OK not the kind we can eat, however the European Union have now issued a directive which encourages websites to share in-depth details about the “cookies” they deposit on a user’s machine when that user visits a website.
Cookies we use
When someone visits this site, certain standard Internet information and details of visitor behaviour are collected to help determine things — for example, how many people visit this site. This is done by using cookies, small text files placed on your computer via your web browser. These types of cookies are widely used by nearly all online services to help systems remember visitors and their preferences. They can be very useful at making your online experience more customized and personalized when you return to visit. The table below briefly explains the cookies used and why.
| Cookie | Name | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Share This cookie | __unam | This cookie is set by the third-party Share This service, which makes it easy to share content. The cookie tracks click-stream activity. This cookie expires after 6 months. |
| Migration dialog dismissed cookie | _mLdK 2 | This cookie records the number of times that the user closed the dialog box showing payment options. This is shown only on very old networks. This cookie is deleted when the user closes the browser. |
| Google Analytics cookies | _utma, _utmb, _utmc, _utmv, _utmz | These cookies, from Google Analytics, gather data about how visitors use the network. This information is used to improve the network. This cookie expires after 1 year. |
| Authentication-type cookie | auth-type 1 | This cookie remembers the name of the third-party provider that the user used to sign in, e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Google. The next time they sign in, this provider is presented to them as their initial choice. This cookie expires after 1 year. |
| Authentication-username cookie | auth-user-name 1 | This cookie remembers the username for the third-party provider that the user used to sign in. The sign-in page will greet them using this name. This cookie expires after 1 year. |
| Performance logger cookie | bzplcm | This cookie records the current time. It is used to measure page-load speed, for performance analysis. This cookie is deleted when the user closes the browser. |
| Chat local-storage update cookie | chatWriteTimestamp | This cookie stores the time of the last write to browser local storage. It is used to keep browser tabs in sync, when chat is open in multiple browser tabs. This cookie is deleted when the user closes the browser. |
| Convertro Analytics cookies | cvo_sid1, cvo_tid1 | These cookies, from Convertro Analytics, gather data about how visitors use the network. This information is used to improve the network. |
| Gift message cookie | giftMessage | This cookie is temporary storage for a message that the user sent with their gift. This cookie expires after 10 seconds. |
| Invite tab cookie | inviteTab 2 | This cookie stores the user’s preference for the currently selected tab on the Invitations page. This cookie is deleted when the user closes the browser. |
| Last visit cookie | lastVisit 1 | This cookie stores the time of the user’s last visit to the site. This cookie expires after 1 year. |
| Like cookie | like 2 | This cookie is temporary storage for data that identifies what the user is liking. It is stored in the cookie temporarily if the user is signed out and needs to go to the sign-in page. After the user signs in, we read the cookie and complete the like action. This cookie is deleted when the user closes the browser. |
| Mobile header size cookie | mobile-h1-size | This cookie stores the optimum font size for the header on mobile pages. This cookie expires after 3 years. |
| Mobile v2 redirection override cookie | mobileRedirectsEnabled 1 | This cookie records whether the user has chosen to view desktop pages instead of mobile v2 pages, even when browsing using a mobile device. This cookie expires after 1 year. |
| Commission Junction cookie | ning_cj | This cookie indicates that the network creator was referred to Ning via Commission Junction. This cookie expires after 2 months. |
| First touch cookie | ning_ft | This cookie contains a copy of the information in one of the Google Analytics cookies (_utmz). It contains information about how the network creator arrived at Ning (e.g., via a search engine). This cookie expires after 4 months. |
| Ning session cookie | ning_session | This cookie identifies page views belonging to the same session. This “session ID” is logged and is used for debugging purposes. This cookie expires after 1 hour. |
| Ning visitor cookie | ning_visitor | This cookie identifies page views belonging to the same web browser. This “visitor cookie” is logged and is used for debugging purposes. |
| Chat sound lock cookie | soundLockTimestamp | This cookie stores the current time every couple of seconds. It is used to ensure that, when chat is open in multiple tabs, only one of the tabs will make a sound when a new chat message comes in. This cookie is deleted when the user closes the browser. |
| Media uploader cookie | using_bulk_uploader_… | This cookie stores the user’s preference for whether to upload files using the simple uploader or the Flash uploader. |
| Chat volume cookie | volumeSetting | This cookie stores the user’s preference for the volume level for chat. This cookie is deleted when the user closes the browser. |
| Cookies-enabled test cookie | xg_cookie_check | This cookie is used to test whether the browser accepts cookies. It is used on the sign-in and sign-up pages. This cookie is deleted when the user closes the browser. |
| External profile cookie | xg_ep | This cookie stores data from a sign-up provider (e.g., Facebook) which is then used to prepopulate some fields on our sign-up form. This cookie expires after 1 day. |
| External profile initialization vector cookie | xg_ep_iv | This cookie contains data that is used to decrypt the external profile cookie. This cookie expires after 1 day. |
| Paid access signup cookie | xg_pas | This cookie indicates that the user is in the middle of signing up, and heading to PayPal. This cookie expires after 1 year. |
| Paywall email sent cookie | xg_paywallContact | This cookie indicates that the user just sent an email to the network administrators with a question about paywall membership. This cookie is deleted when the user closes the browser. |
| Combined persistent cookie | xg_pc | This cookie is a combination of other cookie values that need to remain after the user’s browser is closed. The values are documented in this table. This cookie expires after 1 year. |
| Sign-in-problem email sent cookie | xg_psi | This cookie indicates that the user just sent an email reporting that they had a problem signing in. This cookie is deleted when the user closes the browser. |
| Mobile v1 redirection override cookie | xg_redirect_override | This cookie records whether the user has chosen to view desktop pages instead of mobile v1 pages, even when browsing using a mobile device. This cookie is deleted when the user closes the browser. |
| Combined session cookie | xg_sc | This cookie is a combination of other cookie values that are automatically cleared after the user’s browser is closed. The values are documented in this table. This cookie is deleted when the user closes the browser. |
| Gift cookie | xg_sgi | This cookie temporarily stores information about a gift that the user is purchasing from the site. It is used for the success message shown after the purchase. This cookie is deleted when the user closes the browser. |
| Profile attribute cookie | xg_sip | This cookie is a temporary storage for data from the sign-up form. This cookie expires after 1 day. |
| Profile attribute initialization vector cookie | xg_sip_iv | This cookie contains data that is used to decrypt the profile attribute cookie. This cookie expires after 1 day. |
| Sign-up cookie | xg_su | This cookie indicates that the user successfully completed the sign-up form. This cookie expires after 1 day. |
| Sign-up initialization vector cookie | xg_su_iv | This cookie contains data that is used to decrypt the sign-up cookie. This cookie expires after 1 day. |
| Tweet cookie | xg_tw | This cookie is temporary storage for the user’s Twitter tweet while they go off to twitter.com to authorize that this network can post the tweet for them. This cookie is deleted when the user closes the browser. |
| User info cookie | xgdi | This cookie contains basic user demographic information. This cookie expires after 1 year. |
| Sign-out cookie | xgl | This cookie indicates that the user just signed out. It is used to display a message to the user after they sign out. This cookie is deleted when the user closes the browser. |
| Page-size cookie | xn_approval_page_size | This cookie stores the user’s preference for number of items per page on pages in which they approve or reject moderated content. |
| Ning ID cookie | xn_id_ | This cookie is set during sign-in, and serves as your identity on the network, and indicates that you are signed in. This cookie expires after 30 days. |
| Flow-tracking cookie | xn_track | This cookie records completed and incomplete attempts at going through a sequence of pages (a “flow”), to help us to improve the pages. This cookie expires after 30 minutes. |
These types of cookies are widely used by nearly all online services to help systems remember visitors and their preferences. They can be very useful at making a user’s online experience more customized and personalized, but some people worry that consumers aren’t being educated about the type of data that is collected when they visit a public site. The idea behind the directive is that sharing extensive details about these cookies will empower consumers to make more educated decisions about how much they want to participate on a particular site or service.
There may be a downside to this well-intentioned idea. Some say it will erode participation on sites by scaring Internet users into thinking that a site isn’t safe if it displays intrusive messaging about data collection. No matter how you feel about it, if you’re located in the European Union or the U.K. here is a list of cookies that this Network may use in day-to-day operations.