Recent Privacy Issue

I'm just getting caught up to speed on the W_I issue. Someone replied that all of our posts are visible from the outside.

Something I've often thought about. How do people feel, if it's possible, to prevent people from reading the Support Community unless they're logged in? It could cause a major issue for someone since anything written, even on the web, can be used in legal matters.

Is it possible to restrict the Support Community to members only? Would that take away from the spirit of the site? All other "tabs" could still be accessible . . . .

Like I said, someone brought it up on the previous thread and it is something I have been thinking about for a couple of weeks . . . . now seemed like a good time.

Perhaps, that would make some people feel safer . . . . it would be a real shame to lose this therapeutic tool because of one persons vindictivness. My psychologist recommended this sight to me and post the link on his web site for others because I have had a positive experience with it. What do I tell him now?

I don't want us to lose a good thing and know Doc John is trying to fix the problem and resolve the issue. Trust is HUGE for 99.9% of the people here . . . . I'm just trying to think of a way to restore that. Doc John and all of the moderators have all worked so hard to make this a positive experience and a helpful tool . . . . and all of us.

I am very saddened for our loss.

Songbird

I think it's a really good idea to make the forums viewable only after registration and log in, like the blogs and photo albums are.

It might deter some curiosity seekers if they have to go through the process of registering, giving a valid email address, waiting for confirmation of registration, and hitting the "go to this link to confirm membership" process.

yes I agree.

I don't know the logistics of security but I certainly am worried about what information this person was able to obtain. This is such a wonderful supportive site and I would hate to see it dissolve due to one persons actions. I am concerned for everyone here as many of us have trust issues anyway. Hopefully this is something that can be easily rectified with futher precautions.

Yes songBird it is possible. some of us were discussing this in the thread about online privacy located in the question of the month message boards. At that time Doc John posted he would not be making any changes to the site....But then this recent situation happened.

personally I still am for making these community message boards a members only area meaning in order for anyone to read the community boards they must be registered and logged in.

I would feel safer for the forums to be member only however, I often do wonder about the ever-increasing membership and that many new members never post.

Either way, I know that I will always feel insecure and afraid about what I post in future.

Another thought - just because a site sets the "Community areas like message boards" as restricted to registered and logged in members, that does not mean others will not be able to read, participate and in the end do what happened here recently. It was a member that inlisted the help of an outsider to do the dirty work.

Regardless of restrictions it is the members responsibility to remain safe and keep themselves safe on line by using safety protocals of not disclosing their biological names and exact locations. Otherwise restricted members only areas will not prevent this from happening again. Doc John may have the key to upping security by changing the community and chat to registered members but he cannot prevent what happened here from happening again.

Just like in the real world people have the responsibility of their own physical and mental health wellbeing when on line it is the persons own respinsibility to take care of their own mental and physical health wellbeing by using common safety protocals. For example In the real time world do people go around disclosing their real name and location to every acquaintance that comes along? of course not. so that is one common sense rule that we can protect ourselves with when on line.

Well said.

I also believe it may be hard to keep all of this in mind (not to share personal details, such as your exact geographic location and such) if you've been contributing to the same community for years and years... You just started to take for granted that the community is "safe" for such tidbits of information, here and there, spread out over months or years.

DocJohn

Thanks Doc John.

I think having to be a member to read the posts on this board would be a positive thing. I have been on other boards that do this.

If the dog adoption people would have had to join to look at wi's post they probably would not have taken the time to join.

Just my opinion. It wouldn't be a cure all but I certainly think it would make me less wary to post here.

And yes, how easy it is to become complacent .....

I'm wondering if there could be a time limit on membership. Like, if you don't log in for a certain amount of days you lose your account or something, or if you don't log in within a certain time of joining, your account becomes deactivated. It wouldn't affect the regulars since most of us probably stay logged on all the time anyway. (You lookin' at me? ) It could be a long enough time that the occasional regulars wouldn't be affected by it, but it would get rid of the people who signed up years ago and then never returned.

I know they're just rough ideas but it's a starting point.

Now that is REALLY

And then there is the whole "anonymous" issue - and previous members being able to post anonomously.

Yick! (thanks for the word Rainbowzz) - the whole idea just makes me more insecure.

Will I ever find my home?

We can't post anonymously. Those are old members who for one reason or another deleted their accounts. It changes the posts from their user name to anonymous.

While restricting viewer to members only, it wouldn't be that big of an issue for anyone wishing to read the posts to overcome. They could just apply for membership, even lie about who they are and why they're here, and then they have instant access.

The truth is, you shouldn't post anything online that you don't want known in the real world. I'm not perfect about this, but I'm more open about some things than others, even in the real world.

Well - in that case - I shall have to be on the look out .........

Well then I don't understand the point of even posting to a mental health forum if you can't post what you're really going through. Kind of seems to defeat the purpose of being here, IMO.

wi_fighter like i told you, I came here hoping to find others that knew what i was going through. Yes i found that. However I had trust issues to start with, now i really do!!! it makes me frustrated, worried, scared...
a whole list of things that i dont know i can even put words too!!!!

wi_fighter, I'm just giving facts. I know I take a risk by posting here. I don't want people to avoid seeking help for their problems, and frankly, I think the chance is medium for most of us that we'll be in a situation where we have to worry about someone using information here against us.

Everyone does make good points - all sides.

However, restricting the support community to registered members will make an easier paper trail because of the registration process. You have to provide info to the administrators, e-mail address etc. Yes, it could be made up, but it also gives the person being harmed something to work with (if they recognize the e-mail address).

It may also help people feel more secure. I would know that my husband could not just peruse the site to see what I'm thinking when I'm talking with someone with similar issues.

Yes, he could register, but then, if something disturbing came up, I would have a log in record and an e-mail address.

Everyone does have to be careful and this incident was a reminder. But, restricting support community does no harm to the site and would, IMO and appearantly a lot of others, feel more secure and more willing to use this site for it's main intention.

I don't think the email can even be like a hotmail address as it is right now. my daughter could not get registered here for that reason alone

I'm new here and confused...how did being on this site prevent you from adopting a dog?

Welcome King, to PC. Please bear with us while we recover from the upset. Perhaps you could do an Advanced search on WI_Fighter's name and view some of the info you wish? TC.