WORLD ALERT!!!! ***** !!!!!! White House Keeps Web Stats
By Mark on Domestic Affairs
Decision '08
This is getting more ridiculous by the day:
<<< The White House said Friday its Web tracking technology is consistent with federal rules because it only counts the number of visitors anonymously and doesn’t record personal information.
The White House’s site uses what’s known as a Web bug — a tiny graphic image that’s virtually invisible — to anonymously keep track of the number and time of visits. The bug is sent by a server maintained by an outside contractor, WebTrends Inc., and lets the traffic-analysis company know that another person has visited a specific page on the site.
Web bugs themselves are not prohibited. However, under a directive from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, they are largely banned at government sites when linked to cookies, which are data files that let a site track Web visitors.
Cookies are not generated simply by visiting the White House site. Rather, WebTrends cookies are sometimes created when visiting other WebTrends clients. An analysis by security researcher Richard M. Smith shows such preexisting cookies have then been read when users visit the White House site.
The discovery and subsequent inquiries by The Associated Press prompted the White House to investigate. David Almacy, the White House’s Internet director, said tests conducted since Thursday show that data from the cookie and the bug are not mixed — and thus the 2003 guidelines weren’t violated.
“The White House Web site is and always has been consistent with the OMB guidance,” Almacy said, adding that the limited tracking is common among Web sites. >>>
Sigh…the problem here, I suspect, is that most reporters and much of the public are ignorant of how the World Wide Web works.
The truth is, if the White House webmasters DIDN’T use statistical tools to analyze their traffic, they would be negligent in their duties. It’s basic, trivial stuff, and it’s of no harm whatsoever to anyone involved…
decision08.net
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