Re: "forced choice" user agent implementation of DNT

On 10/15/2012 04:31 PM, SULLIVAN, BRYAN L wrote:
>
>  
>
> | I am not suggesting a mandate for all user agents. I am merely
> hypothesizing a particular user agent with this implementation, and as
> an example used a
>
> | browser. What I'd like to know is if there would be any objections
> to such an instance of this implementation, chosen by whoever controls
> the user agent. I'm
>
> | particularly interested in how folks from the advertising industry
> feel about it.
>
> I submit that your hypothesis is invalid, until the group decides that
> "user agent" applies only to Web browsers produced by the major
> browser vendors (IE, Safari, Firefox, Chrome, Opera ... ignoring for
> now the dozens of other browsers in app markets and myriad mobile
> browser versions developed by OEMs). The hypothetical usefulness of
> "an instance" of such an implementation, even if determined to be
> workable from a UX perspective, would mean nothing when that same
> expectation is extended to every HTTP-enabled application, or beyond
> major browser implementations at least.
>
>  
>
> Thanks,
>
> Bryan Sullivan
>
I'm not sure I understand, and there may still be some confusion. Is
your point that in order to provide a hypothetical example about a
single user agent, I have the duty to discuss implementation for all
user agents? To be clear, I am NOT proposing this as a mandate in any
way, and so am only interested in a single example. I fully agree that
there are lots of non-browser user agents, which I'm choosing not to
discuss. Or are you making another point that I am missing?

To try again: suppose Mozilla tomorrow announces the implementation I've
outlined for (desktop) Firefox. Would you object, yes or no? It sounds
based on the discussion over user choice that noone would object. But I
wanted to bring it up and make explicit this commitment to user choice,
so that there are no surprises down the road.

-- 
Dan Auerbach
Staff Technologist
Electronic Frontier Foundation
dan@eff.org
415 436 9333 x134