Apr 13, 1999
There is value in a program which provides personal information to server side programs. When you think about it, you provide personal information to external agencies on an ongoing basis - when you sign up for cable, open a bank account, register for a university course, collect Air Miles, and more.
What is important in this sort of transaction is that you, the user, be in control of your personal information. It must be clearly established that *you* own your personal information, and that when you release it to a company, you are licensing it for single-user use only. The purpose of user agent software will be to put the management of such transactions in your hands.