Why do I get a *fresh* AskMetafilter.com cookie when loading a YouTube page?

January 14, 2011 5:54 AM

Why do I get a *fresh* AskMetafilter.com cookie when loading a YouTube page? I also get one on YouTube from Alternet.org, quantserve and scorecardresearch. The latter two are obvious. But WTF?

What I mean by fresh is that I delete all but whitelisted cookies, I didn't have AskMeFi on the whitelist, I had NO non-whitelisted cookies, and then got a new AskMeFi one from YouTube.

Btw, I use selectivecookiedelete for Firefox

and I use the Prefbar extension cookie button to toggle the general accepting status.

posted by Grand Wahzoo to MetaFilter-Related at 5:54 AM (13 comments total)

It's all part of the great Zionist conspiracy, which nobody would know about were it not for that pesky Assange! Well, probably it isn't.
posted by dougrayrankin at 6:06 AM on January 14, 2011

FYI this was originally in Ask, mods might want to close that.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 6:14 AM on January 14, 2011

Can you post or send me the details of the cookie like the name, domain, value, and expiration? That might give me more info to work with.

My first guess is that Google is setting a cookie for Google Analytics with a value that includes something about MetaFilter because you were referred from Ask and both sites use GA. But it's tough to know without the details.
posted by pb (staff) at 6:17 AM on January 14, 2011

Yeah, I'd guess YouTube might do some extra-deep digging on referrers, especially if you came from an Ask MeFi thread to a youtube link in the past day.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 6:18 AM on January 14, 2011

I don't get fresh cookies. But if I microwave my old ones for ten seconds, they're almost as good.
posted by Metroid Baby at 7:12 AM on January 14, 2011 [3 favorites]

I mean, like, WTF?
posted by KokuRyu at 7:33 AM on January 14, 2011

Reverse vampires

* wink * wink *
posted by blue_beetle at 7:53 AM on January 14, 2011

First, people, I wasn't claiming something evil, more like harmless greed like quantserve etc. I just couldn't figure why Ask would set a cookie. And no, I didn't go to YT from Ask or any MeFi site. Yes, it's probably some tie-in with Google, though I hadn't gone to YT from Google either. So, I just went to get the cookie details and couldn't replicate it. doh.
posted by Grand Wahzoo at 9:16 AM on January 14, 2011

Why do I get a *fresh* AskMetafilter.com cookie...

Because the stale cookies are for non-members.
posted by amyms at 11:06 AM on January 14, 2011

Yes, it's probably some tie-in with Google, though I hadn't gone to YT from Google either.

YouTube is Google.
posted by Sys Rq at 12:16 PM on January 14, 2011

The videos are coming from inside teh googles!
posted by SpiffyRob at 1:55 PM on January 14, 2011

http://i.imgur.com/bMoVh.jpg for a snap of the simple selectivecookie delete, no details.
posted by Grand Wahzoo at 3:32 AM on January 17, 2011

Well, as someone pointed out, there's no way that Youtube.com can set an ask.metafilter.com cookie. It's not permitted by browser security. So I wonder what selectivecookie is showing you in this screenshot. I don't know anything about the program, but I think you're seeing a quirk with the program rather than youtube setting a nefarious cookie.
posted by pb (staff) at 7:24 AM on January 17, 2011