Over 3 years ago, Team Discussions suddenly disappeared out of the subtitle tools of many users. It turned out not to be a technical issue but a change in the terms and conditions of one of Viki’s third parties. To get our TD back, we were told to accept so-called “social-media cookies.” @worthyromance asked Viki to address the situation and in that same thread, the staff promised me they were working on it:
Now, I have no problems whatsoever with functional cookies. If the sole purpose of the cookies I had to accept was the functioning of Viki and everything on it, then there was no issue. But we are talking about social-media cookies here, one of the more shady kinds of cookies.
So we are expected to accept cookies that at the very least potentially could track us. In fact, they probably do cause otherwise, it wouldn’t even be necessary to separately list them as “social-media cookies.” Then they would simply be “functionality cookies.” Anyhow, as long as there isn’t a clear and absolute guarantee in Viki’s cookie policy that these cookies are by definition NOT used for tracking purposes, I am not willing to take the risk. I live in the GDPR area so I shouldn’t have to.
Ever since my TD disappeared back in 2021 and I was waiting for Viki to address the issue, I have been living without it and I have done so in all possible roles. At times, that has led to some inconveniences like misunderstandings or simply me feeling left out. But those inconveniences didn’t come from the fact that TD is so great that no other communication option could replace it. They simply came from the fact that everyone else kept using it.
I’ve said it before: Viki could easily create their own version of TD, without shady third-party cookies. I assume that the reason they don’t has more to do with business politics than with anything else. Well, so be it then. I have found ways to work my way around TD.
Yet now, after all these years of hoping for a proper solution, Viki is defining me as an abuser:
https://contributorhelp.viki.com/hc/en-us/articles/18459867909523-Viki-Contributor-Guidelines
If the reason for this is to make it possible for Viki to keep an eye on our progress, I’d be happy to include @fsl_viki in my group chats on VikiMail. Or I can assign someone to post on TD for me, like I already do in some cases.
However, calling me an abuser while I’ve stayed dedicated to Viki all these years, in spite of the inconveniences, is insulting. I have the right to protect my privacy and my online experience. Create a TD that doesn’t involve third parties and I’ll be happy to join.