Comment by jonhohle
13 hours ago
If Charmin put sensors in toilet paper rolls to optimize the wiping experience, it would be dystopian. Why do we give software a pass? Privacy is a right not a telemetry problem and opt-out by default is non-consensual surveillance.
In fairness Charmin is probably backed by millions of dollars of market research on simple user questions like softness, tendency to crumble, size, etc., while free software faces more criticism for issues that are exponentially more difficult to express.
Ok, replace Charmin with a toilet paper startup disrupting the industry. They wouldn’t be given a pass either. Still disgusting.
i think it's not so much non-consensual, it's misrepresentation.
it's bugged. the same as a mole in your company. or a sculpture with a listening device in it.
tell the user that your thing is bugged!