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| It's not about chocolate chips...Hi Steve (and everyone)
In a short answer, 'cookies' are very small files sent to and by your computer to, as volkul said, enhance a website by providing the neat abilities like a persistent log-in, seeing who's online, etc. The problem is (this is where Auger's beef comes from) is that some websites (not RR) can use cookies to collect info about your computer and other, not so pleasant things.
They were a really big deal a couple years ago (wayyy back in '98-99) but as rotormouth mentioned most browsers now give the user control on how to use cookies (IE6 gives you the ability to choose to accept/reject them or choose websites to always/never trust).
For most users it comes down to an issue of privacy (doesn't it always?) But others it just doesn't seem to bother them.
BTW does anyone know where the term 'cookie' comes from? |
