Cookies!

Tags: my blog, webdevelopment.
By lucb1e on 2012-06-03 19:41:39 +0100

In the light of the new Dutch and European cookie laws, let me inform you about the cookie policy here.

I keep track of users via Statcounter. I think it's the largest statistics counter after Google Analytics (which I avoid for your privacy's sake and because Statcounter publishes global stats), so I think I can trust your data to them. I cannot control which cookies they set and for what purpose.

If you wish to opt-out of this, that's very simple: Click here to leave this website immediately.

Alternatively, you can just block all cookies from your browser by modifying its settings. You won't be able to log in anywhere anymore, but at least you won't store cookies. Not that it helps your privacy one bit though, advertisers will simply generate a unique ID for you through other methods.
You can probably protect yourself against this last method by disabling Javascript. This makes at least another quarter of the websites you use malfunctioning, now (together with disabling cookies) totaling a near full paralysis of your browser and web experience. I think you can still use Google and view Wikipedia, though. And you can read this blog. Much else is problematic.

Okay, so apparently you are still here and accept the cookies so far. Let's continue then.
When you visit a page with Disqus comments, like this page, Disqus might set more cookies for you. In fact, I almost got rid of comments entirely after seeing what crap they load. From scorecardresearch to Google Analytics, they load every piece of shit you can find on the web. The problem is that Disqus comments have a very good user experience. It integrates with Facebook, Google, etc. and many people also have a Disqus account or are signed in to Disqus somehow. You can even post as guest if you like. Pagination, like buttons, threaded comments, and everything else is just done for me. It's even fairly protected from spam while enabling to post as guest.

To replicate Disqus' functionality takes quite some time, so in the end I decided Disqus comments were going to be it. To protect yourself from all the crap they load while still reading this blog, you can blacklist Disqus in NoScript or something. You won't be able to see or post comments though.

The site itself, so this blog and the pages in the main menu, do not use any cookies itself. All that is set is from Statcounter and Disqus. Any other pages outside my blog, like the /randomprojects directory, may do other things. This is on your own risk ;)