Yahoo terms of service - Oath.

Anyone here download and read the 65+ pages of terms and conditions Yahoo is asking, soon to be demanding, our acceptance to continue using their service? 

What are you using for email and general surfacing?  Google users, thoughts?

I don't use Yahoo (that I know of).  I have a gmail account even though I can't stand Google's, um, way of thinking.  Sometimes you just bite the bullet even if you can't explain why.  I use Bing for searching even though they aren't any better.

65 pages of Ts&Cs is ridiculous.

I have a number of email accounts including gmail, comcast, rvforum, and multiple other domains that I manage. gmail is a good/free option.

I use Comcast/Xfinity as my ISP at home, but have separate accounts with other providers (e.g. Verizon Wirelss) while traveling.

I stopped using Yahoo ages ago and I have been a total Googlaholic ever since.

I have been a total Googlaholic

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We know  ;D

SeilerBird said:

I have been a total Googlaholic ever since.

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No really, first I?ve heard you mention it 

I own one Yahoo Group and am active on a couple others, so I do maintain a Yahoo account.  Have not read that huge T&C you mention;  it used to be "only" several pages of legalese.  Lawyers run amuck, though I have some sympathy for that in todays legal climate.  Like most people, I locked my better judgment in a closet and just clicked "I Accept", though I did scan though it quickly to see if any clause "popped". Everything I noticed was basically denying me any rights in any dispute, but what am I going to dispute with them?  I can quit anytime, which is enough for me.

X2 I accepted, I'm not a lawyer so didn't take the time to go through all the whereas and whatfors although I probably should have. If I don't like what I see I can always put my coat on and leave.

No legal rights.  Surprise surprise.  Every class action notice I receive, with my right to join the class, goes to the circular file.  Class action suits.  Great for the attorneys.  Not so much for everyone else. 

Guess I'll just hit accept. 

Thanks for all the replies. 

garyb1st said:

Anyone here download and read the 65+ pages of terms and conditions Yahoo is asking, soon to be demanding, our acceptance to continue using their service? 

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Reader's Digest version:

• We're going to use any info we can glean off you to make money, even if we make it sound like we won't
• In a hundred different ways we're going to do our darndest to track everything you do, catalog everything you buy, note every link you click, and take note of where you are via your IP address which is probably cross referenced to street address
• We'll do everything we can to cross reference your activities on your home computer with those from your smart phone so we can get an even better idea what you're up to
• If you use our service from any other computer we're going to take note of your IP address/location of that computer and add it to the dossier we're keeping on you and selling to the highest bidder, including data coagulators who have gathered info from you from any number of sources

You expressly give us permission to do this. If you don't like it, you can go to Google. 'Course they're way better at it than we are (recall that they decided awhile back to remove the company motto, "Don't be evil" from its code of conduct)

Nice summary, Scott!  And right on target.

Sun2Retire said:

Reader's Digest version:

• We're going to use any info we can glean off you to make money, even if we make it sound like we won't
• In a hundred different ways we're going to do our darndest to track everything you do, catalog everything you buy, note every link you click, and take note of where you are via your IP address which is probably cross referenced to street address
• We'll do everything we can to cross reference your activities on your home computer with those from your smart phone so we can get an even better idea what you're up to
• If you use our service from any other computer we're going to take note of your IP address/location of that computer and add it to the dossier we're keeping on you and selling to the highest bidder, including data coagulators who have gathered info from you from any number of sources

You expressly give us permission to do this. If you don't like it, you can go to Google. 'Course they're way better at it than we are (recall that they decided awhile back to remove the company motto, "Don't be evil" from its code of conduct)

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As horrible as all that sounds it is being done to target advertisements. That is all. They really don't care about you other than what they can sell you. And they are no different from Apple, Google and Microsoft.

Scott definitely got the high points. I have had a Yahoo email address since so far back there was only AOL, Hotmail, or Yahoo if you didn?t want your ISP mail. Since my ISP seemed to change their name every 6-12 months, I went with Yahoo. Gmail is definitely a Johnny-come-lately. I would love to change email addresses, but my Yahoo one is not available in gmail, and some of the standard alternatives that would make it easy aren?t either. And there are sooooo many websites and apps that use your email address as your user name that it would,get painful very quickly. Sigh. Like the others, I accepted the terms because it will be so painful to do anything else.

SeilerBird said:

As horrible as all that sounds it is being done to target advertisements. That is all. They really don't care about you other than what they can sell you. And they are no different from Apple, Google and Microsoft.

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You could be right, but I'd bet a paycheck they really care about what about you they can sell to other entities as well.

UTTransplant said:

And there are sooooo many websites and apps that use your email address as your user name that it would,get painful very quickly.

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It is not a good idea to ever use your email address as a user name. I have been going by SeilerBird for years. No one else would use it (or want to) and it is always available.

FenderP said:

You could be right, but I'd bet a paycheck they really care about what about you they can sell to other entities as well.

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I believe Tom's exactly right, but your point is dead on. Once the data exists those who have much more nefarious ideas as to what they'd like to know about you will get their hands on it one way or the other, whether through hacking or the selling of the info by the entity that gathered it. Unknown by many people is how the three big credit bureaus make their money. It's not through the careful management of your data on your behalf, carefully protecting your privacy along the way. Nope. They sell every scrap they can figure out, and they've got a lot of info. They have every address you've used for many, many years. Every account (with numbers) you've ever had. They know about that one time you were 2 days late 5 years ago on the VISA payment, every entity that has asked about you, contact info for every employer etc etc etc. And, incredibly, they sell it and you do not have the "right" to stop them.

Some years ago the 3 bureaus sued Lifelock over the fact that Lifelock members were given, through their membership, a super easy way to turn on and turn off a lock on their credit. When I first heard about this I couldn't imagine why the credit bureaus would care. Turns out, by letting consumers easily freeze their credit file that was getting in the way of the bureaus selling the info. They sued, and won. Contrary to Google's old motto, I think the bureaus' (and a million other entities we touch in this electronic world) is: "Don't be evil".

As FenderP says, it's the other entities.

The bottom line is if you are paranoid about companies using or selling your personal information then never go online ever. Not even in disguise.

SeilerBird said:

The bottom line is if you are paranoid about companies using or selling your personal information then never go online ever. Not even in disguise.

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You're right and I get it. I'm not paranoid, I'm certain my info is being used and distributed in way I would object to, but there's nothing to be done apparently other than disconnect which I haven't done. Minimize I guess is my approach.

And by the way, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't watching! 

Sun2Retire said:

And by the way, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't watching! 

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This is one of my favorite sayings. One of the few things I can say about my work as a civilian on a number of classified programs is that I worked in multiple areas of computer and embedded systems security including networking and encryption. Anything more, and they would have to shoot us both ?. I figure the NSA knows the most about me because I worked with them, and they know everything in my background checks for security clearances. I also have knowingly been monitored. I figure Google isn?t far behind. Google?s T&Cs used to mirror the ones that Yahoo just put out, and it was one of the reasons I didn?t go full force into Google years ago like some. Google actually got such pushback they changed their privacy policies a couple of years ago. Too bad Yahoo is going down that dead end road.

And Tom, not all websites allow usernames other than email addresses. For example, I just made an online order for clothes, and my account is required to be under my email address. For forums and the like, I have a primary username I have been using for well over 20 years that isn?t the one I used here.