Microsoft Tracking Behavior of Newsgroup Posters

theodp writes "Ever get the feeling your Usenet newsgroup list is being watched? By Microsoft? If so, consider yourself right. An interesting but troubling CNET interview with Microsoft's in-house sociologist goes into how the software giant is keeping a close eye on newsgroups and other public e-mail lists, tracking and rating contributors' social habits and determining "people who the system has shown to have value." Those concerned that it's not a good idea for computers to track their belongings and whereabouts are advised that they may ultimately have to fragment their identities, keeping multiple IDs and e-mail addresses."

Good

[smittyoneeach]

Hopefully the general contempt for proprietary, inferior solutions will drive them towards some better stuff.

This sounds familiar!

[Pvt_Waldo]

Hmm a system that tracks who's posts are of value and who's are not. I would suggest a scheme where they mark people's post as "Interesting", "Informative", and other such words. Maybe some way to mark them as "Funny" and even "Flame bait" or "Troll" if they are just obnoxious posters trying to get a fight going.

What do you think? Would it work?

Oh wait!

On the Internet ...

[burgburgburg]

Microsoft knows you're a dog.

Woof.

They're probably monitoring /. as well!

[Anonymous Coward]

So in case Billy ever wants to send me some dough, I'm gonna get on their good side!

Microsoft rocks!
Visual Basic is the best language EVER!
I love Steve Ballmer's pep rally's!
Windows is the best operating system EVER!
Bill Gates is a cool guy!

Paranoia

[heironymouscoward]

Is a suitable state of mind when large and powerful groups decide they want to spy on you.

I'm sure MS already spies on Slashdot and tracks every profile here. I have four, and switch between them carefully, unt sometimez I speek in forin lanjuajes just to confooze them.

On the other hand, this reminds me strangely of a scene from Dilbert.

Serf1: Boss, I need to monitor newsnet.
PHB: why?
Serf1: So we can track our competitors, manipulate public opinion, and run smear campaigns against political opponents.
PHB: sounds fine...
Serf1: It will take nine months, that's ok?
PHB: yes, get someone to help you if you need it.

later..

Serf2: So, did you get it?
Serf1: Yes, we're now official newsnet spies.
Serf2: porn on, dude!!! alt.binaries, here I come.
Serf1: I've asked for some new hard drives too... :)

Paranoid?

[The Old Burke]

I guess that a lot of people will get very upset about this, and it surely don't sound good for Microsoft that have choosen to to something like this.

But remember that MS is arespected company that outside this limited communuty is known as a company that protect the privacy of their customers, and the data they collect about potentiall customers. Whatever you feel about MS, its their *right* to do this. In fact anyone could have done it, its just accidentally happened that it was MS who did it.
I'm sure that the collection of this data will benefit the coputer community as well as it will benefit MS. People shuld learn to trust Microsoft just as most people trust their computer systems.

Re:This sounds familiar!

[Geek of Tech]

Hurry! Patent the idea! You might still be able to beat Microsoft!

Re:This sounds familiar!

[Anonymous Coward]

What do you think? Would it work?

I think the obvious answer to that would be a resounding no :)

SCO IP Infringer List

[McBride, Darl]

Here at SCO [sco.com], we've been doing something similar to this for months. We've been tracking user comments on slashdot to compile an extensive list of Linux zealots to go after once our lawsuit against IBM is successful.

Bide your time well, Linux zealots, for the mighty power of SCO's IP will reign down upon thee!

Re: Tracking Slashdot too

[Anonymous Coward]

Given MS's longstanding PR problems, if I were running the company and had what appears to be the typical ethics among CEOs these days, I'd be paying a few hundred people to astroturf Slashdot as full-time jobs.


Yeah... Because people actually turn to /. for advice on purchasing decisions. That's about as likely as people turning to /. for life and death advice on hig powered wiring. Er, wait.

Re:A Scanner Darkly

[Just Some Guy]

Did this line remind anyone else of Philip K. Dick's thoroughly perplexing novel "A Scanner Darkly"?

No.

No problem

[smatt-man]

I figure we have nothing to worry about. If Microsoft wrote the tracking software, then it probably doesn't work anyway.

MS monitoring Usenet Is Like ...

[tilleyrw]

Jack The Ripper being the parole officer for Charles Manson

Enron overseeing the bank account of the Godfather

SCO maintaining the GNU archives

Insert humorous analogy here...

Re:Multiple addresses wont work

[Trigun]

Unless we're schitzophrenic.

I are, are you?

Re:Good

[saden1]

I have a deffierent ID and email for each of my personalties, doesn' everyone?

funny ways of talking

[zptdooda]

Why do interviews from Microsoft employees come across so strangely? Like CorporateSpeak or something.

It's like there's a list of terms they must use a lot, like: enhance, investment, and strangely for a person who says they don't like the word, community.

Then there's this one:
This is potent. We accept that and hope we can offer people good prophylactics against loss of privacy.

Did they mean to refer to potency and prophylactics one behind the other? Seems like a Freudian slit. Loss of potency? Personally I wouldn't want to by prophylactics from a company whose name I've heard translates too literally in some languages as "small and soft".

Not Big Brother

[randomErr]

At least they're not big brother.

Rate me higher Microsoft. Hire me Microsoft. I want to have your children Microsoft. I know your watching this site Microsoft. I'm identity # 285-75-4210.

Re:I read the article!

[gordon_schumway]

Goddamnit people! It's ':Cue:Cat'!

Eri:c :Chavez
:CEO, Digital :Convergen:ce

Re:Sounds scary!

[stratjakt]

The scariest thing is..

People can see me when I go outside!

The girl at the deli even recognizes me and knows that I want a steak and cheese for lunch!

When will it end?

I think we all need to run around in opaque hamster balls, and each of us develop a unique language that only that individual understands.

Bork blalableep mooga mooga

Pay attention kids....

[NightSpots]

Now that they've confirmed that they do this, there's only one thing to remember:

Before you fly up to Redmond for your interview, make sure you post a year's worth of insightful commentary on major relevant newsgroups, with your name and email attached

Bleh.

[SuiteSisterMary]

An interesting article from the School of Common Sense shows that your public actions are being monitored by everybody who sees them!

"The privacy implications of this are staggering," says some guy who gets inflammed by things. "People could figure out all sorts of patterns about your life. Why, if they observe you going to the pet store, they could actually figure out that you likely own a pet! Next thing you know, you'll be getting subscription offers for pet magazines. Nobody needs that."

People who fear this massive intrusion of privacy have several options open to them. First, the use of full face masks, and body costumes, can confuse potential observers. Make sure to change masks and costumes frequently. Visiting stores and locations that you wouldn't normally visit can 'sour' their tracking data as well.

"If you have children, drop them off at a school that they don't attend," says Imflammatory Boy, "and tell them to walk to their real school."

Re:This sounds familiar!

[Asprin]

What do you think? Would it work?

Beats me -- I'm still swamped trying to develop a web shopping site that lets you buy things with less than 2 mouse clicks. (I've got it down to four!)

Maybe I can give you a hand once I get this whole "hyperlink" thing in the box and ready to ship.

People who don't have value...

[illumina+us]

"people who the system has shown to have value." Those who the "system" does not show to have value are to be decompiled immediately and there code intergrated with the windows kernel.

OT: Re:Good thing that guy isn't a programmer...

[harlows_monkeys]

Perhaps these same programmers to which you refer are the ones who use "write-only-memory"

Say...anyone know if there is still a display case near the elevator in one of the basements of the EE building at Caltech that displays less-than-successful projects of the faculty and students? If so, does it still include Carver Mead's 4K write-only memory card (from back in the days when 4K was a lot of memory)? (No, it wasn't INTENDED to be write-only).

Re:Good

[tybalt44]

I don't, but I think a couple of my other personalities do.

Re:What's wrong with this?

[crazyphilman]

It's not just Microsoft. There are companies called "clipping services" which have been around for decades. They employ warehouses full of people, reading newspapers from all around the country, clipping out articles that relate to a client or set of clients. The client would get a notice mailed to him/her including the clipping and some time/date/source info. Just about every newspaper in the country is monitored.

Over the years, the clipping services expanded out, adding AP feeds, Newswire, etc. They suck articles right off the wire and store them for their customer's perusal. Then they added newsgroup and chatroom monitoring, and of course web monitoring. They use web spiders to capture the info, and databases to store it.

This is very widespread, and it's been going on for years. Do a google search on "clipping services" if you don't believe me. Anything you write online about a company who can afford the service is noticed, printed out, and sent to them by a flunky.

Why worry? It's not like you can do anything about it. So Microsoft knows that I think they suck. Big deal. Hey, Gates! You suck! See? No hitmen busting down my door, no guidos breaking my leggaggdafsafal;nfdasl'(MESSAGE TERMINATED)

Re:Tracking Slashdot too

[BWJones]

Well, given the very pro Microsoft stances that many folks have here in response to anything critical of Microsoft, I have wondered if they are paying attention to Slashdot as well. Especially considering that many of the rabidly pro-MS posts are posted as AC.

Modded as Offtopic and flamebait? Oh, no. It's worse than I feared. Not only are they paying attention to Slashdot, they have infiltrated the ranks of moderators! :-)

I for one...

[Call Me Black Cloud]

...welcome our new Microsoft overlords. I'd like to remind them as a skilled Java programmer, I can be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground .NET caves."

This reminds me of...

[SilentReproach]

Dilbert's meeting with pointy haired boss:

PHB: We have a gigantic database full of customer behavior information.

DILBERT: Excellent. We can use non-linear math and data mining technology to optimize our retail channels!

PHB: If that's the same thing as spam, we're having a good meeting here.

See the cartoon here [lunarstation.com].

Hey I can tell them what they want....

[crawdad62]

without them having to monitor Usenet groups. Saves both MS and me some time. I'm on Usenet looking for porn.

Re:Huh?

[OneIsNotPrime]

Yes, who among us doesn't already keep multiple Slashdot accounts to mod ourselves up as "Insightful" every once in a while?

Err... never mind.

Well I think I deserve it.

There is this one slashdot user . . .

[Anonymous Coward]

We were having a lot of trouble tuning our psychoanalysis routine. There was this one user on slashdot that kept crashing the system. We finally decided that the user is one of the worst recorded cases of multiple personality disorder. Some of the personalities were found to be incredibly psychotic and anti-social, others brilliant. Basically all over the map. Finally we just had to filter out all messages from Mr. Coward.

Re:Paranoia

[Anonymous Coward]

Guess I better wipe this drive because apparently my desktop isn't usuable. Stratjakt said so.

here come the knee-jerk slashdot reactionaries

[flacco]

oh great, post a harmless article about how microsoft is watching your every move on-line and the paranoids will come out of the woodwork claiming microsoft is watching your every move on-line.

HEY, WAIT A MINUTE!

Yep, I agree with everything the parent said...

[Kjella]

...and mod him up too. We all agree on this one.

Kjella

Re:I read the article!

[TheGrayArea]

Try the public microsoft newsgroups. Yep, those exact ones. A lot of the newgroups are watches by the Shanghai subsidiary amoung others with engineers here in the US checking up on on some of the threads on a regular basic. Yes Microsoft supports newsgroups because of the skilled folks (unpaid) that answer, but they also do it because it's a way to lower support costs for the lower echelon of customers and yes a fair chunk of it is done overseas.
I'm not saying this is all a bad thing, I'm just pointing out the background for Microsoft's concentration in researching the dynamics of the newsgroups. If you can identify those folks who make serious contributions, you can give them perks to keep them contributing. They already do this with the MVP program but that's still pretty spotty. Also if you can automatically identify problems/request you can come up with quicker/better ways to answer them.
BTW - how do I know? I worked in Microsoft Product Support for over 5 years. I was there when a lot of this was starting to spin up.

Re:This sounds familiar!

[Suidae]

Really, the best trick is to anticipate what your customers would click on if they needed to click, and just go ahead and ship it out and bill their credit card.

They're monitoring email, too

[Trailer Trash]

They've been doing it for years. If this one email will just get around to 25,000 people, Bill Gates will send everybody a $1000 check. It shouldn't be surprising that they're monitoring Usenet, too, probably just to send checks to people there.

Re:No problem

[Analogy Man]

In case it does I LOVE Windows XP and wish their license agreement committed me to endentured servitude.

I am interested in any proprietary personal devices and home entertainment hardware provided it updates a central repository in Redmond with any personal information so that content can me filtered to the information my profile dictates. I hate to be bothered with all the high forehead mumbo jumbo on /.

Well looking at my Swatch timepiece it appears it is time to slide into the old Craftmatic Adjustable Bed, set my Sony clock radio alarm and get some shut-eye. Beuford Pilebottom