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Delete Cookies, Inflate Net Traffic Estimates

Posted by kdawson on from the throwing-them-off dept.

eldavojohn writes "In my browser, I regularly go to the tools menu and clear my private data. This includes my cookies. As a result, people like me who destroy cookies by the thousands may be inflating estimates of Web traffic by up to 150 percent. People have good reasons for clearing out cookies — we've heard about bad cookies before (and I think the FCC is still investigating the issue). But every time you delete cookies, many of the sites you've visited count you as a new visitor next time."

14 of 217 comments (clear)

  1. ...And? by xlsior · · Score: 2, Funny

    News at 11 -- Water still wet.

    1. Re:...And? by amper · · Score: 2, Funny

      And in other news, Generalissimo Francisco Franco is *still* dead.

  2. Re:150%? Please by w3woody · · Score: 4, Funny

    There are also other ways of tracking people like IP addresses possibly in combination with browser UA string.
    Unless you're on a corporate network behind a NAT with a standard-issue OS install with a standardized browser.
  3. just plain wrong by eneville · · Score: 2, Funny

    i think this is very wrong. who counts the number of cookies as bandwidth? the bandwidth is measured at the routers, if it's not, then dont read too much into bandwidth estimates as it's nothing more than a wet finger in the air.

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    Why UNIX?
  4. Re:FTC, not FCC by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 2, Funny

    The FCC has little reason to investigate cookies.

    I thought the FDA was responsible for investigating cookies...

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    This guy's the limit!
  5. Re:On the other hand... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I just forward all my cookies on to Santa - I get good presents

  6. Re:FTC, not FCC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    If the Federal Cookie Commission doesn't look at cookies, then what do they look at? Are you telling me America isn't prepared for a Cookie Monster attack?

  7. Every time you delete cookies... by chinard · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...god kills a kitten!

    1. Re:Every time you delete cookies... by DreamerFi · · Score: 5, Funny
      Approximately 70,000 dogs and cats are born in the U.S. each day, or 25,567,500 each year. Of these, roughly 54%, or 13,806,450, are cats. Since 34.5% of cats don't live to see their first birthday, we can assume that about 4,763,225 kittens die each year in the United States alone. We'll take for granted that God in His divine Wisdom purposely smote each of these kittens.

      Let's assume that the idiom is talking only about male masturbation. Let's further assume, highly conservatively, that males do not start masturbating until they reach age 15. Of the total U.S. male population, 107,199,356 would then be masturbation-age males. Again, let's conservatively estimate that teenagers masturbate no more frequently than adults, and that all men masturbate an average of 20 times each month or 240 times per year. This means that each man in the United States masturbates approximately every 1.5 days. It also means that there are approximately 25,727,845,440 male masturbation sessions in the United States each year.

      There are nearly 26 billion male masturbation sessions in the U.S., yet there are fewer than five million kitten deaths annually. Far from a one-to-one correlation, there are 5401.5 masturbation sessions for every single kitten death. This means that the average American man can masturbate regularly for 22.5 years before he is responsible for the death of a single kitten. Indeed, with a life expectancy of less than 75 years, the average man will be responsible for only two or three kitten deaths in a lifetime of vigorous masturbation.

  8. Re:No surprise by HomelessInLaJolla · · Score: 2, Funny

    Nobody said anyone was being cheated. I think you've somehow been hypersensitized to have a need to downplay anyone who thinks any deeper than the surface. As if by playing the "nope--you're wrong" card you somehow completely invalidate any possibility that numbers are ever spun. That's a troll tactic. Read saying and immediately begin with "No, you're wrong".

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    the NPG electrode was replaced with carbon blac
  9. Re:On the other hand... by xENoLocO · · Score: 3, Funny

    On one hand, your post is intriguing and thought provoking.

    On the other hand, this is slashdot and that kind of behavior is not allowed here. We demand you say something funny.

    --
    "The need to build the internet comes from something inside us, something programmed... something we can't resist."
  10. Re:On the other hand... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    "What's that, you say? I can't hear you, your point must be mute or something!"

  11. Oh boy... by Seoulstriker · · Score: 4, Funny

    Dear Anonymous Coward,

    So, you're the little bastard who keeps forwarding me that crap.

    This year... no presents for you!!!

    Sincerely,
    Santa H. Claus
    santa@northpole.net

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    I am defenseless. Use your button. Mod me down with all of your hatred.
  12. Re:On the other hand... by FFFish · · Score: 2, Funny

    I spoof my MAC address and re-boot my DSL connection once a week, getting a new IP Address each time!

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