Added to Contacts?

MarcusMaximus · 05-01-2004, 06:35 AM

for those that use Hotmail. Anyone notice that you have been added to someone's contact list without you knowing who the other person is?
each morning, when logging on, the screen would announce that someone has added me to their contact list. After some ssearching, i discovered that this other person had received a notification from hotmail that I had added her/him to MY contact list. Neither one of us had actually done any such thing. the hotmail software had found that we had visited the same or similar sites or had listed something in common with respect to our interests. so Hotmail is now in the business of hooking people up! It's rather sneaky but some would say that it is a benign use of the technology. it's akin to using a false pretext in order to get people to do something that they wouldn't otherwise want to do.

This has happened a couple of dozen times so far. Anyone else been added to someone else's contact list? or heard of this?

Fit Freak · 05-01-2004, 11:10 AM

Yet to happen to me...weird???? Do you have your Messenger set so that you HAVE TO APPROVE a contact before they can be added...this could help you avoid it I think.

greekblondechic · 05-01-2004, 03:11 PM

look thru options to see if there's something you can turn "off" so it doesnt do this.

OceanDude · 05-01-2004, 03:31 PM

Hmm, if that is true it could really upset the pimps and bookies.

In all seriousness I suspect MS would have nothing to do with this since it would be ripe for a law suit. Imagine the headlines in the paper if a female ended up getting stocked by a sexual prediator that she was auto-connected with. With their deep pockets every lawyer in the country would be going after them. If this activity is really taking place my bet is that it is 3rd party advertisers sharing cookies with each other. Still kind of disgusting since it's akin to comparing discarded used condoms to determine who uses the same brands and colors and partners.

-OD

05-01-2004, 06:35 AM	#1
MarcusMaximus Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 740	Added to Contacts? for those that use Hotmail. Anyone notice that you have been added to someone's contact list without you knowing who the other person is? each morning, when logging on, the screen would announce that someone has added me to their contact list. After some ssearching, i discovered that this other person had received a notification from hotmail that I had added her/him to MY contact list. Neither one of us had actually done any such thing. the hotmail software had found that we had visited the same or similar sites or had listed something in common with respect to our interests. so Hotmail is now in the business of hooking people up! It's rather sneaky but some would say that it is a benign use of the technology. it's akin to using a false pretext in order to get people to do something that they wouldn't otherwise want to do. This has happened a couple of dozen times so far. Anyone else been added to someone else's contact list? or heard of this?

05-01-2004, 11:10 AM	#2
Fit Freak Fit Freak Elite Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Halifax Posts: 1,797 Photos: 6	Yet to happen to me...weird???? Do you have your Messenger set so that you HAVE TO APPROVE a contact before they can be added...this could help you avoid it I think. Searching for the right balance...

05-01-2004, 03:31 PM	#4
OceanDude Well Read Elite Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Cape Canaveral, FL Posts: 1,853	Hmm, if that is true it could really upset the pimps and bookies. In all seriousness I suspect MS would have nothing to do with this since it would be ripe for a law suit. Imagine the headlines in the paper if a female ended up getting stocked by a sexual prediator that she was auto-connected with. With their deep pockets every lawyer in the country would be going after them. If this activity is really taking place my bet is that it is 3rd party advertisers sharing cookies with each other. Still kind of disgusting since it's akin to comparing discarded used condoms to determine who uses the same brands and colors and partners. -OD "Doc, If I had known I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself..." Est unusquisque faber ipsae suae fortunae. We Americans scoff at the likes of African witch doctors yet spend 100's of millions of dollars on fake reducing systems. The only regular exercise he gets is stretching the truth. His intellect is not replenished, he is only an animal, only sensible in the duller parts...

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05-01-2004, 03:11 PM	#3
greekblondechic I'm special :) Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: NJ Posts: 7,791	look thru options to see if there's something you can turn "off" so it doesnt do this.