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To: Cap_Loss_Cfwd who wrote (64220)	6/23/1999 5:21:00 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

Privacy groups slam DoubleClick, Abacus merger By Aaron Pressman WASHINGTON, June 21 (Reuters) - Leading privacy advocates on Monday blasted the $1 billion merger of Internet advertising firm DoubleClick Inc. <DCLK.O> with consumer data collector Abacus Direct Corp. <ABDR.O>, arguing that the combination would collect far too much personal information about consumers. The nonprofit Electronic Privacy Information Center and the privacy-oriented Web site Junkbusters (http://www.junkbusters.com) said they would likely ask regulators to block the deal if the companies proceeded with the proposed merger. Combining DoubleClick's ability to follow online surfers around the Internet with Abacus's vast database of names, addresses and phone numbers collected from direct mail vendors would "severely undermine" privacy, the groups said in a letter to the companies that was also sent to the Federal Trade Commission and top members of Congress. "This would represent a surveillance machine of unprecedented breadth and depth, posing unacceptable privacy dangers to the public," the groups added. For example, seconds after reading a story on the Web about personal finance, a consumer might receive a call from a telemarketer pitching financial products. Or, by matching public records with Internet tracking, the birth of a child could result in diaper ads appearing on Web sites visited by a new parent. The information would also be available to government investigators, lawyers involved in civil lawsuits, or even determined computer hackers, the privacy groups noted. "A prosecutor of the 21st century would regard Kenneth Starr's subpoena for the book purchases of Monica Lewinsky in a bookshop as a quaint and hopeful gesture, when thanks to your technology he could with a single order help himself to a comprehensive and detailed account of any individual's behavior, online and offline," the groups said in their letter. DoubleClick, based in New York City, is one of the top firms that places advertising banners on Web sites and collects information about the movements of Web surfers. President Kevin Ryan said his company had no interest in annoying consumers with unwanted contacts and allows anyone to ask to be excluded from its database. "We want to make sure the right message gets to the right consumer," Ryan said. "We have a track record of doing things in an incredibly responsible manner." The firm allows consumers to prevent information from being collected by "opting out" at doubleclick.com y/privacy2.htm#optout, Ryan said. DoubleClick follows the movement of Internet surfers by depositing tracking codes, called cookies, onto consumers' computers each time an ad that the company placed is viewed. The code goes into a small text file on the consumer's computer created by Internet browsing software called a cookie file. The code can then be read by DoubleClick when the consumer visits another Web page or Web site carrying an ad that the company placed. Broomfield, Colorado-based Abacus has worked with the direct mail industry to assemble a vast database of who buys what and where they live. The Electronic Privacy Information Center, based in Washington, and the Junkbusters Web site sounded early warnings about Intel Corp.'s <INTC.O> computer chip serial numbering scheme and unique identification numbers placed in computer files by Microsoft Corp. <MSFT.O> software. REUTERS Rtr 15:28 06-21-99

To: Cap_Loss_Cfwd who wrote (64220)	6/23/1999 5:44:00 PM
From: GST	Respond to of 164684

Cap Loss -- a little confused by your post -- but buying and selling is all there is in the end. When there has been as much selling as there has been in gold -- well it is tough to exit with complete grace. I don't care much about it really -- as long as it goes up. And that is what I think will happen so that is where I put my money. BTW, net stocks have been the modern man's gold -- pure positional play. Trouble is, all these splits and IPOs are flooding the market -- so it is not so positional any more. Net investors would love gold if they could get the hang of it -- which they might if it gets off the launching pad. We will see if net investors see the water rising around their ankles -- here comes the flood.