Remove DNT Topic is solved

[Wuzzy]

I suggest to remove the Do Not Track misfeature. Not just disable it, not just hide it in about:config, remove it completely.

Reasons:

• The whole design of DNT is broken: DNT completely depends on the server to comply. The ad people with the worst tracking at hand will just ignore it, the websites which are already respecting privacy do so without you having to tell them explicitly. So in either case, DNT won't change anything
• DNT is based on the idea of “opt-out”: That is, it is okay to track users unless they explicitly say “no”
• DNT is still not fully standardized
• The scope of DNT is not well-defined: “Does this mean all tracking is forbidden or just some kinds of traking?” is an open question
• DNT makes tracking actually easier by increasing the size of the browser fingerprint

Long story short: DNT is a bad idea, not a privacy feature at all. Just compare it to privacy measures with actually work and you see immediatly why it's bullcrap : For example, blocking JavaScript (NoScript), not using questionable browser plugins (Adobe Flash) deleting cookies, reducing the amount of data the browser voluntarily spits out to the Internet (Oops! Sending DNT would violate that, wouldn't it?), etc.

[dark_moon]

I see no reason to kept the code for DNT too, so i vote for remove that crap

[Moonchild]

I agree that the premise of DNT is broken when you deal with operators who don't respect the header. But those will track you anyway.
Having the option to send headers for trackers that DO respect them (and there's plenty) is a good thing. Practical use may be limited to those that play nice, but that doesn't mean that because some don't play nice that you should remove the option altogether.

In addition, the default is to not send anything which would be the same as not having the option. There are no negative implications to letting the user decide if they want to include DNT headers or not, and if so to tell respecting services their choice.

EDIT: By the way, comparing it to blocking JavaScript or plugins is nonsense. Just because the tracker playing field is broad doesn't mean that you can just willy-nilly compare a header that indicates a user's preference to a server with actively crippling web content. They are two very different things.

[tomysshadow]

Sounds like a very modern Mozilla argument. "I don't agree with this feature, so we should remove everyone's ability to use it - even if they're tech savvy enough to know why they 100% want to use it and go through the effort of using about:config to find it!" Pale Moon is about giving control to the user. And, in the spirit of Mozilla before it decided for its users how to browse the web, if it is going to be removed it should at the very least be in about:config .

This kind of attitude was the real reason I switched to Pale Moon. First, there's removing NPAPI and making it so you cannot enable it, even in about:config . Then, there's the rule that all extensions must be signed by Mozilla - with no method to disable it in about:config . I wanted both these things to go back to the old way in my browser specifically, even though I knew the downsides of enabling/disabling them. However, I had to switch to Pale Moon to get that kind of functionality. If someone is savvy enough, and really wants to, they will find a way to use DNT by means of extension or a different browser altogether or whatever, so it might as well be built-in, even if hidden.

The thing is that for the most part I agree with you. But I don't think the option should be removed because that goes against what Pale Moon exists for. It isn't here to decide for its users what to do or what not to do.

-It doesn't hurt you if other people decide to use Do Not Track.
-People who use Do Not Track know that it isn't 100% foolproof because that's just common sense. Websites can decide whether or not to comply, which was made clear when the feature was introduced.
-I don't see Do Not Track as enough of a security risk that it should be outright removed, especially since it is off by default.

[LimboSlam]

I use it so I can give them the benefit of the dealt. Yeah I still believe in good old trusty web developers/website owners.