Please remove the tracker https://cdn.segment.com/analytics.js/v1/***/analytics.min.js from Storj Node Dashboard. I do not want to be spied on when I look at my node dashboard.
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I didn’t notice that one… I agree. That’s not a nice thing to do.
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I get that usage statistics could be useful to determine what to improve, but I would suggest asking first. Many people likely won’t mind, but it’s clear some do.
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They already collect statistics directly from the nodes using their own services. Another, external tracker on the dashboard is a bit much tracking imho.
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Yes but that tracks the internal workings of the node, this is probably for user interaction with the dashboard. Websites have set a bad standard where this kind of info is reported back by default. But within local software this kind of reporting can almost always be switched off. I think Storj should adhere to the local software standard, not the web standard and ask first. After all, the dashboard may be opened in a browser, but it’s still locally installed software.
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Or even worse, if you block these trackers the whole website doesn’t work anymore, like the SNO sign-up page.
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Yeah, while I don’t think that was intentional, it’s really annoying. Especially because that fails silently.
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Indeed… disable all adblockers and pihole/adguard to even signup… brought up multiple times but still seems to get ignored (but maybe someone is/will be working on it without us knowing).
I don’t have a problem with this first-party tracking of the internal workings of the node.
But with an external tracking on the dashboard.
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According to EU regulation this is illegal and needs to stop otherwise every SNO in Europe can sue StorJ .
There are a number of segment.com cookies stored without my consent, totally illegal.
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I wish the law were that clear cut, but there are exemptions for anonymized statistical cookies, the implementation of which actually differs per country. I’m not even sure who would be liable, since technically the node operator is running the server this dashboard is hosted on.
But honestly I don’t care if it may be technically allowed. Asking permission is just the right thing to do.
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well anonymized is fine but you still have to inform about it and yes the regulation is vague. here its not anonymized so it does not apply
yes asking for permission and clearly having a privacy policy is both the right thing and required by law
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no answer from the bosses? not good, folks.
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Its been flagged internally , and we are reminding folks internally that the community would like a response soon. To be fair, it does mean that several people need to weigh in on the topic. It means that while we cant promise an immediate answer, we can commit to one that has received consideration. I apologize that the turnaround time isnt faster, but the community team and customer success team are reminding folks here to push the conversation along quickly
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Thanks for the reply. It’s good that you talk about it internally. And while you’re at it, I’d appreciate it if you could also talk about all your tracking links in the emails. Is it really neccesary to track every single link in your emails? (like new about the covid19 program, town hall videos, …)
I understand it will take time and input from multiple people.
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anonymized, single-domain cookies actually don’t require consent: https://truendo.com/gdpr-website-checklist/
furthermore the segment.com DMP is already GDPR comliant.
out of the half billion euros of fines issued so far, none have been issued for non-consent on anonymized cookies: https://www.enforcementtracker.com/
so lets cool off, no one is breaking any laws here…
We do talk internally - we have a shared slack channel that each on-call engineer is required to check during their shifts, and have a weekly open Office Hours conference call to which the enitre company is invited to liaise with the community team. We also have dedicated Jira boards/tickets to track issues that the community raises. No great technology has ever emerged from a vacuum.
The feedback the community gives is really important. Members of the community are the way to know about how our features, decisions, and overall activity are received.
The community team and customer success team members are always looking for ways to push that message company-wide.
(sorry I am a crummy and slow typist. I see that another response percolated up while Ive been typing. will just keep blabbing then)
– @kevink this is something that we have talked about internally, with marketing, product, and engineering. There are differing viewpoints, even within the company.
My personal take on it is mixed. I myself am not a fan of long tracking links, and on an aesthetic level, dislike the long URLs it generates. Im that person who strips out the query string before sharing a news article with friends lol. but I also see that there is some value to knowing who has seen what. especially for stuff like streamlining the email process so that people dont get multiples of the same message, etc. But the decision really is not mine to make…For sure this is something that continues to be discussed internally. Because there are different viewpoints involved – a healthy debate is a positive thing – the conversation is ongoing.
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Hey, I thought that was just me!
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Hey, thanks for your message!
We are using segment only to track that fact that some node operator opens dashboard and what pages he visited.
We have to collect this data to understand how to improve dashboard and make it more useful.
Would you kindly share your vision of how should we collect some metrics and what metrics exactly to improve our product?
Thanks!
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Then tell us what “some metrics” are.
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It’s understandable that telemetry data is collected to improve the product and many users wouldn’t mind if they know what’s collected and how it’s anonymized. I wouldn’t mind, but I would want it to be an informed consent. You don’t need telemetry data from all nodes for it to be useful, so it would be great to provide a bit more information on what’s collected and why and give users the option to switch it off. Don’t worry, most won’t. There’ll still be plenty of data to base your product improvements on.
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