Whenever my browser restarts, I lose the cookie to this blog's dashboard, so I have to log in again, which happens every few weeks. I already blogged this.
Now it's getting more invasive. There's an open threat, "enter your cell phone number - it only takes 30 seconds - and avoid a much longer security hassle that's coming". Allegedly, that's to avoid my blog being hacked in the future. And the link to skip the number is in small font below the textbox, now barely visible. I had to take a good look to find it. Even the worst advertisers, when they insert an opt-in page, have at least the decency to put a large "skip" button below, at least 20px tall.
Unless they intend to do the hacking themselves, I don't see why should I go through any serious security checking for something as insignificant as this blog. It's my rant box, folks, and I don't really care if it vanishes tomorrow. I haven't ever made a dime out of it, so there's no money in it either. The total visit count is below 10,000, so there's no value in reputation and glory. Why should I have to go through six checkpoints just to stand on the corner to talk?
OTOH... this time it may not be just the Android-Google connection. I guess if I ever sent anything from my cell phone using my gmail account, Google would connect my cell phone number with my blog in a microjiffy, and it wouldn't matter that my cell phone is not Android. They would be able to connect the dots and basically know who I am, where I was at what times, and bind this blog to my cell phone. I can imagine I'd get a SMS from them from time to time, and I'd have to respond if I wanted to continue blogging here, or else I'd be locked out of my own blog. Of course, they wouldn't tell me the dots are already connected, and would keep nagging me to enter my cell phone number here.
Try this: ask anyone "why did the chicken cross the road?", and offer "for security reasons" as the answer. It's practically guaranteed that there will be no comment. I did that dozens of times, and never got one. Because, if it's "for security reasons", all talk stops, and nobody questions further. Well, screw that - I'm not submitting my rectinal scan for a simple blog. In my book, the danger of having my blog hacked is far smaller than the danger of being taken over by security measures (specially those justified by an imaginary threat).
If it comes to such measures, I'm moving my blog to a free site. I don't care if Google hates me for that, they'll have millions of other suckers who'll drop their pants and open their private data for Google to do whatever they want with them. I don't care if people can't find me - with just 8000 visits over five years I'm obviously not an attention seeker.
Google, I was an early adopter when you were young and promised to do no evil. I can just walk away if you break that promise.
Now it's getting more invasive. There's an open threat, "enter your cell phone number - it only takes 30 seconds - and avoid a much longer security hassle that's coming". Allegedly, that's to avoid my blog being hacked in the future. And the link to skip the number is in small font below the textbox, now barely visible. I had to take a good look to find it. Even the worst advertisers, when they insert an opt-in page, have at least the decency to put a large "skip" button below, at least 20px tall.
Unless they intend to do the hacking themselves, I don't see why should I go through any serious security checking for something as insignificant as this blog. It's my rant box, folks, and I don't really care if it vanishes tomorrow. I haven't ever made a dime out of it, so there's no money in it either. The total visit count is below 10,000, so there's no value in reputation and glory. Why should I have to go through six checkpoints just to stand on the corner to talk?
OTOH... this time it may not be just the Android-Google connection. I guess if I ever sent anything from my cell phone using my gmail account, Google would connect my cell phone number with my blog in a microjiffy, and it wouldn't matter that my cell phone is not Android. They would be able to connect the dots and basically know who I am, where I was at what times, and bind this blog to my cell phone. I can imagine I'd get a SMS from them from time to time, and I'd have to respond if I wanted to continue blogging here, or else I'd be locked out of my own blog. Of course, they wouldn't tell me the dots are already connected, and would keep nagging me to enter my cell phone number here.
Try this: ask anyone "why did the chicken cross the road?", and offer "for security reasons" as the answer. It's practically guaranteed that there will be no comment. I did that dozens of times, and never got one. Because, if it's "for security reasons", all talk stops, and nobody questions further. Well, screw that - I'm not submitting my rectinal scan for a simple blog. In my book, the danger of having my blog hacked is far smaller than the danger of being taken over by security measures (specially those justified by an imaginary threat).
If it comes to such measures, I'm moving my blog to a free site. I don't care if Google hates me for that, they'll have millions of other suckers who'll drop their pants and open their private data for Google to do whatever they want with them. I don't care if people can't find me - with just 8000 visits over five years I'm obviously not an attention seeker.
Google, I was an early adopter when you were young and promised to do no evil. I can just walk away if you break that promise.
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