Hello,

I'm sorry if this is a question that's been asked ad nauseam before, but I couldn't find it when I searched: Are the PsychCentral forums indexed and searchable with Google? I'm a bit paranoid about privacy (and I suspect I'm not the only one here who is ) and even though we're all anonymous, this is of course a public forum. We know that when we sign up. However, it would be interesting to know if the forum is also indexed by Google.

[Perna]

Yes, isn't Google everywhere? :-) Search for Apteryx PsychCentral and you are too. But who is going to know to search for you there?

[sabby]

This is by DocJohn in another thread but applies to your question:

We allow search engines to index our community to try and ensure people who are looking for a safe, supportive online community can find ours.

When you first register here, we warn you explicitly to choose a username not used elsewhere online to protect your online privacy.

Best,
DocJohn

[ECHOES]

Also, Google "knows" us and where we've been online, so we are linked to those sites when we search. Google gives us a search narrowed to the parameters of when it knows about us from our online habits.

So someone who's never been on PC might not get a Google search result that includes PC, depending on what is being searched.

[Perna]

I do not get a Google search result that includes PC because I don't use Google to get here; even though I have Google's Chrome browser, typing in an address or using a link from somewhere else to get here or even the "autofill" option, when I searched for "Perna" it gives me the mussel my nickname is named for :-) My name is actually Margaret and its ancient Greek "meaning" of that name is a "pearl" and you get into the Latin and way-back definition/meaning and you (actually me, I did :-) end up with "perna". I liked the idea of a mussel; hard on the outside, soft inside.

All that being true, you still tend to run out of mussels soon so are going to eventually get me because of this site being indexed.

Thank you for your replies. This is useful information. I asked precisely because I didn't find any forum posts in G searches, so I thought perhaps the fora had a noindex tag. I knew that the non-forum parts of PS, blogs and articles, are indexed. I understand the rationale behind the policy.

[FooZe]

Oh, I notice it's in the FAQ now, too:

Do search engines index the forums?

Yes, we allow search engines to index our community, to help others find emotional and mental health support online. We explicitly suggest members choose a username upon registration that is not used elsewhere online, to help with your online privacy.