Accept Cookies to view GamesWorkshop.com

[DarthSte]

I just went to the UK Games Workshop home page and was presented with this:

To help us continually offer you the best experience on games-workshop.com and help us manage the site, we and carefully selected third parties will store some information on your computer using cookies. Only by allowing us to store cookies on your computer can you browse the website and see the entire range of Citadel miniatures. To find out more about what cookies are, the ones this site uses and how to delete them, check out our privacy notice.

I accept cookies from this Games Workshop site and want to see the miniatures!

Is it new? I've never seen it before. I usually browse from work, so that's probably one less site for me to look at.

[Little Joe]

I just checked and I cannot get past it the easy way, not even old links work.
Not that I have checked the page regularly lately. Nothing interesting there anymore, just when they had a new release to look at better pictures.

I do not want to be coockied by GW! Well at least not before reading more about them, which I cannot without accepting them. Silly them, I hope they stop this crap.

EDIT: It is the third parties I dislike the most.

[AndrewGPaul]

It happens to me every time I clear the browser history. It's so it knows what country you're in. Just pick a country and carry on.

If you don't want websites leaving cookies on your computer, you can set the browser up to delete them when you close the program. It just means you won't be able to use the "log me in permanently" feature on forums.

[de Selby]

I expect GW to cookie me because they're obsessed with knowing what country I'm in before I can follow any links. I do wonder who the 3rd parties are though.

Who came up with that name anyway? Cookie sounds so nice. Who could object to being given a cookie? I prefer to think of it as electronic tagging.

[Myrmidon616]

GW posted this on thier facebook page:

Hi everyone,

If you're in the EU you may have noticed a box appearing when you visit games-workshop.com. The reason you are being asked to confirm your acceptance of cookies is to make sure that Games Workshop is fully compliant with EU legislation.

We have updated our Privacy and Cookies Policy to reflect these changes and thought you should all be the first to know. After all, the last thing we want is for you to be worried about random pop-ups on your computer.

Rest assured, Servitor 13 has your best interests at heart. Now let's fire up the lascannons.

[Melkanador]

As GW stores this data also in the USA where the US state can obtain them easily, this means I won´t until GW changes this visit the GW page again.

[Empirespy]

"You have the right of access to, and to receive a copy of, information held about you. We are entitled to charge a fee of £10 to meet our administration costs in providing you with the information. Please contact us if you wish to see a copy of the information we hold and we will respond to you within 40 days of receiving your request."

They want me to pay £10 to know what they know about me!?!
What is this world coming to...

[xxRavenxx]

They want me to pay £10 to know what they know about me!?!
What is this world coming to...

This was the case for the DPA when I was in my first year of secondary school. Its not a new thing.

[vargojones]

"You have the right of access to, and to receive a copy of, information held about you. We are entitled to charge a fee of £10 to meet our administration costs in providing you with the information. Please contact us if you wish to see a copy of the information we hold and we will respond to you within 40 days of receiving your request."

They want me to pay £10 to know what they know about me!?!
What is this world coming to...

If you requested any information about you from any company they are well within their rights to charge you for it, as defined in the Data Protection Act. This isn't some kind of special GW scam ;o)

[Mr Ogre]

This is perfectly allowable. Hell, if you want to see a copy of your file where I work, that too is £10 a pop.

As they said, the whole alerting you to Cookies is as per EU Legislation. If memory serves, it requires *any* website that uses Cookies to seek your permission before just dumping them on your computer. Nothing to worry about. Nothing to break the pitch forks out for either.

[Scaryscarymushroom]

Who came up with that name anyway? Cookie sounds so nice. Who could object to being given a cookie? I prefer to think of it as electronic tagging.

Maybe it's because when your computer has too many cookies it gets fat and lethargic.

[darius-god-of-biscuits]

They have to be more open about cookies to fit in with European guidelines and it gets rid of that annoying "what country are you from?" screen.

The £10 fee is allowed under UK freedom of information legislation and is widely applied to stop annoying requests. What they know about you is displayed when you log in anyway. Presumably they will also know (or be able to access) where your computer is.

[Spectrar Ghost]

I heard a radio article about a guy who actually petitioned Facebook under the DPA, got a thousand pages of info in return - and feels he might not have gotten it all. Ten bucks to cover the cost sounds about right, though naturally GW would have nothing like that volume of data.

[Mr Ogre]

They'd likely have a fair bit on me, being an former blueshirt. And black shirt before that (when all staff had them) and indeed, before that, red shirt!

[Karlon]

If only they would get the "remember me" checkbox working whilst they're at it. Pretty tired of signing in every time I visit.

[Hendarion]

You know, "remember me" works with cookies too. Its the only possible way to do it. Same like at warseer btw.

[Little Joe]

Just to let you know, I took the bait and am munching a cookie right now.

I read the policy and the list of cookies and it is nothing you should worry about. It is what you would expect from any online shop you sign on to. Apart from the unused cookie for switching of site content (did not really get that one).
It even has a passage for parents for the little ones under 13 which is good to see. Whoever wrote that should write more of the web content.
GW could use an advertising department though: "Rest assured, Servitor 13 has your best interests at heart. Now let's fire up the lascannons." and the "give me the cookies, I want to see miniatures" are childish and make me wonder.
Even considering a child audience the well worded passage in the policy for parents should make them not put those lines online. I am aware most parents will not read it, but still.

[violenceha]

I'm suprised they mention the existence of third parties, isn't the GW line usually "there is only GW"....

[Brother Loki]

The third parties in question are probably stuff like Google analytics or something. Nothing nefarious.

In any case, this is purely because it recently became law that any site in the EU which uses cookies must ask permission before doing so (I think from the first of May). That's basically any site which uses a shopping cart, or a forum, or has any kind of login function or user preferences. It's a massive pain in the ass frankly, as these sites need cookies to function, and putting a dirty great pop-up asking users to accept them is a great way to scare off potential customers who don't know any better. One of the more stupid EU regulations, although the intention behind it is good, the execution is terrible. GW's the first site I've seen that actually complies with the new legislation.

[Gingerwerewolf]

The only reason that they have put this sign up now is because EU policy has changed: you no have to Alert people to this action.

Everyone moaning about their rights or the £10 charge obviously dont know that:

a) Every website you go to drops cookies on your computer so you can be traced, INCLUDING THIS ONE! This has been happening since before the big .com push back in the 90's
b) Exactly as darius-god-of-biscuits says its a UK Freedom of information act that makes it cost a tenner to stop idiots like us lot spamming them with requests which have a considerable Administration overhead.
c) They already have loads of info on you.

If you want to know more, or who is tracking you go here http://www.ghostery.com/