[ale] What's so special about gmail invites?

[Geoffrey]

Chris Ricker wrote:
> On Fri, 3 Sep 2004, Robert Reese wrote:
> 
> 
>>GMail has not bothered to warn those people that send email to GMail users
>>that their inbound email is subject to analysis, especially since this
>>analysis is for advertising.  Nor are the recipients of email from GMail
>>users notified of this fact.  You see, the GMail user has taken the liberty
>>of agreeing to a privacy policy for both themselves and their recipients
>>and sendees.
> 
> 
> The tiny little point you're missing is that all this is true of email,
> period.  s/Gmail/email/g on your rant. If you send me email, I can analyze
> it however I want (and make no mistake; I, or my employers, or my providers,
> do analyze it. The details of what and how depend upon which address of mine
> you use, but I'll bet at least some of them you wouldn't like ;-).  If I
> send you email, you can analyze it however you want. There's nothing
> remotely unusual about gmail in this regard, other than that they (unlike 
> me) actually publish a cursory summary of what analysis they do.

There is a distinct difference.  The purpose of most email providers is 
to provide a service to the email users.  The purpose of gmail is to 
provide a service to third parties.

-- 
Until later, Geoffrey       Registered Linux User #108567
                             AT&T Certified UNIX System Programmer - 1995