Okay, you know you can delete your cookie and vote again and again and again on the Taboo Tuesday thing by now, but it’s not a big deal.
As any one who’s taken a basic web programming class could tell you, you transmit a lot of data about your computer each time you visit a webpage. Some of it’s just generic information about your setup; like your monitor resolution, and the browser you’re using. But there’s also some identification stuff; your IP address is sent, and I believe the name of your computer is sent, and can easily be recorded along with a page view, or a vote.
The cookie file is put on your computer because it’s easier/quicker/cheaper for WWE.com to check your computer to see if you’ve voted already rather than search their database, but some very ordinary database manipulation to screen on multiple votes from the same IP and computer name. If they wanted to.
You can change your computer name, and you can use programs to connect thru another service for an anonymous (and changing) IP, but that’s probably not worth the effort for most of us, and the security code will slow some of that down.
Regardless, I can’t see WWE.com not realizing people would delete their cookie and revote early on, and I figure they’re either filtering out the multiple votes or don’t care.
I’m still surprised they didn’t try to get names and addresses; I guess the idea is to make it as simple as possible to vote, but it seems odd for them to pass up a marketing opportunity. (Maybe they’d expect a lot of dummy data?)
Got my actual election ballot the other day. Think I need to figure out who to vote for. And when. At least Lucha is on Wednesday and not Tuesday.