Ghostery finds only 3 tracking sites on chess.com for me - Google analytics, facebook connect and addthis.

It's trivial to block them, too, btw.

Yep.

Can I rehire you?

yes if you must ;)

In my opinion almost everything chess.com does shows that they do have a serious interest in chess, look at all the learning tools and aids, the tactics trainer, study plans, articles, empoyees, Titled employees, online chess, live chess, games explorer, links to chess equipment sites, chess mentor.

I mean its pretty black and white.

Of course theyre going to want to make money, its a business too, and they need ot pay employees, hosting, rent, electrical, etc.

But they do a damn good job at not shouting in your face "we want money", look at all the features open to basic members.

About the banner addvertisment.

There is a google program named "add sence". Websites can subscribe to this program, they will recive a portion of script code that the webmaster must insert on the website. Then google sells to companies adds that may are shown on the websites that get the script.

For this google charge money to the advertiser company, keeps a part of the money and pay a part to the website that shows the add.

Google have several ways to decide what kind of adds they show in a website. the 3 main options are:

1) google scan the website and base on the content of the website they show the add.

2) the webmaster by hand feeds a bounch of tags, this tags are mean to describe the website topic.

3) google uses other information they gather on the user.

So for example. If you do a google search, or watch a youtube video, or gets into any website that have an agreement with Google Add Sence (for example they have a gloogle add). Google will keep this information about you and google will use this information to personalice your advertisment.

In other words.

chess.com doesn't decide what add you see, that is decide by google. Google shows you the add they want to show you and pay some money to chess.com to post the banner.

Now, Google is not inviding your privacy by doing this. they have a team of over 50 lawers that says they have not violate your privacy.

The deal is that by using any of the google services you are voluntiery agreeing to give your information to Google. There is a contract "ipso facto" you agree wit hGoogle. This contract you can read in what is call "the term of services" and the "policy of privacy"

This is the link to Google's policy of privacy:

http://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/

Here 2 fracments from this document that may are of your interest:

"We may collect information about the services that you use and how you use them, like when you visit a website that uses our advertising services or you view and interact with our ads and content."

The next thing is a list onf info they collect from you, that is IP, telephone number, your search historial, your preferences... even your G-mail personal messages are indexed.

The next line is how they use this info:

"We also use this information to offer you tailored content – like giving you more relevant search results and ads."

If you don't agree with this terms and conditions. Google invites you to don't use their service. In other words. As you use or access google content (this include add on websites) you agree to give your info and they will use this info to costumice the adds they show you.

Other thing you can do is actually costumice your adds results and tell google what you want them to show you on the adds. Consider that "nothing" is not an option :)

Any way, chess.com have to tells you what information they collect from you, how they collect it and why they collect it. In other words chess.com have to have some sort of "terms of services" and "policy of privacy" of their own. A website this big, most likeky, have a lawyer to make this documents. There is offices of lawyers that only do this. if you want to google "website legal consultand" or something relate, and don't care next time you visit a website see a banner on the topic. Do a search on the topic.

This is the link to the Policy of Privacy of chesscom:

http://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/

and here a line fro that document:

"Once you register with Chess.com and sign in to our services, you are not anonymous to us. Chess.com automatically receives and records information on our server logs from your browser, including your IP address, Chess.com cookie information, and the page you request. Chess.com uses information for the following general purposes: to customize the advertising and content you see, fulfill your requests for products and services, improve our services, contact you, conduct research, and provide anonymous reporting for internal and external clients."

When you created your account on the website. At some point on the registration form there was some sort of question that looks like: "do you agree to our terms of services and our privacy policy?" with the links to those documents and some sort of box that you clicked saying yes.

If you clicked on the "yes" to that question, you say that you read the documents and you agree with what they say. If you don't click on the "yes" then you can't creat the acount.

Another line from chess.com PP (link above) doccument, please read carefully the next line:

"Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on this site. This includes the DoubleClick DART cookie which enables it to serve ads to users based on their visit to this site and other sites on the Internet. You may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy. To learn more about this behavioral advertising practice or to opt-out of this type of advertising, you can visit www.networkadvertising.org"

This is unusually clear. Chess.com is even telling you about the google adds program. Most of the websites don't bother to do this.

If you are so concern about your privacy. You should do your homework and read what you agree when you create an account on a website, or when you uses some search engine like yahoo or google. or when you watch a video online, or when you create an e-mail on someones company server...

You should be better informed about all this things. Instead of reacting the silly way you are reacting now.

There is also things you can do to improve your privacy and keep your self more "shadowed" on line. Annonymacity is impossible. But if you fail to understand a standard TOS and PP. Then you must certanly will not understand the techniques to shadow your internet browsing.

Yes.  You should probably leave before they exploit you further.  It's too late for me -- but I'll rest easier on my deathbed knowing that you've escaped the clutches of Chess.com.

And the power struggle begins...

Fair warning to the OP: If you pull into the parking garage and see a black sedan parked in an unusual spot, Chess.com's goons are definitely waiting to force some Armor All on you. 

It's really hard to tell from the outside. Anything's possible.

i'm two-faced for sure

The other face is just a puppet, though.

i can do puppet

Your computer is the real enemy, it is the one allowing all of these evil sites to store their evil cookies on itself!

Understand how cookies work, they are normal and almost all sites you go to will store cookies on your computer. It's not invasion of privacy because you allow it to happen. If you hate it so much just disable cookies and move on.

Hie

Hie thee hither. Or not.

+1

Either disable them altogether, or dump them when you leave the site.  You'll have to sign in every time, but they won't have anything to track you with.

Google still will, though, all over the place, and they will still use that information to affect the ads you see here!  If that's too much for you, you'll have to use only "anonymous browsing" and never sign in anywhere, or maybe you should go off the grid entirely and be entirely self-sufficient in the wilderness.

Me, I get back at them by not buying the stuff advertised.  But I'm not a nut about it like the OP.

You aren't paying anybody's bills if you don't buy anything, Zippy.

And your FREE use of the site gives you exactly ZERO rights to dictate the policy.  Don't like it?  Go somewhere else.  Just be careful - their cookies watch you, too.  They are ALL watching you.  And they're gonna GET you when you least expect it.  Be afraid, be very afraid.

And apparently trysts paid the ultimate price in said struggle...