AOL sells userlist to advertisers
Mark Dallara, Biomedical Engineering
Excerpts from the Oct. 27 - Nov. 2, 1994 issue of the Memphis Flyer:
"
Let it be a warning sign. Steve Case's decision to "rent" the names and
addresses of the subscribers to his computer service, America Online,
is just the beginning of a corporate redefining of the concept of privacy
on computer networks.
"What we're doing is only renting the list to companies that have products
and services that we think might be of interest to you," Case wrote the
subcribers of America Online (AOL) in a recent message.
Don't believe a word of it! AOL breached the privacy of its one million
subscribers by selling their names and addresses without asking permission
in advance. The sale will enrich the owners of AOL and do nothing for its
users other than add another layer of junk in their mailboxes. Hopefully,
so much heat will be generated that Case will be forced to back out of
what was a terrible decision.
.....
..... (skipping some here)
When a conference attendee asked Case about imposing his decidedly
commercial culture on that of the traditionally non-commercial Internet,
he answered tersely that "we have to figure it out. I'm sure we will."
"
[End news excerpt]
Even if I HADN'T previously decided that AOL and other commercial
services were high-priced fluff with little to offer, this alone would
have turned me against AOL. How typical.
Mr. Case, I will never, never, never subscribe to your service, even
after I have finished grad school and do not have a university VAX
account. You, your lawyers, and your entire marketing staff can rot
in a Hell full of infomercials. I hope your business goes under and
you're forced to eat Spam for the rest of your days.
Love,
================ : "What would you do if you were stuck in one
Mark Dallara : place, and every day was exactly the same,
Graduate Student : and nothing that you did mattered?"
Biomedical Engineering :
University of Memphis : "That about sums it up for me."
* Florida '93, Memphis '95(?) * :
================ : - "Groundhog Day"
Spatch
Mark Dallara, Biomedical Engineering <mdda...@msuvx1.memphis.edu> wrote:
>
>Excerpts from the Oct. 27 - Nov. 2, 1994 issue of the Memphis Flyer:
I loved that movie!
>"
>Let it be a warning sign. Steve Case's decision to "rent" the names and
>addresses of the subscribers to his computer service, America Online,
>is just the beginning of a corporate redefining of the concept of privacy
>on computer networks.
>
>"What we're doing is only renting the list to companies that have products
>and services that we think might be of interest to you," Case wrote the
>subcribers of America Online (AOL) in a recent message.
Once again Steve "I Want To Bill You Like An Animal" Case tells the America
Online crowd to sit back and let AOL do the thinking for them. Was this
Steve's "Message Of The Day" or whatever? Please post all of it, someone
who has AOL access, so I can shred it to pieces. I'm in a shredding mood.