I just... wow. Etsy fails yet AGAIN.
Here. Have a bunch, and I mean a bunch, of links to various sites with posts/articles that have appeared since Friday about Etsy's latest privacy fiasco.
Penny Arcade. Of all places!
MSNBC
The Consumerist
Forbes
Ars Technica
BoingBoing
Brief mention on the Washington Post (about halfway down, single paragraph)
And these are just the ones I remember. There are others.
EDITED- I found more- (more being added throughout the day)
Huffington Post
Jezebel
Business Insider
Salon
New York Magazine
NY Convergence
Digital Trends
Digital Trends AGAIN, different article
Now Public
Help Net Security
Inquisitr
Switched over on Yahoo News
About.com
EDITED- to add more
NEW CONSUMERIST POST
Geek Sugar
Of course, Etsy Bitch.}:)
New post from Ars Technica
Esscentual Alchemy
Silver Iodide
Virtual Navigator
Uncompiled.com
CNET mention
(The following thanks to Eek (}:P) over on UEF)
Reputation
The Mary Sue
Village Voice
Gizmodo
Eyler-Werve
Auction Bytes
Pogo was right
Geek System
Buzzfeed
Read them all. Rob Kalin, Etsy CEO, responds in the Ars Technica and Boing Boing articles and of course, is promptly slapped down by Etsy users.
After you read them all, IF you are an Etsy user, PLEASE go check your privacy settings and make sure you aren't inadvertently allowing Etsy to broadcast your real name and buying history/feedback to all and sundry.
I'll add more links as I find them.
After all this, I'm honestly wondering if it's even worth bothering to leave feedback as a buyer anymore.}:/
Various Etsy Forum links-
Etsy's latest response- Rethinking Feedback It's not going so well.
People Search Feedback (CLOSED)
Rokali's announcement about changes to feedback
Rebuttal thread to said announcement
Request that Etsy address users concerns (last I'd read, Admin had not even left a single comment in the first 20+ pages or so)
Why Etsy's bad press is bad for users
A thread by Neat Things dismissing other users' concerns, need I say more? *sigh*
There are more, but those are the most recent ones.
Edited to add this information today-
Via Scentery on Etsy-
Where to complain about Etsy's privacy issues, and the REAL issues users are having (here's a hint- it was not originally about the feedback system.)
Federal Trade Commission: http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/contact.shtm
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.g ov
FTC phone: 1-866-653-4261
New York Attorney General: http://www.ag.ny.gov/contact.html
TRUSTe, the organisation which according to Etsy, advised them that the changes were fine (click on button at the bottom): http://clicktoverify.truste.com/pvr.p hp?page=validate&url=www.etsy.com&sealid=102
Send CNN a news tip: http://us.cnn.com/feedback/tips/index.h tml
Contacts for blogs writing articles on this issue:
Consumerist: tips [!at] consumerist.com
Ars: http://arstechnica.com/site/contact-a rs-technica.ars
Gizmodo: tips [!at] gizmodo.com
-People still have to opt-out of being searchable. Those who signed up before this change are still automatically opted in regardless of if they gave consent. The feedback change does not prevent this.
-Despite the feedback change, the old Google results remain in Google cache, which includes people's feedback and their names.
-As of yesterday the sign up form still does not warn people that their real name will be public once filled in and that it is not required.
-Etsy did not notify everyone of the privacy change, only some. And the e-mail they sent out simply glossed over the issue.
-Most announcements/changes are still made via the forums which the minority frequent.
-Removing your name is still not automatic- it's manual and requires an "approval" process.
-People cannot have their information deleted when they choose. Even upon account closure, Etsy still keeps their information.
Penny Arcade. Of all places!
MSNBC
The Consumerist
Forbes
Ars Technica
BoingBoing
Brief mention on the Washington Post (about halfway down, single paragraph)
And these are just the ones I remember. There are others.
EDITED- I found more- (more being added throughout the day)
Huffington Post
Jezebel
Business Insider
Salon
New York Magazine
NY Convergence
Digital Trends
Digital Trends AGAIN, different article
Now Public
Help Net Security
Inquisitr
Switched over on Yahoo News
About.com
EDITED- to add more
NEW CONSUMERIST POST
Geek Sugar
Of course, Etsy Bitch.}:)
New post from Ars Technica
Esscentual Alchemy
Silver Iodide
Virtual Navigator
Uncompiled.com
CNET mention
(The following thanks to Eek (}:P) over on UEF)
Reputation
The Mary Sue
Village Voice
Gizmodo
Eyler-Werve
Auction Bytes
Pogo was right
Geek System
Buzzfeed
Read them all. Rob Kalin, Etsy CEO, responds in the Ars Technica and Boing Boing articles and of course, is promptly slapped down by Etsy users.
After you read them all, IF you are an Etsy user, PLEASE go check your privacy settings and make sure you aren't inadvertently allowing Etsy to broadcast your real name and buying history/feedback to all and sundry.
I'll add more links as I find them.
After all this, I'm honestly wondering if it's even worth bothering to leave feedback as a buyer anymore.}:/
Various Etsy Forum links-
Etsy's latest response- Rethinking Feedback It's not going so well.
People Search Feedback (CLOSED)
Rokali's announcement about changes to feedback
Rebuttal thread to said announcement
Request that Etsy address users concerns (last I'd read, Admin had not even left a single comment in the first 20+ pages or so)
Why Etsy's bad press is bad for users
A thread by Neat Things dismissing other users' concerns, need I say more? *sigh*
There are more, but those are the most recent ones.
Edited to add this information today-
Via Scentery on Etsy-
Where to complain about Etsy's privacy issues, and the REAL issues users are having (here's a hint- it was not originally about the feedback system.)
Federal Trade Commission: http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/contact.shtm
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.g
FTC phone: 1-866-653-4261
New York Attorney General: http://www.ag.ny.gov/contact.html
TRUSTe, the organisation which according to Etsy, advised them that the changes were fine (click on button at the bottom): http://clicktoverify.truste.com/pvr.p
Send CNN a news tip: http://us.cnn.com/feedback/tips/index.h
Contacts for blogs writing articles on this issue:
Consumerist: tips [!at] consumerist.com
Ars: http://arstechnica.com/site/contact-a
Gizmodo: tips [!at] gizmodo.com
-People still have to opt-out of being searchable. Those who signed up before this change are still automatically opted in regardless of if they gave consent. The feedback change does not prevent this.
-Despite the feedback change, the old Google results remain in Google cache, which includes people's feedback and their names.
-As of yesterday the sign up form still does not warn people that their real name will be public once filled in and that it is not required.
-Etsy did not notify everyone of the privacy change, only some. And the e-mail they sent out simply glossed over the issue.
-Most announcements/changes are still made via the forums which the minority frequent.
-Removing your name is still not automatic- it's manual and requires an "approval" process.
-People cannot have their information deleted when they choose. Even upon account closure, Etsy still keeps their information.
I'm trying to link directly TO the article in question so there can be no doubt.}:)