What we have here is a simple oops being amplified by a moronic vulture like press pouncing on deadend stories in hopes of catching the evil Bush govt red handed.
That statute is somewhat illogical however. Cookies are largely harmless and can serve a fine purpose. To limit a web site from using them limits the user's possible experience (if they desire to have one of course).
While the general presumption is that agencies will not use persistent cookies (better safe than sorry), agencies aren't completely prevented from using them. Persistent cookies are allowed under the conditions that the agency:
IOW, any agency that thinks persistent cookies could be useful for business can use them, but they have to take steps to ensure the public's right to privacy is not infringed and that any resulting information will not be abused.
Yes, I have worked as a webmaster for a federal agency.
Aha - a pro
I use a dinky circa 2000 RCA WebTV Plus
No hard drive - no "mouseover & save-as" (no mouse either!) wireless keyboard + backup handheld remote (I use two keyboards)
(I keep it extra-cool with plenty of airflow at all times - This helps a lot)
WebTV/MSN-TVs have a quick & dirty "cookie-viewing" page & "delete cookies" gizmo
Cookies used to slow my connections speeds a tad but MSN's periodic software, plugins, and new features appears to have now got my dinky WebTV cookin' so I not only get no viruses, bugs, worms, Trojans (DNA hint for Slick Willie & Monica) - and I have to use independent website hosts (and imagehosts) and websites to create webpages and store my audios, graphic images, source material, and webpages on.
I have a 15 websites now on many different webhosts & servers. I backup all of my images, audios, and webpages on separate servers - I have been burned by webhosts that "updated to new better servers" and lost much or all of my files and webpages.
"Cookies" must be enabled for me to access about seven Transloaders and .ftp Edit sites I use (no software programs on WebTV) and I have multiple websites, account usernames, passwords - with cookies set to expire usually in 365 days - if there is a longer option I select "900 days".
It would take me forever to reset all of my websites info and Transloader info to what they are - I use some "simple" memorable passwords and some "backup site" passwords that would take a long time for computers to crack.
But by then I already know and change those passwords or delete the complete (copied) website.
During the 2004 Presidential campaign I found my "cookie bin" viewer page WebTV has let me see who and when anyone viewed my images or linked my audios or webpages.
I found that some of the media were actually stupid enough to "hotlink" some of my parody &/or authentic audio and image URLs on their online websites.
So as I always make copies of most all of my files under different file names - and at different servers - I simply "overwrote" new images and audios and webpages that the media's readers would click on.
Nothing obscene or illegal - but not what the media wanted on their permanent online website page archives.
Cookies are a 2-edged sword.
All of these MSM sites put "cookies" on my sites and IP.
I could tell from the dates and times and the URLs exactly what they had visited here on FR or on my webpages and what they "hotlinked".
Journalists are not to smart.
Tim Russert cried on MSNBC that "Newspapers are laying of staff - I depend on them for show-prep."
Timmy Boy - If you do that you will get burned just like Rather, Mapes, NYT, CBS, LAT, WaPo, Newsweek (they hotlinked my .mp3s) etc.
Cookies do not bother me a bit.
My WebTV is not slowed down by them anymore - I have tested connection times - before & after deleting my cookies.
Bill Gates & MSFT may be hated by lots of people - but he sure made an El Cheapo gadget that is immune to viruses, needs no firewalls, software purchases, and appears to be bulletproof - and never any popups either.
AND IT'S AS CHEAP AS DIRT!
I had one (1) receiver go out in 2001 - WebTV Fed-Ex Expressed me by the next day no charge - with a another brand new wireless keyboard, cables, remote (controls my WebTV if walking or sitting - controls 2 TVs, PIP, my huge vintage Marantz stereo receiver/tuner/amp, my VCR/DVD, my speakers - as does my keyboard)
WebTV sent an enclosed note -
"Sorry your WebTV 'Plus' reciever let you down - Please accept a complete new WebTV and use all of the enclosed accessories as spares." - Almost embarrassing - but 2 keyboards, 2 remotes, and miles of cable was handy.
Gates is a real SOB I guess.
Enyhoo - When he bought out WebTV about 1997 he revamped and updated everything and constantly gives us free automatic updates -
Viruses? We don't need no stinkin' viruses!
Popups? We don't need bo stinkin' popups!
My liberal NYC sister was in recently and saw the website and a few webpages I set up for her to email out as Christmas Card "E-Cards" -
She uses a DELL at her office in NYC and could not believe how my dinky WebTV (with my sound system & DirecTV on 2 big TVs at once) performed
Only thing is my 56K dialup makes loading my .mp3s & .wavs and some image-heavy webpages (like my parody FR homepage) slow to load compared to her PC and IP connection speeds.
I was amazed how many PC users in businesses know so little about HTML, codes, writing scripts, etc.
A prisoner of software.
No thanks.
Your comment:
"Cookies are largely harmless and can serve a fine purpose. To limit a web site from using them limits the user's possible experience (if they desire to have one of course)."
Is dead-on.
As Seinfeld might say "He re-cookies (re-gifts) the MSM!"
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- Just an amateur who learns more every day -
Now if I could get get Charlie Brown's face/head animated like I did Linus & Lucy's......
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