So what's your point? :) > Warning: This is far far more OT than the OP. Sorry in advance to > everyone still looking for a gmail address (I have no more invites) > > I have thought about it (my privacy), and I do not see a problem if no > humans read the emails. After all, I type everything into a computer, > and that computer "sees" what I type. Not to mention the several > thousand computers that will see it when I send the email. > > To address the site: > >>Problem 1: Gmail is nearly immortal > > I would offer: "Close only counts in horseshoes and handgrenades". I > can delete emails if I want to (I deleted gmails opening welcome > email, thats it so far) > >>Google admits that even deleted messages will remain on their system, > and may also be accessible internally at Google, for an indefinite > period of time. > > And when you delete a file on your computer (even emails) if often > remains on your hard drive in unallocated space for an indefinite > period of time. Know how long your ISP holds on to backups? Do they > even mention it? > >>Problem 2: Google's policies do not apply... >>They've said that their advertisers won't get personally identifiable > information from email, but that doesn't mean ... > > This seems to be self-contradictory. > >>Problem 3: A massive potential for abuse >>. Google could grow a database that spits out the email addresses >> of those who used those keywords. How about words such as >>"box cutters" in the same email as "airline schedules"? > > I think there is serious underestimation about how much information the > government already gleans from internet traffic using their own > systems. They get a lot more than just emails addresses and keywords. > If I wanted to have privacy, I would spend time getting things like the > PATRIOT act (and all copycats) revised/thrown out. > >>Problem 4: Inappropriate ad matching > > Do you expect google to protect people that fall for scams? Isnt there > some sort of law enforcement agency that is more equiped to deal with > this? > > Sorry to anyone that read this far ;-) > > - Ben > > On Fri, 25 Jun 2004 10:30:20 +0100, p.cousens