough time keeping up on my own mail. But you would be amazed at how often it was part of my previous job as sys admin, not to mention the amazing things people will put in email. Unfortunately that was before the days of sexting but imagination is frequently better than reality anyway.
GregW, you are quite right, there is no brain power involved at all. Just automated programs that work on simple keyword matches. They don't generally "know" what you did or did not buy, only what you were looking at.
BTW, if you think Google is bad, try reading the terms of service for Facebook some time. They basically say that anything you put on their site is their property, to do with as they please, including selling to the highest bidder.
Just curious Basil : Do you even have a stated privacy policy for BCF, beyond "We log everything" ?
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True. One wonders what the half-life of these things might be. As you say, if I've long since purchased a thing, how long will I get ads for it. I suppose they'll then profile me to be bombarded with related stuff. :grumpy:
OP
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Except that they are facing wire tap lawsuits. Personal choice - I don't use gmail nor Google if I can help it. The also use their considerable databases for political purposes, but I won't go there.
Did I mention I don't do FB either? I do use Twitter (you can see some of it on the right side of the forum) but I don't post much in the way of personal info and I have never sent a "selfie" honest!
Funny you should mention that. I do have a Privacy page, but your question made me realize I forgot to link to it when I moved to the new software. I have rectified that. You will find a Privacy Statement link at the bottom right of the page. The bottom line - we don't require your real name unless you want to use it, and we don't require phone numbers or mailing addresses. More importantly I don't sell your information to anyone. I take people's privacy here very seriously. I even went so far as to add the :at smilie so if you must post your email in a post, you don't have to use the real @ sign. Thus, the bots won't see it as an email address but humans can still read it.