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Comment by anonymous245 | Hacker News Reader

Somebody please write a blocker for this. Do we need something special, or can we just add some rules to AdBlock Plus to work around these antisocials?

Good job funding this garbage, PG.

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I'm sorry you feel this way. You can opt-out of emails sent to you from free EmailOracle accounts. Maybe we should add to our website the ability to automatically opt-out of all future tracking?

A pre-emptive opt-out could work, but how exactly would you implement it?

Do I have to give you all my email addresses that I want to opt-out with?

Do I have to get an "optout" cookie so that the server with the tracking pixels and whatnot knows not to track me?

I think I'd rather block this at the email client level. This way I don't have to trust anyone's optout procedures, as well as being protected from any nefarious trackers that don't care about things such as opting-out.

Yes, users are free to still continue whatever means they have used in the past to opt-out, including at the client level. We don't (and can't) prevent any of that.

Of course you can't prevent it, however one of your application's goals is to work around email client filters that would block traditional tracking methods. Just to be clear, I have no problem with what you are doing.

I would like to know if blocking images is enough to not be tracked. Do email clients have sufficient image blocking or do they let through images specified in CSS (or similar) through?

I just wanted to say that I take you at your word followed by a modest version of the interdiction below, but then I noticed your fine piece of corporate doublespeak of only allowing opt-out against mail from free users of your service, which allows you to show a pretense of trying to do the right thing while at the same time co-opting those concerned about your offering into providing arguments for up-selling your customers.

So I once and for all forbid you to include any of your tracking technology into any message that is sent or forwarded to any email address that I currently use or own, or which I will at any time in the future use or own. In addition, I also forbid you to collect, store, process or share any information related to any email sent to or recieved by me or any email account I can access, or related to any device or software I may use to access this mail. And no, I am not mad or gullible enough to tell someone so completely lacking in moral judgement as to even think about implementing a feature like that and then defending it in the way you do any information about my email adresses, to protect them against being sold to other equally dishonest email senders, or abused in other ways.

Maybe we should add to our website the ability to automatically opt-out of all future tracking?

Yes, please.

That would definitely be a non-evil thing to do, and go a way towards reassuring those of us who don't like tracking that your intentions are good.

Candidly, you already know who wants to opt out: they have images blocked. If you really want to do the right thing, don't add more tricky tracking mechanisms than hidden images.

Adding opt-in on every account would be a good way to do this.

Failing that, I reserve the right to mark your email as spam and/or report you to spamhaus.

Future tracking? I don't want to be tracked in the first place. Why is this not opt-in, rather than opt-out?

edit: apparently this feature already exists in a clearer, more concise fashion.

How about mandating a footer that discloses the tracking feature and has a one click opt-out link:

"The email you are reading is using EmailOracle tracking to notify the sender upon first read in order to provide you with better service. If you would like to opt-out of all tracking from EmailOracle, please [click here]. To learn more about this product [click here]"

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