My stand is that I do not want any site to put anything onto my computer without my consent, if they insist then I move on and don't buy or use that site, it's getting to that stage with this site, and yes I know I will not be missed, but I do like the occasional informative thread.
This really is the crux of the issue.
I understand that this forum is a commercial enterprise and the people behind it need to make a living. This isn't a problem for me - in fact, for the most part, I think they do a good job and have previously been happy to make financial contributions to the forum. I've gained (and hopefully will continue to gain) considerably from this forum, so giving something in return seemed a reasonable exchange in order to ensure the continuance of, what I believe to be, a valuable resource. Unfortunately I've found myself in the position of strongly disagreeing with some aspects of how the forum operates and a while back reached the point where I decided continued financial support was no longer something I felt comfortable providing.
I'm sure most people would object if a website signed them up to financial contributions without consent - in fact most would be outraged in the extreme. For me the syphoning of information without consent is a matter I find equally objectionable and on which I have taken steps to prevent, just as one might take steps to prevent the unauthorised removal of funds from a bank account.
I have no objection to advertising from forum sponsors and it's likely that, if asked, I'd be happy to allow those sponsors a measure of access in tracking my movements when clicking the adverts they place on the forum or in advertising threads posted in the 'forum sponsor news' section. What I do object to is a forum which is difficult to use due to all manner of irrelevant, and often insidious, advertising and it is this latter category to whom I'm unwilling to permit any measure of tracking or other personal information. Unfortunately there seems to be no distinction drawn between the two on this forum and my blocking of the latter category also means a complete block on forum sponsor advertising - I wish this wasn't the case. I'm familar enough with many of the agencies behind internet tracking to know that those who are provided with 'assumed consent' on a 'fair use' basis are not representing forum sponsors and I'm neither comfortable with the nature of their business nor willing to permit the use of personal information by them. Many people adopt a simplistic position about internet tracking, because they have nothing to hide. I don't have any secrets to hide either, where visited websites are concerned, but believing that to be the long and short of the issue demonstrates an incredible level of naiveity which everyone would do well to correct. I might add that I haven't used an adblocker on this site for several months, yet still see no sponsor advertising due to other measures in place to rid myself of less relevant material.
I've previously posted about no longer feeling able to use this forum on a mobile device and find myself only willing to visit of an evening, from a relatively secure laptop. Quite simply this means a valuable resource is now of less value to me. I, like everyone else, have read myriad posts from people complaining that the forum is nigh on ususable at times due to incredibly intrusive advertising and very much doubt those affected would see the resource this forum provides as being particularly valuable. I've recently read that the cost of forum sponsorship has increased and can't help questioning the wisdom of this move at a time when so many complain about feeling unable to use the forum - forum finances are none of my business, but I think it's quite reasonable to reflect on the issue of sponsorship cost at a time when I find the forum becoming less valuable to me and reading so many posts from people who find it unusable and therefore less likely to post. I'm less likely to recommence the provision of financial support when I fell the forum has become less accessible due to tracking. Others may come to similar conclusions due to intrusive advertising and increased costs aren't likely to be a factor that will change many minds. If my position isn't clear enough, I would sooner walk away from this, or any other forum, before permitting the sort of access which I'm expected to provide to all manner of external agencies and that really is the bottom line for me.
I'd like to make two apologies. The first is to those who find my post difficult to follow - lately I notice many more words are slipping through with incorrect letters and letters jumbled up. This is something I've always struggled with and generally manage to correct, but for some reason I'm recently finding it more difficult to see these errors and can not correct that which I don't see. The second apology is to
@HappyHippyDad - I'm not sure when this thread was hi-jacked, but I certainly haven't helped
Tl,dr: Tracking cookies are an issue for me, just like the unauthorised use of a bank account might be for others.
