I had heard from someone that DA did do something like that, but he's not exactly reliable, so I doubt it. But somehow this doesn't surprise me. What good comes of it, we'll probably never know.

I understand that, honestly, but we're not tracking users at all, in any way. It only tracks what links have been clicked. Not who, just that "somebody, somewhere, clicked a link to eBay".

In all due respects, why was it not posted that there would be a test? Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't there another server you guys use to try things out before posting them live? I believe you guys were doing that for a big change to the site but I could be wrong here. Furthermore, if someone posts a ebay, walmart, ect link and I click on it, Viglink follows me. FA earns a commission if I purchase something. However let's say I don't buy anything and move on. How long will Viglink follow the user? Once they click off the page or close the browser or do a complete reset?

Wow, that's cold, and I don't believe Dragoneer's explanation for any of this, not anymore. I have to agree with you, Wolfie. I'm not going to post my stuff on some site that can track me and other users wherever we go. That's getting dangerously close to Big Brother territory, and I won't allow that on my surfing regimen.

doesn't Google track everything already?

Google does track people as do lots of other things actually! People are completely oblivious to it sadly, which this is just another one of those things that tags along.
My issue is like most people the whole not knowing. I think its perfectly understandable that people would get defensive, but moreso coming from a niche site like FA. I feel things wouldn't have gotten as confusing if a post was made explaining things before the 'he said, she said' got to people first.

Lol at people misunderstanding Viglink.

Can you blame them if things weren't explained prior by the admins and they had to find out everything on their own, be it true or not?

No, I don't. Dragoneer was a fucking dipshit over this but WOW I've seen people overreact. Viglink is no worse than Google and you can't even opt out of that.

Oh I don't doubt theres been people flipping out. Not all happy myself with it and gives me another reason to prefer other art sites more. But for better or worse this is what they're deciding on and if a person truly doesn't feel comfortable then they can always leave. FA might actually benefit from a loss in traffic should that be the case. I did find something that seemed to allow me to opt out of Google plus many others I wasn't aware of. Here's the link if you'd be interested! :)
http://www.networkadvertising.org/m.....ng/opt_out.asp

Well, I meant Google having a built-in thing, but yea. :P

So sad to hear this...

I'm not a bad guy. I want to support this site, but I have to agree with you that this is -not- kosher. I love FA, and believe that it should get more income to help expenses. Doing so without proper due care is -not- the right way to go. Ultimately, as much as we like to think of FA as a community site, it -is- still a business, and has to act like a business.

Even non-profit businesses seeking community needs still have to act as such. The users should have been informed months in advance of such a major change, even if there was a tentative testing period involved. It's vital to know how users are impacted, and by it not being in the TOS, those funds have been gained without due diligence on FA's part.

Now, I do -not- think it would be beneficial for anyone to do so, but FA's set itself up for some lawsuits, by not making the tracking information available first and foremost, for breach of privacy...

.. and I'm pretty sure that privacy is breached anytime a company decides to install anything on the computer without permission, excepting where it's been explained elsewhere, regardless of the level of personal data sent.

Note: I am -not- leaving FA over this. I think, at minimum, a sincere apology is owed to -all- FA users, and full disclosure as to the time, dates, and extent of this testing.

One option people also have, if they use Firefox, is to get NoScript. It'll block Vglink, and you can still have FA working fully fine.

Well think of it this way hon , FA is free and is sustained on contributions and other such stuff.

Is it a bit annoying that they decided to do this BEFORE saying anything? Yes - but until we are all
willing to pay a monthly fee to use and access FA, I am for this type of fund raising crapola.

and as Starallon points out above all of us who us Firefox have already blocked that poop out!

Say can we bring cub artwork back now that we the site is pulling in revenue else where ??!!!

my 2 cents,

- Fennec

wow i didnt know this thanks

It's FA :P