Have you ever been glad when a service you use created a new feature that you had to opt out of rather than asking you if you wanted to opt in?

Maybe I’m just cranky, but I was not thrilled to see the Fluther newsletter pop up in my inbox. Just like I was not thrilled when all our comments were published on our profile without an opt-out option (thankfully this has been fixed). Just like I was not thrilled when Google Buzz started announcing my business to everyone I have ever emailed in the past four years.

Why, why, why do brilliant and talented web developers not just ask people if they want to use Google Buzz, if they want their quips published, or if they want to receive the Fluther newsletter? I appreciate that in this case it was easy enough to unsubscribe, but the logic behind it totally baffles me.

So have you ever been glad to have a new feature sprung on you without your input? Am I only remembering the times it pissed me off without being grateful for the times it didn’t?

(Also, this is not a comment on the newsletter itself, which I’m sure was a ton of work and is of course brilliantly executed! Just a comment on what should be showing up in my inbox.)

And I can’t decide if this is a meta question? Feel free to move it.