Washingtonpost.com demands stats for entry

Washington Business Journal Online ^ | Wednesday, August 7, 2002 | Jeff Clabaugh

[rabidralph]

13:21 EDT Wednesday

Washingtonpost.com demands stats for entry

Jeff Clabaugh Staff Reporter

The Washington Post's Web site will began requiring visitors to provide information about themselves to get full access to the paper's online content. Beginning Wednesday, visitors are given the opportunity to voluntarily fill out a short survey. Beginning next week, it'll be mandatory.

The three question survey requires a visitor to enter year of birth, sex and ZIP code. The Post says it will require no personally identifiable information from users.

Washingtonpost.com CEO Christopher Schroeder says the site will use the information to develop new products and to deliver relevant advertising to its users.

[rabidralph]

This should make our job a whole lot easier to not post excerpts from this ink-stained fishwrap.

[Oye Gente]

I cant believe it, what do these news sites get out of this really, I see a flood of visitors leaving the site.

[Paul Atreides]

A photo of my bare backside is the only stat they will get from me. And if you think THAT isn't an insult....whoa, boy!

[rabidralph]

I hope so. For the past several months they've been running pop-up ads everytime you click on a story. Now they've taken things one step further. I hope people do rebel.

[Senator Pardek]

For all of these "surveys", I'm a retired female who was born in 1995, who lives in Bora Bora.

[rabidralph]

What's your zip code?

[BOBTHENAILER]

The Washington Post's Web site will began requiring visitors to provide information about themselves to get full access to the paper's online content.

Ja, you haff papers, yes? Und vere did you vish to visit online, eh?

[Dog Gone]

That still seems a lot less intrusive than what the LA Times requires. They basically require a strip search.

[LibWhacker]

Do we have to be anymore truthful than they are?

[rabidralph]

The answer is no.

[SUSSA]

Why would anyone want to read their crap any way? It can't be taken seriously until the story is verified by a real news organization like Newsmax or World Net Daily.

[Blue Screen of Death]

I'm a retired female who was born in 1995, who lives in Bora Bora.

Really? Are you married? What's your sign? Can you stay out past 7:00PM?

[another cricket]

For all of these "surveys", I'm a retired female who was born in 1995, who lives in Bora Bora.

Gee I am a Fuller Brush man born in 1899 who lives in the Falkland Islands. Maybe we should get together.

a.cricket

[Fred Mertz]

My name will be Hugh Jazz but I haven't decided my DOB, sex or zip code yet.

[petkus]

Great Idea! Just make up alias & use a Hot Mail Email address for the Compost! That should give them something to analyze!

[Fred Mertz]

Crap, they don't care what my name is. Oh well.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I refused to sign up for the LA Times!

And they really dumped dirt on Simon today!

[Unknown Freeper]

roflmbo Fred. hahahahaha

[dcwusmc]

The Compost won't accept a DOB prior to 1901 or so, 1898 and 1899 wouldn't go... sorry.

[aross79]

I tried that once while setting up Hotmail accounts for some people in my office. For the first one I entered DOB as 1/1/1900. Then for the next one I entered 1/1/2000. I went through the whole process and then they said that my account couldn't be set up because I was under 13!! So now I'm back to 1/1/1900.