What's with the Paranoia?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Difflugia

Are there any social causes for which you'd suffer a similar level of inconvenience? I'll avoid asking you about specific examples because I don't want this to turn into a Politics & Religion discussion, but the impact of those leveraging the results of massive data analysis for private benefit at the expense of the public is, in my view, both important and profound.

There is a benefit to the publishers knowing what I read. The benefit is that they know what sells. So they know the types of books to publish. If everyone kept 100% private in what they read, then that sort of thing would not happen and what gets published would not be based on what the readers want or it would be a subset of readers getting what they want.

[Thasaidon]

Originally Posted by Difflugia

I certainly qualify for Jon's definition of paranoid. I don't register anything if I can find an alternative with a subjectively reasonable amount of effort.


.....Mobileread morality police...

The above phrase should be prefixed by "the self appointed"

I also wonder if their lives would stand up to the scrutiny they give to others.

[haertig]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

...what gets published would not be based on what the readers want...

Very rarely do I want what the mob wants. Be that books, the civil protest du jour, the newest music genre, a politician's latest false promise, or anything else.

I love it when some survey taking organization claims that "80% of the people want XYZ", when in reality it's "80% of the people dumb enough to take a survey want XYZ". I don't usually want what those dumb ones want either.

[Sirtel]

I take surveys often. Not because I think it counts, but because I like doing it. Privacy? Yawn. Companies profiting from my data? Let 'em. Don't care.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by haertig

in reality it's "80% of the people dumb enough to take a survey want XYZ". I don't usually want what those dumb ones want either.

Ah, sweeping ad hominem dismissals, always a sign of a strong and well-reasoned argument, a superiority complex is so very appealing. To say that people who take surveys are dumb is insulting to those people, and ignorant of the valuable role surveys play in contexts much broader than mere marketing.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Thasaidon

The above phrase should be prefixed by "the self appointed"

I also wonder if their lives would stand up to the scrutiny they give to others.

There is a critical difference between scrutinizing posts and scrutinizing lives. The glaring inconsistency in certain posts upthread was that advocacy for privacy was all too revealing of private practices. If you want to be private, be private. Don’t hide behind the anonymity of a board and then act offended when posts are taken to be revealing.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by haertig

Very rarely do I want what the mob wants. Be that books, the civil protest du jour, the newest music genre, a politician's latest false promise, or anything else.

I love it when some survey taking organization claims that "80% of the people want XYZ", when in reality it's "80% of the people dumb enough to take a survey want XYZ". I don't usually want what those dumb ones want either.

People who do surveys are not dumb/stupid. That is insulting.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

There is a benefit to the publishers knowing what I read. The benefit is that they know what sells. So they know the types of books to publish. If everyone kept 100% private in what they read, then that sort of thing would not happen and what gets published would not be based on what the readers want or it would be a subset of readers getting what they want.

Even if all sales are anonymous, the publisher will still know which books were sold and how many. They just won't know the names of the buyers.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I just don't see any reason not to register. I am currently registered with Kobo and Amazon. I have been registered with Kobo since not long before Sony closed their eBookstore. And since I've had my Kobo and Kindle registered, I've never had a single issue with privacy. Given all the people on MR that are registered with Kobo and/or Amazon who have never had a privacy issue why is it that some feel the need for privacy when there is no problem with it? Oh and I've never read of a privacy issue with B&N, Onyx, Pocketbook, or any other company that sells Readers. I'm more likely to hear about privacy issue from physical stores like Target and others.

Are you are talking about the possibility of having personal account information hacked/stolen? I would consider that a security concern rather than a privacy issue.

To at least some people in this thread, "privacy" means not having Kobo or Amazon or whoever keeping track of what you read.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by haertig

Very rarely do I want what the mob wants. Be that books, the civil protest du jour, the newest music genre, a politician's latest false promise, or anything else.

I love it when some survey taking organization claims that "80% of the people want XYZ", when in reality it's "80% of the people dumb enough to take a survey want XYZ". I don't usually want what those dumb ones want either.

I remember feeling that way. I was fifteen and thought Ayn Rand was profound...

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

Are you are talking about the possibility of having personal account information hacked/stolen? I would consider that a security concern rather than a privacy issue.

To at least some people in this thread, "privacy" means not having Kobo or Amazon or whoever keeping track of what you read.

I was thinking that maybe some are not wanting to register due to a risk of data being stolen. But when you buy an eBook, you have to give the same (or similar) data.

[gbm]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I was thinking that maybe some are not wanting to register due to a risk of data being stolen. But when you buy an eBook, you have to give the same (or similar) data.

Still I see.

bernie

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Thasaidon

The above phrase should be prefixed by "the self appointed"

I also wonder if their lives would stand up to the scrutiny they give to others.

Self appointed or self anointed?

As for standing up to scrutiny? I tend to avoid piracy due to my odd personal belief that authors and other creatives deserve to be able have the chance to make a living and, hopefully, keep producing more creations for me to read or otherwise enjoy.

[hildea]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

When you don't register, you don't get all the features of your Reader

I get that it can be convenient to register an ereader if you're content with buying most of your books from the bookshop associated with that ereader. But for people like me, who want to get books from a lot of different sources, and use Calibre to organise my books and to back them up to the cloud, are there any advantages with registering an ereader? I don't see which features I'm missing.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

Even if all sales are anonymous, the publisher will still know which books were sold and how many. They just won't know the names of the buyers.

That was surly the way of old, when you bought books at a B&M before electronic 'Loyalty cards' were added.
Select book. Book was rung up on a simple system (no actual linking to YOU, even when using a credit card) . Pay. Leave with your book.
Some of the smaller stores actually remember customers tastes (not some vague computer generated Stats response) and make suggestions the next visits.