Forums about proz.com » ProZ.com: Translator Coop »
Proz.com appears to be using Crazy Egg tracking software
Thread poster: Ulrike Kraemer
Ulrike Kraemer
Ulrike Kraemer
Germany
Local time: 16:03
English to German
+ ...
Jul 27, 2009

Hi all,

I usually delete all cookies from my computer when closing Firefox at the end of the day, so I need to log in at Proz.com again the next morning.

Yesterday morning, when I was just about to log in, I noticed that my Firefox browser was blocking JavaScript from a site called - www.cetrk.com -. As curiosity is one of my innate character traits, I wanted to know what was behind it and ... See more
Hi all,

I usually delete all cookies from my computer when closing Firefox at the end of the day, so I need to log in at Proz.com again the next morning.

Yesterday morning, when I was just about to log in, I noticed that my Firefox browser was blocking JavaScript from a site called - www.cetrk.com -. As curiosity is one of my innate character traits, I wanted to know what was behind it and tried to access the URL. All I saw was: // cetrk. Apart from that, the page was empty. That sparked my curiosity even more, and I began to search Google to find out more.

What I did find is truly alarming: CETRK appears to be a tracking tool marketed by Crazy Egg (see www.crazyegg.com). Their slogan: “Visualize your visitors.”

CETRK = Crazy Egg TRacKing

So, it appears that a tracking tool is being used again to track visitor behaviour and traffic despite the fact that Drew MacFadyen promised not to do so without informing the community first.


See the following posts from earlier forum threads:


http://www.proz.com/forum/german/124351-was_tut_google_analytics_ohne_mein_wissen_einverständnis-page4.html#1030933


Drew MacFadyen wrote:

If, in the future ProZ.com elects to utilize any analytic programs, regardless of the provider, we will inform the community using the requisite and prominent means as well as provide users with an option to opt-in or opt-out.




http://www.proz.com/forum/prozcom_suggestions/125120-google_ads_here_out_of_control_staff:_thanks_steps_have_been_taken-page2.html?action=Reply"e=1&post_id=1077433


LittleBalu wrote:

And secondly, how can you know - based on their entry, time on site and behavior - that the vast majority of these non logged in visitors to the site are not interested in translation or translation services? I was under the impression that GoogleAnalytics had been discontinued and that no other tool for tracking visitor behaviour would be used without informing the members first.




http://www.proz.com/forum/prozcom_suggestions/125120-google_ads_here_out_of_control_staff:_thanks_steps_have_been_taken-page3.html?action=Reply"e=1&post_id=1080884



Drew MacFadyen wrote:

LittleBalu Perhaps you did not see my other posts

We are not using Google analytics, but we have historical data, we have Google Adsense data, and we have our own internal server data.





I cannot find any indication in the Privacy Statement informing us that this (or any other) tracking tool is being used.

What surprises me is that JavaScript from this site is being blocked only when not logged in. I don’t want to speculate, so I’ll refrain from voicing my thoughts here.


What I do want, however, and I’m sure I’m not alone in this, is a statement and clarification from Henry and Drew regarding the use of this tracking tool. Why is it being used without informing the community first, despite Drew’s promise to do so? Why is no mention of it made in Proz.com’s Privacy Statement?


By the way, I started this thread in the “Translator Coop” forum as it is the forum that deals with “Community aspects of this site”.

Hope to hear/read from the powers that be soon,
Ulrike (aka LittleBalu) ▲ Collapse
 
Jason Grimes
Jason Grimes
Local time: 10:03
SITE STAFF
Disabled for now Jul 27, 2009

Hi LittleBalu,

ProZ.com has used the Crazy Egg service on a few pages recently to generate "heat maps" for measuring the effectiveness of different site designs (i.e. which parts of a page are clicked more often than others). Crazy Egg's privacy policy indicates that visitor data is handled in ways that accord with ProZ.com's own privacy policy. (Information about how to opt-out... See more
Hi LittleBalu,

ProZ.com has used the Crazy Egg service on a few pages recently to generate "heat maps" for measuring the effectiveness of different site designs (i.e. which parts of a page are clicked more often than others). Crazy Egg's privacy policy indicates that visitor data is handled in ways that accord with ProZ.com's own privacy policy. (Information about how to opt-out of the service is also available on that page.)

You may be right that an update to the ProZ.com privacy policy was warranted before this tool was implemented, and a corresponding announcement made to the community. I take responsibility for that--Drew was not advised before this tool was implemented.

Use of the Crazy Egg service has been disabled for now until a review can be conducted to ensure that it explicitly conforms to the ProZ.com privacy policy (which may need to be updated and announced).

Thanks,

Jason ▲ Collapse
 
Ulrike Kraemer
Ulrike Kraemer
Germany
Local time: 16:03
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Some comments Jul 27, 2009

Hi Jason,

thanks for your quick response. I have some comments to make:

Firstly, Drew did not promise that he would not be using any tracking tools without informing us first. He promised that ProZ.com would not be using any tracking tools without informing us first and that, if you did, we would have the possibility to opt in or opt out. There seems to be a... See more
Hi Jason,

thanks for your quick response. I have some comments to make:

Firstly, Drew did not promise that he would not be using any tracking tools without informing us first. He promised that ProZ.com would not be using any tracking tools without informing us first and that, if you did, we would have the possibility to opt in or opt out. There seems to be an internal communication problem.

Secondly, I'm not really interested in Crazy Egg's privacy policy or opt-out options. I expect ProZ.com to offer that service as I'm a regular user of your site, not Crazy Egg's site.

And thirdly, I just noticed that this topic is not shown on the main page. Can you tell me why?

Thanks,
LB ▲ Collapse
 
Jalapeno
Jalapeno
Local time: 16:03
English to German
... Jul 27, 2009


And thirdly, I just noticed that this topic is not shown on the main page. Can you tell me why?



I noticed that as well. I saw it earlier before there were any replies and wanted to check back later to see the reactions. I couldn't find it on the main page or the forums overview page any longer and had to open the Translator Coop forum to find it ...
 
Ulrike Kraemer
Ulrike Kraemer
Germany
Local time: 16:03
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Anybody home to answer my question? Jul 28, 2009

Jason,

I would like to know why this topic is not displayed on the main page. Please give me an answer. If you won't, I'll put the question to the community in a new thread.
 
Henry Dotterer
Henry Dotterer
Local time: 10:03
SITE FOUNDER
Response to LittleBalu Jul 28, 2009

LittleBalu wrote:
I would like to know why this topic is not displayed on the main page. Please give me an answer. If you won't, I'll put the question to the community in a new thread.

Jason has answered your question accurately. Thanks for making the post, we will discuss internally.

For those who are not familiar with this software, it was used for a short time to record which areas of the new home page people click on. The report that was extracted was not tied to individual users. The information obtained is of a sort that is useful in optimizing a site design for visitors.

In the meantime, there is little point in posting this topic a second time. Besides, that is against the forum rules (as discussed offline). I am locking this thread.
 


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Proz.com appears to be using Crazy Egg tracking software






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