Re: High-level text on third-party responsibilities (ACTION-38, ISSUE-19)

I meant user agent as the term is ordinarily used in web technology.  Here's what the HTTP/1.1 standard (RFC 2616) gives:

> user agent
>    The client which initiates a request. These are often browsers,
>    editors, spiders (web-traversing robots), or other end user tools.

User-Agent is an HTTP request header field that can provide information about the user agent.

> The User-Agent request-header field contains information about the
> user agent originating the request. This is for statistical purposes,
> the tracing of protocol violations, and automated recognition of user
> agents for the sake of tailoring responses to avoid particular user
> agent limitations. User agents SHOULD include this field with
> requests.

On Dec 8, 2011, at 7:14 AM, Sean Harvey wrote:

> Jonathan could you provide a more clear definition of "user agent"? I fear in a standard it could be confused with HTTP user-agent, for example, and I'm not sure this is what you mean based on the below. 
> 
> 
> On Wed, Dec 7, 2011 at 1:40 PM, Jonathan Mayer <jmayer@stanford.edu> wrote:
> A few design considerations from my version of the high-level rule:
> 
> -Do Not Track should address communication with user agents in addition to users since in many (if not most) cases the user will be unaware of and have no explicit interaction with a third party.
> 
> -In my view of the key terms, data collection is bits arriving at a third party, data retention is a third party keeping bits, and data use is a third party applying logic to bits.  I think Do Not Track should, at a high level, prohibit all three; each exception should narrowly define a set of permissible collection/retention/use practices.  (We may also want to address data sharing, when a third party hands bits to another party.)
> 
> -Exceptions in the high-level rule should be explicitly linked to the subsequent exception definitions.  We might otherwise create ambiguity about the scope of exceptions and, in particular, might suggest there are broad use-based exceptions.
> 
> On Dec 7, 2011, at 9:13 AM, Shane Wiley wrote:
> 
> > Proposed Update:
> >
> > A 3rd party may not collect or use information related to communication with a user outside of supported exceptions.  Supported exceptions are: ....
> >
> > - Shane
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Jonathan Mayer [mailto:jmayer@stanford.edu]
> > Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2011 10:10 AM
> > To: <public-tracking@w3.org> (public-tracking@w3.org)
> > Subject: High-level text on third-party responsibilities (ACTION-38, ISSUE-19)
> >
> > A third party may not collect, retain, or use any information related to communication with a user or user agent.  There are exceptions to this general rule for _____, _____, and _____ as defined in the following sections.
> >
> >
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Sean Harvey
> Business Product Manager
> Google, Inc. 
> 212-381-5330
> sharvey@google.com