Interesting bit from the linked comments via "egoodman85":<p>Hey, just want to clarify something as an Etsy employee. It's not your <i>purchases</i> that are public - it's your feedback on those purchases. I know it's a small distinction, but it's not like we have some sort of desire to publicize our members' purchases. Feedback is public by default just like it is on eBay - to increase accountability and transparency. It's also worth noting that feedback has been public since the site's launch (in fact, the option to make it private was only added recently). The new People Search feature does not change this at all.
We take this stuff very seriously, and I just worked with Rob (CEO), and we implemented this solution: <a href="http://www.etsy.com/teams/7716/announcements/discuss/6818578/page/1/" rel="nofollow">http://www.etsy.com/teams/7716/announcements/discuss/6818578...</a><p>Being able to react to issues like this quickly is one of the great things about the Continuous Deployment process we have set up at Etsy. You can read more about that here:<p><a href="http://codeascraft.etsy.com/2010/05/20/quantum-of-deployment/" rel="nofollow">http://codeascraft.etsy.com/2010/05/20/quantum-of-deployment...</a>
Your purchase history should never be up for grabs in a public manner. That is a breach of trust in my book. I liked etsy but I don't think I will purchase anything from them in the future because of this. Not that I am buying anything incriminating but I don't want to support this type of marginalizing of customer privacy.<p>This is the type of thing that should most certainly be either not implemented at all or an opt-in type of thing if etsy still decided to go through with creating the feature.
I had high opinions of Etsy after reading about their work environment and ethics, but that is just a terrible move.<p>The only way to minimize the damages would be to roll back the feature completely and apologize. Or turn it off for everyone and leave the option to turn it back on. But that's a major PR blow.
I just logged in and set feedback to private, now it says:<p>+Private
Thank You! Enjoy! Check back with us. We are always adding new items. 420Chopshop .com<p>I bought a gift for my cousin and now my profile is tagged with 420chopshop (they also sell things that aren't related to marijuana). It seems like you can write anything you want in feedback and there is no way to hide or remove it.<p>While I don't find it to be a huge issue, it will make me think twice before buying something from Etsy in the future.
"Found an XXL glass dildo..."<p>Next para: "Critics of Etsy's new policy seem to have a thing for searching for artisan dildos, but the point is pretty clear."<p>That is one spectacular double pun at the end...
There had to be at least one person at Etsy that thought this was a bad idea. As far as most people are concerned, a purchase is a private transaction between two parities that is not to be disclosed (unless explicitly agreed upon by both parties). Whoever made this 'feature' a reality really ought to get fired.
Why is etsy trying to do social? Are they going to roll out a daily deals service next? What's their search strategy? Come on, etsy has a nice little niche going, why ruin it by chasing the latest trend?
As an example: <a href="http://www.etsy.com/people/vanessakaleidoscope/feedback?type=for_others" rel="nofollow">http://www.etsy.com/people/vanessakaleidoscope/feedback?type...</a>
I don't mean to pick on this person, but I'm using this page as an example (and it is from the P-A forums, I didn't dig it up).<p>Some users think that "feedback" is like an email to the seller; it won't be public.<p>Given that people are upset, why doesn't Etsy just disable this "feedback is public on your profile" feature?
It is great that someone from Etsy has stepped up to respond. Thank you!<p>But, does <i>feedback</i> expose purchases? If so, there needs to be an explicit explanation (or policy) that identifies this will occur on Etsy.
Etsy is trying really hard to be 'social' lately. Some members like it, others don't. It seems like they swung harder down this path after the recent investment by Index Ventures.
This article seems really misleading, or I'm confused. If it's really just your feedback, then it's just like every other ecommerce site, where reviews are public, and ars should correct themselves.<p>Otoh, the screenshot in the article makes it look like it's all purchases. So which is it?
Our CEO just posted a comment on the article for clarification:<p><a href="http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2011/03/etsy-users-irked-after-buyers-purchases-exposed-to-the-world.ars?comments=1#comment-21429759" rel="nofollow">http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2011/03/etsy-users-irked-aft...</a>
This issue has been addressed:
<a href="http://www.etsy.com/teams/7716/announcements/discuss/6818578/page/1/" rel="nofollow">http://www.etsy.com/teams/7716/announcements/discuss/6818578...</a><p>+10 for continuous deployment, too.
Hi, Adam Brown from Etsy here.<p>Just wanted to let you know that we have resolved this issue. As of right now, all your purchases and feedback on Etsy are now automatically set to private.<p>You can read more about it in our blog: <a href="http://www.etsy.com/storque/handmade-life/rethinking-feedback-12472/" rel="nofollow">http://www.etsy.com/storque/handmade-life/rethinking-feedbac...</a>
When are companies going to figure out that whenever 'social' gets bolted on to an app there's a backlash? Why do we all keep trying this over & over? Do we actually see this increasing sales? Or is it just a general feeling that since Facebook is worth XX billion, we'll be worth more if our experience is more social?
Some additional clarifications here -- I also work for Etsy:<p><a href="http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2011/03/etsy-users-irked-after-buyers-purchases-exposed-to-the-world.ars?comments=1&start=80#comment-21430678" rel="nofollow">http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2011/03/etsy-users-irked-aft...</a>
The responses to this give me such little faith in this community and the internet in general.<p>This is a pain, sure, but for everyone to suddenly be saying "if they don't fix this today I'm never using them again" -- don't you think that's a bit rash?<p>Why can't we raise our concerns about this policy with pointless threats that so little will ever carry through with. This is a relatively small issue, but one that a lot care about, so make it clear it matters to you but to say "if you don't fix it I will never use you again" is lame. Explain <i>why</i> this is bad instead of just saying you'll never use it again. It seems so childish.