Dhamma Wheel Buddhist Forum

Hi all,

I'm looking for an email account that really keeps my privacy, not like Google/Gmail which seems to check/scan every email you send/receive in order to give you 'a better service'. And if rumors are true, Yahoo! and Google are now (or will be soon) the same.

I created an account with GMX thinking that it was a different provider but surprisingly I got the other day an e-mail by Google announcing new changes in their privacy policy so I suspect now they are the same or at least they work together.

It's not that I have something to hide, I just don't like people prying into my stuff or my family's and friend's.

Do you know of any FREE e-mail provider which one can really trust on?

Also, is there any email provider out there with a Buddhist privacy policy? It would be nice having a Buddhist themed account with even a Buddhist domain like @buddhist.com, @buddha.com, @theravada/zen/vajrayana.com, wouldn't it?

Regards.

It's not that I have something to hide, I just don't like people prying into my stuff or my family's and friend's.

I don't think any person of Google reads your mails if you have a Gmail account.
Only computers do analyze the words you use in the mails or in the mails you get.

What is a Buddhist privacy policy?

how about @nirvana.com?

Now be nice. The snooping done by these companies is essentially turning us into products. The worst offendeer by far is Fecesbook which values itself at 100 billion US Dollars. And what is it selling? Our information that we, like lemmings, freely put on there. They make massively big bucks selling our information we, in our slaphappy ignorance, put out there and we get nothing back from them except a place to put information they can sell.

Another interesting question is that the place where I earn my pay has informed us that they will be monitoring Fecesbook, like other companies do, for any comments made about them. How will they know what is said if they are not "friended?" Does Fecesbook open their doors, at a fee (of course), to our information to certain companies that other companies can hire to monitor what is said?

Greetings,

tiltbillings wrote:Our information that we, like lemmings, freely put on there. They make massively big bucks selling our information we, in our slaphappy ignorance, put out there

In the scheme of things it's only ignorance if it constitutes aversion, greed or delusion.



Metta,
Retro.

retrofuturist wrote:Greetings,

tiltbillings wrote:Our information that we, like lemmings, freely put on there. They make massively big bucks selling our information we, in our slaphappy ignorance, put out there

In the scheme of things it's only ignorance if it constitutes aversion, greed or delusion.



Metta,
Retro.

Only if you insist upon using a particular defintion as being normative for all, which is not really a meaningful thing to do, but then maybe you are making a funny here.

Greetings,

tiltbillings wrote:... but then maybe you are making a funny here.

Not really. The guidelines the Buddha gave on what is skilful and what is unskilful were very skilful because they're generic enough to apply to all situations... including the ones depicted in this topic.

That the Buddha had never heard of e-mail, Facebook, multi-national corporations, men in black etc. doesn't change the applicability of the Dhamma laws which underpin the operation of cetana/kamma.

Metta,
Retro.

That is a very nice, but the word ignorance is not limited to the strict Buddhist usage.

tiltbillings wrote:Now be nice. The snooping done by these companies is essentially turning us into products. The worst offendeer by far is Fecesbook which values itself at 100 billion US Dollars. (...)

Yeah, another Google company now, that's what I mean.

Last week I got my first smartphone and, surprise! you need a google account to set up its OS android... They not only check your emails and sms's now, but your locations also.

So going back to the original question: no clues?

Ben wrote:What is a Buddhist privacy policy?

Hi Ben,

Yeah, I didn't chose the words properly. I meant a 'really honest -without hidden agendas- privacy policy'

Hi Tilt,

My perspective as an ex-Privacy Officer for a municipality is that there are some worrying developments in the online environment regarding privacy which is compounded by a lack of knowledge bordering on hysteria among the general public of what information privacy is and the respective laws, guidelines and standards in operation in one's country. In many countries in the west, privacy is not an absolute right and that statutes reflect a balancing act between an individual's and corporation's right to privacy and the needs of businesses and governments to collect, store and manipulate personal information in the conduct of legitimate business and governmental operations. I think most people do a disservice to themselves if and when they disclose too much about themselves or feel so paranoid that they constrain themselves unnecessarily. When using social networking sites one shouldn't post anything that they would feel uncomfortable writing and sending on the back of a post card. Just be judicious with what you post and setting your privacy settings to that which you feel most comfortable with.
With regards to email - I have a number of accounts for different purposes and they are not linked and except for one not linked to my facebook page.
kind regards,

Ben

Ben wrote:Hi Tilt,

My perspective as an ex-Privacy Officer for a municipality is that there are some worrying . . .

Some folks certainly do put way too much personal info out there on such things a s Fecesbook, but the reality is that whatever info that put onto FB is open to mining by them in order to sell. That is how they are making their astronomically huge bucks. It is does not appeal to me to be used in such a way, which is why what little personal info I have on Faretbook is false.

Yes, I understand.
But everytime you use your credit card or debit card you are creating a data trail of transactions which when aggregated is sold to marketers so that they can better profile prospective customers for new and existing products. Our data is being mined all the time and its been going on for a long time.
kind regrds,

Ben

Hi worldly guy,

worldly.guy wrote:

Ben wrote:What is a Buddhist privacy policy?

Hi Ben,

Yeah, I didn't chose the words properly. I meant a 'really honest -without hidden agendas- privacy policy'

Yes, a lot of privacy policies are written in legalese which is difficult for a lay person to understand. Keep in mind that if your country has information privacy statutes then corporations operating in your country must comply with those statutes otherwise they face penalties and fines for non-compliance. Also keep in mind that perceived breaches of privacy, especially in the online environment, make great news. Its the sort of publicity that your ISPs would avoid like the plague as it gouges their reputation and revenue.
kind regards,

Ben