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Nathraiben's Avatar
Posts: 267 | Thanked: 408 times | Joined on May 2010 @ Austria
#203
Originally Posted by woody14619 View Post
I do get why people are upset about it, and agree we should try to make it clear to Nokia that it was a poor choice, and should not be repeated. But griping on a forum they don't monitor won't change their behavior. If you want to make a point, organize a letter writing campaign or setup a date/time for everyone to call their support like to complain about it en-mass. They need something big and explosive to see how big of an issue this is, not bits on a drive on a server they don't even remember they own.
I don't think anybody on here posted in order to get a message through to Nokia. This was mainly for raising awareness, talking about the various problems connected to this issue, looking for the ominous contract we "signed" by installing PR1.2, venting, rambling, discussing alternatives, informing others of ways to circumvent the system, and so on.

And I'm not sure how you plan on "making a point". Nokia was already contacted by the Council - and they made it clear that they don't care and sent this to their law department instead.

Do you really think we could come up with something "big and explosive" enough to really stir them? They've lost 2/3 of their stock worth over the last years and all they did was shrug it off as "It's because there's so many competitors".

All this fuss over a number. You do realize that every time your phone gets/makes a call, or an sms, or even an alert back that it's on, the phone and/or the tower you're talking to transmits that number in the clear, yes? All one needs is a radio packet sniffer and about 10 minutes to collect all this information from every phone that's on and within transmission distance. Your number is transmitted and stored all over the place in the clear, it's not a national security secret.
Just because my banking number is visible every time I pay with my card I still don't want it to be broadcast on our local radio station...

Of course my phone number is not a national security secret, but that doesn't mean I want a company to make it easy to access without even asking me beforehand.

This whole uproar reminds me of how people were upset when they discovered some web sites would "store" passwords in clear text files. At one point I saw someone say they wouldn't use the web server side of a file share, and would only use the ftp site until the "bug" was fixed. Completely not realizing that FTP transmits their username and password in clear text to the server (always has, still does)...
Uproar...? I wasn't aware that I was so important that my voice alone could be considered an uproar...

I simply complained about it, because it peeves me that they are constantly adding to the list of things they are doing to me without ever asking. This is MY number, and them using it (and storing it in plain text) without my consent just because their law department found a loop hole is getting me angry.

Heck, had they ASKED for it, I would have given it to them, and had they ASKED for it I would have given my consent to publish it on their website, if for some strange reason they felt the need to do so.

But they didn't ask, and that's the whole point.
 

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