[_jal]

> Maybe we should actually start blaming browser vendors for shipping badly pre-configured software with the defaults that consciously and willingly trade privacy for "not breaking" the web?

This.

The writing was on the wall when the conversation became about "balancing" the interests of users and huge content factories. And now web-DRM is a standard.

Fuck that; my computer, my rules.

I had a funny conversation recently with someone who was arguing that I was breaking etiquette, or perhaps an implied contract (it wasn't clear) by messing with cookies. He realized the absurdity about the time I asked if I was ethically obligated to back up and restore the cookies in case of drive failure, but people have some really odd notions about their right to control state on my machine.

In some ways I prefer the black-hat types; at least they're aware that they're working against my interests and don't become indignant when I point it out.