Recomendar
Privacy concerns about Last.fm
Jul 4 2008, 21h17
I just sent this message to office@last.fm:
Subject: Privacy concern: should be able to purge sent messages
To: office@last.fm
Hello!
First, a wholehearted THANKS, because I LOVE Last.fm!
Now, a very delicate issue:
--------------
You know how privacy concerns are raising all around the world, as our politicians (and businessmen) lose every bit of respect about our privacy. Everything we say or write can be used against us... without
a trial or even a sound justification. But saying or writing things, and later regretting having said them, is part of human behaviour.
When we write something and it still belongs to us (like a letter we keep in a drawer), we can go there and burn it; when we send it to a friend, we can at least kindly ask him to burn it (he might not do it,
but he may do it if he is a decent person and we ask in a decent manner). So why can't we purge sent messages at Last.fm?
Let's suppose I exchange messages about some sensitive subject with a friend. Not talking about national security, of course, but... at times of "witch hunting" such as the one we're living in, even the mosts innocent words (such as political criticism) can be
misinterpreted and used to justify punishing/torturing innocent people, therefore we all must be careful about what we say and write. After sending such a message, I might ask my friend to purge the message once he reads it... and I would like to be able to purge it
from my outbox, too!! Why don't you grant me the right to do it?
Even worse: why do you create the illusion that old messages (older that the 20th oldest) are deleted, by not displaying them in the list? I just tested it, and the URL remains active even after the message no
longer appears in the list. Why this? Are you obeying some legal order from a British court (hopefully British; could be worse...) that forces you to surreptitiously keep all sent messages? If that's the
case, please say it plainly, so that we, the users, know who to send our complains and who to beware of. Because, you know: information is power, and too much power in the hands of a few is never a good
thing, even if those few were democratically elected. Hitler himself was democratically elected; we shall never forget that.
I'm sure you will reply, not only with words, but also with the necessary changes to the platform. If you search your site (Google search string -> delete sent site:last.fm), you'll see that I'm not the only one to raise this concern. So thanks a million, in advance,
for your reply, and... Keep on doing your wonderful job for the sake of music and friendship!
Best regards,
José
If you agree with what I wrote, please complain about this matter, too (but don't copy-paste my e-mail or even the subject line, because identical messages, or messages with identical subject lines, could be discarded as spam, which would be totally counter-productive for us).
Thank you!
Subject: Privacy concern: should be able to purge sent messages
To: office@last.fm
Hello!
First, a wholehearted THANKS, because I LOVE Last.fm!
Now, a very delicate issue:
--------------
You know how privacy concerns are raising all around the world, as our politicians (and businessmen) lose every bit of respect about our privacy. Everything we say or write can be used against us... without
a trial or even a sound justification. But saying or writing things, and later regretting having said them, is part of human behaviour.
When we write something and it still belongs to us (like a letter we keep in a drawer), we can go there and burn it; when we send it to a friend, we can at least kindly ask him to burn it (he might not do it,
but he may do it if he is a decent person and we ask in a decent manner). So why can't we purge sent messages at Last.fm?
Let's suppose I exchange messages about some sensitive subject with a friend. Not talking about national security, of course, but... at times of "witch hunting" such as the one we're living in, even the mosts innocent words (such as political criticism) can be
misinterpreted and used to justify punishing/torturing innocent people, therefore we all must be careful about what we say and write. After sending such a message, I might ask my friend to purge the message once he reads it... and I would like to be able to purge it
from my outbox, too!! Why don't you grant me the right to do it?
Even worse: why do you create the illusion that old messages (older that the 20th oldest) are deleted, by not displaying them in the list? I just tested it, and the URL remains active even after the message no
longer appears in the list. Why this? Are you obeying some legal order from a British court (hopefully British; could be worse...) that forces you to surreptitiously keep all sent messages? If that's the
case, please say it plainly, so that we, the users, know who to send our complains and who to beware of. Because, you know: information is power, and too much power in the hands of a few is never a good
thing, even if those few were democratically elected. Hitler himself was democratically elected; we shall never forget that.
I'm sure you will reply, not only with words, but also with the necessary changes to the platform. If you search your site (Google search string -> delete sent site:last.fm), you'll see that I'm not the only one to raise this concern. So thanks a million, in advance,
for your reply, and... Keep on doing your wonderful job for the sake of music and friendship!
Best regards,
José
If you agree with what I wrote, please complain about this matter, too (but don't copy-paste my e-mail or even the subject line, because identical messages, or messages with identical subject lines, could be discarded as spam, which would be totally counter-productive for us).
Thank you!
