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Data Harvesting From a Developer's Perspective
cliffski raises some questions about the need for game developers to have some amount of data from the users who play their games. He says,
"PC Games connecting to a central server to send information (outside of MMOs) have gotten a (deserved) bad reputation in recent years. The huge outcry about Mass Effect and Spore are evidence enough of that. But in gamers' hurry to prevent intrusive DRM systems and dubious privacy-breaking data harvesting, are we throwing out the good with the bad?"
Clearly, some aspects of games could be improved by having a better knowledge of average PC specs or knowing which parts of the games are more entertaining to the users. Input from customers helps to improve almost any product, as indicated by the usage of countless surveys and focus groups. But where do we draw the line between being inquisitive and being intrusive? What can game developers do to prove that the collection techniques or the data themselves wouldn't be abused?
Speaking from experience I can tell you that an "opt-in" program would never collect enough data to be useful.
I'd suggest an "opt-out" system along with restrictions on *what* data was sent. At least I'd say that nothing personally identifiable can be sent, there's no need for it. There may be other restrictions I can't think of right now.
IMHO, this issue is about what data gets sent, not that data gets sent at all. It should be clear and verifiable what data is being sent, so that users who are that way inclined can check to ensure that nothing untoward is being sent to the developers.
I hate printers.
Of course you can take the product back but that's inconvenient.
It's more than inconvenient, it's usually impossible. Most retailers refuse to take back computer software, especially opened software, as a matter of course. And you would have to open the software to get into the installer to read the EULA (Which, in some cases, you "agreed to" before even seeing it, with phrases on the CD case like "By opening this package you agree to be held liable to the End-User License Agreement contained therein", a so-called "Shrink-wrap" license).
So saying that 'taking back software is an option' is, for most cases, wrong.
Valve would disagree.
http://www.steampowered.com/status/survey.html
http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/52707
1,728,662 Steam users have voluntarily agreed to participate in their semi-annual hardware survey by having detailed specification of their PC hardware cataloged.
> Not even my employer has any right to demand that I keep a secret
No one can demand that you keep a secret: you can decline when they offer to pay you money to do so.
> ...especially if one day I might be in court to testify about something that happened
> in the workplace.
No contract keep you from answering any questions you are ordered by a court to answer nor can it penalize you for doing so.
> NDA is meaningless.
A properly drafted and executed NDA is an enforceable contract.
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