Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

This is a distraction piece, yeah?

The idea that they don't know what they are doing with the data they collect when it is the key piece that enables their business systems and revenue streams, is quite foolish. 

I bet GDPR has created many expletives across amazon leadership.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Posted

Amazon is part of the Defense sector now. From MIT's Technology Review:

https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/10/08/75349/meet-americas-newest-military-giant-amazon/

(Public/Private Partnerships at the Pentagon) - 

it’s clear that the Pentagon’s dependence on Silicon Valley is growing.

One reason may have to do with the priorities of the Department of Defense itself. Once, it led the way in computer science—many of the technologies that made cloud computing possible, including the internet itself, originated from military--sponsored research. Today, however, the money big tech firms bring to information technology dwarfs what the Pentagon spends on computing research. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which funded the creation of the Arpanet (the precursor to the internet) starting in the 1960s, is still involved in computer science, but when it comes to cloud computing, it is not building its own version. 

Jonathan Smith, a DARPA program manager, says the agency’s cloud work today is focused on developing secure, open-source prototypes that could be adopted by anyone, whether in government, academia, or commercial companies, like Amazon.

“I mean, pragmatically, when you look at technology, I think in days gone by the DOD was like Godzilla,” he said. “But now we’re just a big mean machine.”

Posted (edited)

IMO this isn't just an Amazon problem, you could sub in facebook or google or any large tech firm into that article and it would be the exact same. Any company on the internet is scraping, indexing, and running ML models against your data. Install a javascript blocker on your browser and be horrified by the number of tracking libraries it blocks on pageload.

The US needs a GDPR and we the people need more control of how our data is used and stored by 3rd parties, but last I heard any sort of regulation is socialism or obamacare for the internet, or something.

Edited by Captainant
  • Hook 'Em 1
Posted

I don't sell data to anyone. Your IP address and shit tied to that gets used for stuff, but no data ever leaves it's encrypted state unless it's on a page load on surly. 

  • Hook 'Em 5
Posted
3 minutes ago, Captainant said:

IMO this isn't just an Amazon problem, you could sub in facebook or google or any large tech firm into that article and it would be the exact same. Any company on the internet is scraping, indexing, and running ML models against your data. Install a javascript blocker on your browser and be horrified by the number of tracking libraries it blocks on pageload.

The US needs a GDPR and we the people need more control of how our data is used and stored by 3rd parties, but last I heard any sort of regulation is socialism or obamacare for the internet, or something.

Exactly right. 

Posted (edited)
11 minutes ago, immamac said:

I don't sell data to anyone. Your IP address and shit tied to that gets used for stuff, but no data ever leaves it's encrypted state unless it's on a page load on surly. 

The worst thing is that it's more insideous than just that and even good operators like yourself don't make a huge dent on privacy. Unless you're using encrypted DNS, your ISP tracks your browsing by DNS requests and sell that user-attributed information as an additional revenue stream. Even if you're going to a safe haven, the roads have cameras so to speak

Edited by Captainant
Posted

the ads/tracker don't even load for registered users, I wrote a switcher in the software to only have those js libs not even load for registered logged in members.

I also changed all ads to be direct buy (no cookie sniffing) so only pre-purchased blocks are shown. I don't have programmatic ads on surly anymore because it's a crazy violation of privacy. 

It's part of the reason it's so hard to get ads going for registered users in Cloak Room. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Posted
6 minutes ago, immamac said:

the ads/tracker don't even load for registered users

Then how come I keep getting peen enlargement pill ads, huh!

What the fuck, man!

Posted
17 minutes ago, immamac said:

the ads/tracker don't even load for registered users, I wrote a switcher in the software to only have those js libs not even load for registered logged in members.

...

It's part of the reason it's so hard to get ads going for registered users in Cloak Room. 

Que? Not sure if I am missing something or you had a typo but if you don't load ads for registered users, what is the impact of registered users in cloak room?

Posted
3 hours ago, Serak The Preparer said:

Que? Not sure if I am missing something or you had a typo but if you don't load ads for registered users, what is the impact of registered users in cloak room?

I want to run ads for cloak room users (everyone but treefiddy), but can't because I don't have the js available to build another if/then based on the forum. 

Cloak Room should be 100% monetized traffic. The rest of the board is free (I will likely ad a very light advertisement experience for people with less than 100 posts or 100 rep, but it will be static not programmatic) 

Eventually we will have sponsored threads and/or boards (hoping to get a sponsor for the football board this season) and those will be global for all including treefiddy folks, because it's a real sponsor for the actual board - they will likely also be giving us free shit for tailgates etc. 

 

Bottom line is AMZN sucks and Surly is awesome. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 1
Posted
25 minutes ago, immamac said:

because I don't have the js available to build another if/then based on the forum. 

Is the board software closed source or can you make changes? That's a pretty easy thing to switch on considering a usercontext would already be loaded which (I'm assuming) already contains the treefiddy flag

Posted
9 minutes ago, Captainant said:

Is the board software closed source or can you make changes? That's a pretty easy thing to switch on considering a usercontext would already be loaded which (I'm assuming) already contains the treefiddy flag

It's closed source, you can modify some stuff via plugins or addons, by the time the addon reads the user state the page is already loaded, then you would need to load the JS after the fact which usually pre-loads in the <head> it's a real annoying thing that I need someone who knows the software's API better to help with. Showing global ads to a group is ez though, just not a specific board. 

Posted
13 minutes ago, immamac said:

It's closed source, you can modify some stuff via plugins or addons, by the time the addon reads the user state the page is already loaded, then you would need to load the JS after the fact which usually pre-loads in the <head> it's a real annoying thing that I need someone who knows the software's API better to help with. Showing global ads to a group is ez though, just not a specific board. 

Tbh, as long as the ads aren't intrusive or predatory I don't think the CR degenerates would mind seeing ads, treefiddy or not. If it helps keep the site ticking it's an ok compromise. And I won't feel bad about using an adblocker anyways lol

Posted
I don't sell data to anyone. Your IP address and shit tied to that gets used for stuff, but no data ever leaves it's encrypted state unless it's on a page load on surly. 
What stuff?
Posted
7 hours ago, immamac said:

I don't sell data to anyone. Your IP address and shit tied to that gets used for stuff, but no data ever leaves it's encrypted state unless it's on a page load on surly. 

Ok, Jeff.

  • 4 years later...
Posted

Amazon: We'll monetize your data and pay you back with cancer. What a time to be alive. 

https://www.techspot.com/news/110442-amazon-data-centers-linked-rare-cancers-miscarriages-oregon.html

Amazon data center linked to rare cancers and miscarriages in Oregon, report warns

Connecting the dots: The environmental damage caused by data centers could be having a greater impact on people's health than we realized. According to a new report, several of Amazon's facilities in Oregon have contributed to a rise in rare cancers, muscle disorders, and miscarriages among nearby residents.

The Lower Umatilla Basin aquifer in Morrow County, Oregon, is the only source of water for up to 45,000 residents, reports Rolling Stone. But samples from the aquifer show that chemical toxins have increased over the years.

Nitrate concentrations in some wells have been found as high as 73 ppm (parts per million), 10 times the state limit of 7 ppm and seven times the federal limit. It was discovered that 68 of the 70 wells in the area violated the federal limit for nitrates in the drinking water.

Jim Doherty, a cattle rancher and former county commissioner of Morrow County, told the publication that he noticed more people in the area were reporting unexplained medical conditions, including cancers that usually affected the elderly.

Doherty said that of the first 30 homes he visited where residents were reliant on well water, around 25 people had recently had miscarriages, while six had lost kidneys. There was also a 60-year-old who had his voice box taken out because of a smoking-related cancer, but he'd never smoked in his life.

Doherty believed that the rise in these cancers was in part due to several massive farms and food processing plants in Morrow County. But some experts say the arrival of a 10,000-square-foot Amazon data center in 2011 "supercharged" the pollution.

The farms pump out millions of gallons of wastewater loaded with nitrates from the fertilizer, with most of it seeping into the ground.

Amazon's arrival in the region has intensified an already-serious environmental problem. The company's data centers draw tens of millions of gallons of groundwater from the aquifer each year to cool their servers. That water is then discharged into the Port's wastewater system, where it mixes with existing nitrate-laden runoff that's already being pumped onto nearby farmland. Because the soil in the area is highly porous, it quickly becomes oversaturated, allowing even more nitrates to seep downward into the aquifer instead of being absorbed.

The issue compounds when Amazon extracts that same contaminated groundwater – already above federal nitrate limits – for its cooling systems. As the water circulates through the data centers, some of it evaporates, but the nitrates don't, resulting in a higher concentration of pollutants. By the time this used water is routed back into the wastewater system, nitrate levels can spike dramatically, in some cases averaging 56 parts per million – roughly eight times higher than Oregon's safety threshold.

Posted
6 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

Amazon: We'll monetize your data and pay you back with cancer. What a time to be alive. 

https://www.techspot.com/news/110442-amazon-data-centers-linked-rare-cancers-miscarriages-oregon.html

Amazon data center linked to rare cancers and miscarriages in Oregon, report warns

Connecting the dots: The environmental damage caused by data centers could be having a greater impact on people's health than we realized. According to a new report, several of Amazon's facilities in Oregon have contributed to a rise in rare cancers, muscle disorders, and miscarriages among nearby residents.

The Lower Umatilla Basin aquifer in Morrow County, Oregon, is the only source of water for up to 45,000 residents, reports Rolling Stone. But samples from the aquifer show that chemical toxins have increased over the years.

Nitrate concentrations in some wells have been found as high as 73 ppm (parts per million), 10 times the state limit of 7 ppm and seven times the federal limit. It was discovered that 68 of the 70 wells in the area violated the federal limit for nitrates in the drinking water.

Jim Doherty, a cattle rancher and former county commissioner of Morrow County, told the publication that he noticed more people in the area were reporting unexplained medical conditions, including cancers that usually affected the elderly.

Doherty said that of the first 30 homes he visited where residents were reliant on well water, around 25 people had recently had miscarriages, while six had lost kidneys. There was also a 60-year-old who had his voice box taken out because of a smoking-related cancer, but he'd never smoked in his life.

Doherty believed that the rise in these cancers was in part due to several massive farms and food processing plants in Morrow County. But some experts say the arrival of a 10,000-square-foot Amazon data center in 2011 "supercharged" the pollution.

The farms pump out millions of gallons of wastewater loaded with nitrates from the fertilizer, with most of it seeping into the ground.

Amazon's arrival in the region has intensified an already-serious environmental problem. The company's data centers draw tens of millions of gallons of groundwater from the aquifer each year to cool their servers. That water is then discharged into the Port's wastewater system, where it mixes with existing nitrate-laden runoff that's already being pumped onto nearby farmland. Because the soil in the area is highly porous, it quickly becomes oversaturated, allowing even more nitrates to seep downward into the aquifer instead of being absorbed.

The issue compounds when Amazon extracts that same contaminated groundwater – already above federal nitrate limits – for its cooling systems. As the water circulates through the data centers, some of it evaporates, but the nitrates don't, resulting in a higher concentration of pollutants. By the time this used water is routed back into the wastewater system, nitrate levels can spike dramatically, in some cases averaging 56 parts per million – roughly eight times higher than Oregon's safety threshold.

Countdown to federal legislation exempting Amazon from all environmental regulations and civil liability (just coincidentally following Bezos announcing another $500 million towards the Trump ballroom east of the White House)?  Tick...tock...it's coming.

Posted

I dislike amazon as much as the next guy, maybe even more.  That said, the "techspot" summary article is a huge simplification of a much larger wastewater issue in the area.  It basically regurgitates and attempts to amplify Amazons culpability in an issue that frankly they are a rounding error in.  But no one really gives a shit about well water and farmers but they do love to hate big tech(and rightfully so in many cases) so thats the hook I guess.   The Rolling Stone article is worth a read(its linked in the techspot summary).

 

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/data-center-water-pollution-amazon-oregon-1235466613/

 

The good news, as I understand it, is nitrates are effectively removed from drinking water with Reverse Osmosis filtering which is a few hundred to few thousand dollars per house.  Of course thats not free, but not digging up every distribution pipe in the area type issue(Flint, MI)

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...