[pmwiki-users] Google Analytics

Allister Jenks arj at zkarj.co.nz
Wed Aug 23 18:16:45 CDT 2006


On 8/24/06, Tom <celok at gmx.net> wrote:
> Without much ado, i fully agree to this opinion.
>
> In short: "Please do not make any Google/Yahoo/AnyThingElse a core feature."
>
> Just my two cents.
>
> (Actually my objection in this case is (amongst the general reasons)
> based on Google's censoring policy in China.)

I struggle to see (a) what makes Google Analytics "Commercial" in the
absolute sense.  Does placement of Adsense ads make a site commercial
as well?  I have several PmWiki powered sites.  One of them is
commercial because it is selling a service and that is its *primary*
purpose.  It also carries AdSense advertising.  Another of my sites is
not primarily commercial because its *primary* purpose is to show off
my photos.  But you can buy any of a handful of products from Cafe
Press and it carries AdSense advertising in the hopes that it may one
day set off the hosting costs.  Yet another site doesn't have anything
for sale, has a heap of useful information for people and also carries
AdSense advertising in the same hope as above.  It is not *primarily*
commercial.

PmWiki.org has long had a PayPal donation button.  Does the word
'donation' make it non-commercial?  When you get down to it, are you
not assisting Patrick to continue building PmWiki for *your* benefit
by sending him money?  Is that really any different to me including
AdSense on my personal sites?

To my mind, "commercial" means exchanging (or attempting to) money for
an agreed service or product.  Merely having Google Analytics on a
site does not make that site commercial.  Granted the service is
geared to commercial use, but in reality, it is just a very good site
statistics engine.  Just like the one your host probably provides,
only likely better.

I think some people are taking it all a little too seriously.  By all
means have the discussions about whether any function belongs in the
core, based on the long published principles of PmWiki, but please
don't let it devolve into 'good vs. evil'.

-- 
Allister




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