[Ripose]

Did you know this?
Although it says no personally identifiable information will be collected I still don't like my browsing habits being collected without my permission, especially on site like this.

[Gus1234U]

thanks for making this info public (on-site). i use cookie blockers and ad-ware blockers for just that reason. they are easy to find and install, BUT research the name of the one you choose, just in case you pick a fake.

I don't understand what "browsing habits" means on a site like this. Do you mean what topics we read?

[amandalouise]

usually websites do have some sort of tracking, and other things that help them gather statistical data about their sites. sometimes it's the tracking statistics that allow sites to know what and how to improve their websites and for some websites tracking can lead to what ads are popular ensuring a website can remain free to all.

the way I see it is anyone can see what posts people post to anyway even without registering. i mean our user names are right to the left of posts so its not that anonymous anyway. All anyone has to do is read the posts and they can see what members have visited what threads\posts...unless of course a member has never posted anything. but even then there is always someone out there tracking. i mean how else does google or other sites know your name, and your browsing history in order to make suggestions when a person is doing their emailing, searches, facebooking, twittering... everything on the internet has tracking systems on it. its what comprises the internet. if it didbnt we wouldnt be able to search the internet, get email, play games...

Im not saying its not scarey knowing all websites on the internet are tracking and there some somewhere out there in cyber space is our information on websites we visit, talk, play on but it is what it is.

i just follow the rule that I dont post anything on psych central that I dont want others to know about me. strangers not registered want to read my posts have at it. and if their statistical data keeps track of what threads\posts I visit and reply to helps to make this site the best that it can be, so be it.

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by jo_thorne

I don't understand what "browsing habits" means on a site like this. Do you mean what topics we read?

an example of browsing habits look in your computers internet explorer, edge, foxfire or chrome history. that is a list of your browsing habits (what websites you have visited, what pictures you clicked on what posts you clicked into, what threads you visited, music you played, ...) thats an example of your browsing habits.

[Ripose]

The description I read was not specific about what info is gathered but I'm sure you could find out more by visiting scorecardresearch

i figured they were collecting info since the questions asked when you sign up were kind of too much...

[Ripose]

Originally Posted by somat

i figured they were collecting info since the questions asked when you sign up were kind of too much...

I don't remember any of the questions, I don't even remember signing up. I was not in very good shape than.

the zip code/postal code thing seemed too much... but i just assume that every website is tracking me (usually, they are). i do have a vpn but i am still not very careful as my google account is usually left on... generally, i just dont have the energy to care.

Originally Posted by Ripose

Did you know this?
Although it says no personally identifiable information will be collected I still don't like my browsing habits being collected without my permission, especially on site like this.

Do what I do and use Firefox with noscript, (blocks all scripts and prevents the collection of cookies), and adblock plus, go to settings and enable "tell websites that I do NOT want to be tracked" and "clear browsing history upon exit". Finally, use the search engine called "startpage" which is completely anonymous and uses the same SSL encryption that bank web sites use on your every web search.

Personally, with all of these websites wanting to make money off people's personal information, I feel entitled to a cut of it otherwise I'll continue masterfully evading their attempts to collect date off me via my high tech knowledge

Thanks for the information about the search engine. I have a love/hate relationship with the mighty Google.

Originally Posted by jo_thorne

Thanks for the information about the search engine. I have a love/hate relationship with the mighty Google.

Same here man. I deny them as much personal information as possible and what I do provide from my Google account is provided via a fake name and false info and is always logged on an anonymous proxy or VPN service so that should tell you how little I trust them

If you want another free little tip on how to evade them on your Android device, do what I do: get an Android emulator or a cheap basic smartphone, set it up with a Google account with fake info, connect to the internet via a VPN, then download a .APK extractor to save app installation files to a SD card.

Next on your primary Android devices, stay logged out of Google and go to settings and enable "allow apps from unknown sources" which will let you install the extracted .APK apps onto your Android devices without giving Google access to any personal information. Transfer the SD card over to your devices and start the installation of all of the apps you desire from the emulator or basic android device. Done!

Now you have full functionality on your Android devices WITHOUT needing to use Google. I call this a win-win

[Perna]

If you read the "Before you post here: Help and FAQ section" you would know the site owner's policies. Tracking helps make the ads more specific/potentially helpful and it's the ads that allow this site to be free to us.

[DocJohn]

While I think it's great that many users turn to cookie and ad blockers to block stuff from websites, please keep in mind that those things actually hurt us as a small publisher. And so we've greatly minimized things like ads here in the community (you don't see any when you are logged in).

Without ads, we couldn't afford to employ the dozens of folks that we do nor keep the lights on after 20 years. comScore (the focus of this thread) is an industry mainstay and what advertisers use to measure our reach (like Nielsen ratings for TV). In order for us to be in the business we are in, just like WebMD, Huffington Post, or Yahoo, we need to run these things.

We don't stop our members from blocking anything they want to block that makes their browser experience more enjoyable for them. I just want you to be aware that such actions have ramifications on small publishers like us.

Thanks,
DocJohn

Originally Posted by DocJohn

While I think it's great that many users turn to cookie and ad blockers to block stuff from websites, please keep in mind that those things actually hurt us as a small publisher. And so we've greatly minimized things like ads here in the community (you don't see any when you are logged in).

Without ads, we couldn't afford to employ the dozens of folks that we do nor keep the lights on after 20 years. comScore (the focus of this thread) is an industry mainstay and what advertisers use to measure our reach (like Nielsen ratings for TV). In order for us to be in the business we are in, just like WebMD, Huffington Post, or Yahoo, we need to run these things.

We don't stop our members from blocking anything they want to block that makes their browser experience more enjoyable for them. I just want you to be aware that such actions have ramifications on small publishers like us.

Thanks,
DocJohn

Believe me, I want to lower my browser security a bit and be more supportive of the site, but as somebody who has mental health issues, I'm afraid to. Because of how stigmatized the topic of mental health is and how people with mental illnesses are often abused and misunderstood, I don't want to be tracked by this site or any of it's affiliates or ad networks out of fear of somehow being outed by the general public and having to suffer any further abuse.

With that being said, is there a donate option? If not, you might want to consider adding one. If there is one, I would gladly donate to support the site when I have money. I'm sure many people who block ads and cookies on this site do so for similar reasons that I do and would thus, donate money to support it that way.

yeah... and i get triggered by trying to be sold something based on what i type... ads for rehab and meds and stuff like that just... ugh!

like if you called a friend about a relationship and the phone asked you if you would like to purchase the morning after pill.

i dont like donating to stuff but i would if it meant not having to be tracked or sold stuff.

[DocJohn]

Sorry, we don't accept donations. (But we do have a non-profit arm called the Psych Central Community Connection you can donate to to help other members who have immediate financial needs -- Donate | Psych Central Community Connection ).

I didn't make up the fabric of how the Internet works today, so I can't help but work within the means it's given you and I to work with. I'm not sharing this information for any purpose other than to answer the OP's concerns to explain why we use the service in question.

DocJohn

i took adblock off momentarily out of curiosity of what they are trying to sell me. some of them were dodgy but they werent all dodgy. i guess we all know by now not to trust any ad?

i did it without being on my account and i noticed that whenever i searched for something, the questions were all incredibly ethnocentric.

the whole ethnocentrism and internet came up in another thread... i hate to be one of those people who complains about things online because they dont have a life but... it is incredibly frustrating for anyone outside of the US to be asked questions on americas history when many people cant even expect people to know what language is spoken in their country. i have searched a few times and all questions asked are ethnocentric.

and, of course, still scary that just by researching a topic someone is trying to sell me drugs, dodgy therapy, online diagnosis, a free phone if i am on foodstamps...

the weight loss ads were also rather concerning... and it terrifies me that we live in a world where drug companies even can spend so much on advertising.

i understand how the internet works.

meh.

Originally Posted by DocJohn

Sorry, we don't accept donations. (But we do have a non-profit arm called the Psych Central Community Connection you can donate to to help other members who have immediate financial needs -- Donate | Psych Central Community Connection ).

I didn't make up the fabric of how the Internet works today, so I can't help but work within the means it's given you and I to work with. I'm not sharing this information for any purpose other than to answer the OP's concerns to explain why we use the service in question.

DocJohn

I have some experience with web developing so if you are considering accepting donations, I could supply you with some code to attach a donate through PayPal button to your site.

[dtrain0802]

Yeah, giving somebody code for a PayPal button is super shady...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by dtrain0802

Yeah, giving somebody code for a PayPal button is super shady...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

lololol you're right I didn't think about that.

Still though, I wish there was an alternative way to support this site.

I would totally give a paypal code to someone named darkness. If they were called unicorn or hope or something, maybe not

Maybe this is why I'm a starving artist...

Originally Posted by somat

I would totally give a paypal code to someone named darkness. If they were called unicorn or hope or something, maybe not

Maybe this is why I'm a starving artist...

What if I were a unicorn or a powerful being that could grant you wishes bigger than your wildest dreams huh? You would never know

For the record, from my experience, somebody with the name "dark" in their name is more trustworthy. Those with "light" or "sun" or "love" you gotta watch out for because many of them pretend to be your friend and choose their username strategically

Originally Posted by DarknessIsMyFriend

What if I were a unicorn or a powerful being that could grant you wishes bigger than your wildest dreams huh? You would never know

For the record, from my experience, somebody with the name "dark" in their name is more trustworthy. Those with "light" or "sun" or "love" you gotta watch out for because many of them pretend to be your friend and choose their username strategically

That was my point! Though I suppose that sun is less suspicious than cutie or something. But maybe emo names are more trusted on here... Dunno.

Originally Posted by somat

That was my point! Though I suppose that sun is less suspicious than cutie or something. But maybe emo names are more trusted on here... Dunno.

I wouldn't consider anything with the word "dark" in it emo. Words like dark, shadow ect are more goth than anything. Emos are merely a sub genre of what I like to call "pseudo-goths" who give real goths a bad name with all of their drama and what not

I find anybody who is more open about their dark sides to be more real and trustworthy in general because they are being more honest about who they are and aren't attempting to hide any part of their natures from you