This is all down to what the user expects. When the user is having a face to face conversation with somebody, they expect and accept that person will be able to look at them and note their facial expressions and what they're saying. When somebody is sat at home opening a letter or an email, they don't expect the sender to know that they're doing it. Yes, many geeks understand that the sender will be able to see that they're doing it, but the average non-geek does not understand this.
Yes, you're absolutely right. However, I believe that the proper direction is to change the people's expectations towards "I'm aware that typical consumer technology doesn't offer me anonymity, just like I can't expect to be anonymous/invisible on the street with typical behavior" instead of luring them into the illusion that the internet is some completely separate world.Off- and on-line will interweave more and more and society should adjust their expectations accordingly.
