Considering all the recent debate over privacy and data security, this chapter on how to spy on our users might seem a little off-beat. Still, there are valid reasons for wanting to know more about our users. And of course, Lighttpd can help us in our quest for this knowledge. But to stay with the zeitgeist, first a few lines about data protection.
The early definition of privacy was "the right to be let alone". But since the late nineties of the nineteenth century, a lot has changed. As we create a bigger and bigger "data shadow" just by living normally, it becomes more about "the right to claim ownership of data about oneself". And data is a very malleable concept these days.
In short, we should take the means to try and keep the data about the site visitors to the minimum, to ensure a working site. We need not even store personal data; in most countries it is quite possible to match a person to an IP-address. Moreover, we should not gather more information...