Cookie alternatives

[David Sternlight]

At 9:07 AM -0700 7/16/96, Hal wrote:
>There has been quite a bit of discussion recently about the "cookies"
>used by Netscape Navigator and their effects on privacy of users.  Here
>is some background and some thoughts on alternatives.

<omitted>

Other uses of cookies include keeping track of pages you've already
seen/done in a sequential information web site, or in a registration
procedure; or validation of registered users and their expiry dates
(perhaps encrypted with protective data elements to prevent cookie sharing)
to avoid having to refer to a data base and slow the interaction down each
new time. I've seen some sites which appear to pass you a cookie after
you're registered, and in future take you directly to the "operational"
first page (such as the front page of a newspaper).

It's also possible to store personal data, such as the size of your largest
order to date or some such, or whether you've bounced any checks/credit
card transactions--so you get different treatment depending on your past
history. The uses are almost as varied as the mind of the server's
operators.

David