[COLUG] Mail server advice

[Warner Moore]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: colug432-bounces at colug.net 
> [mailto:colug432-bounces at colug.net] On Behalf Of Scott Merrill
> Sent: Friday, January 25, 2008 12:10 AM
> To: Central OH Linux User Group
> Subject: Re: [COLUG] Mail server advice
> 
> I believe the primary goal of these free services is to put
> advertising in front of my eyeballs.

	For now.
 
> I don't doubt that they are collecting information about my usage of
> the site.  They may even be collecting information about me, as an
> individual.  This is not entirely different from the way
> brick-and-mortar stores track my purchases.  It's not entirely
> different from the way Amazon.com monitors the products I look at but
> don't buy.

	That's not much more comforting.

> Speaking solely for myself, I know which conversations belong on
> email, and which belong on a telephone call or a face-to-face
> conversation.  I'm fairly trusting of Google, but I'm not entirely
> blind to the notion of keeping my personal data _personal_.

	Irrespective, the communications travel the same pipes they're just
handled differently.
 
> And of course there's always the option of GPG-encrypted mail.  The
> FireGPG Firefox extension makes it easy to use GPG with the web-based
> GMail interface.

	Good advice.  Crypto is good. (tm)

> I know a few Google employees, and I believe that they're working hard
> to make technology do new cool and useful things.  I believe that
> they're not interested in -- or supportive of -- working for a company
> that would exploit its user base. 

	For now.  

	This applies now: your data being readily supenaed from a third
party.

> I might be wrong, but for now I've
> seen nothing to make me uncomfortable using Google's services.

	Data aggregation involving every facet of your life doesn't
discomfort you?


Warner


(Standard disclaimer, these opinions are mine.  No other attribution
applies.)