I appreciate your asking the question, but I don't want to make this debate about my personal views just because I started the thread. As I write this, more than 50 people have upvoted my original post, so it appears to be a matter of general interest to the community (which is not to say that all of the upvoters necessarily object to any particular use of the data, nor that I do myself for that matter).
With that said, speaking only for myself, I don't think opt-outs are worth much in this sort of debate. If the question is worth asking, I think it should almost always be an opt-in system.
No. I opted in to having my posts shown on HN, for as long as the operators of HN are willing to host them there. That is the only thing any poster here opts into by signing up.
With that said, speaking only for myself, I don't think opt-outs are worth much in this sort of debate. If the question is worth asking, I think it should almost always be an opt-in system.