Privacy concerns!!!

[Steve St.Laurent]

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I am not sure where I stand with the last name thing. I got burned very bad by it. Not going to name names, but it did some damage...

Justin - please PM me and let me know what took place so that we can take that into consideratoin. Looking at that thread I see that you posted your personal phone # and that you got unwanted calls and deleted it.

 

[nps]

Justin - please PM me and let me know what took place so that we can take that into consideratoin. Looking at that thread I see that you posted your personal phone # and that you got unwanted calls and deleted it.

If this is the issue, then doesn't seem like the last name issue had much to do with the problem.

 

[GFrance]

I've read this intire thread & find it kind of humorous. For god sakes if people are that worried about their idenity why even get on the net? Like has been stated there are numerous ways to get someones info. Drop out of the mainstream like I did for 5yrs. move back in the brush, don't use banks, c. c. , or any public utilities.

 

[Jaysyl]

How many of the 1192 have deleted there location?

 

[surfbeetle]

As an IT professional, I understand the TDR's position and what Steve is trying to accomplish. On the other hand, I work in the IT department for a school district, so I see all sorts of issues with students attempting to misbehave under the guise of anonymity. Last names being displayed with other personal info just make it easier to become a victim of identity theft, period. It's a little more serious than what I see with kids on a daily basis.



While many have complained about the policy, (I feel the same way) no one has attempted to come up with a solution. One possible solution is to go back to only the moderators being able to see the last name of the members, then implement a strict policy regarding posts that are in poor taste, harassing, etc. If a user posts something of this nature, then give them one warning, if there is a repeated offense, then disable their forum account. This will prevent further posts by that person. Being that this is a pay site, you must have approval before you get a web account in the first place so there is little chance of that individual getting back on to cause more problems. Just an option.



Now as for searching, there is a super search engine called *****(I received some PM's asking me to delete the link, so I am, but my point was to illustrate what is available just by having our names up here)*****

This site will find everything past and present as far as addresses go. My point by bringing this up is to illustrate the seriousness of this issue. Steve, as you know in the IT industry, what was okay 5 years ago is not necessarily an accepted practice today. Things change rather quick and this type of extensive search engine was not as popular then as it is today.

Just my $. 02 worth.

 

[Bertram65]

What could/would happen is that there would be more of it than there already is. When we instituted this policy we saw an immediate and significant decrease in the amount of antagonistic/problem posts. I literally have seen this over and over again since the early 80's. I ran dial up (where only one person or a few people could be on the site at once) BBS's back in the early 80's and I always saw that the boards that allowed people to be anonymous with handles versus real names had many more significant problems. That has continued to this day. Is it perfect? No it isn't but it is a big help. The fact of the matter is that with just a last name and no other information (which is all we put there) your last name is worthless to someone.



You have to keep in mind that we have 800-1,000 posts per day on the site and it is a BIG job to moderate those posts. We have policies in place that try to steer what's posted on the site. Hopefully without us having to step in and deal with it. We prefer to not have to edit/delete posts and do everything we can to steer things such that it is not necessary - this policy is one of those things and it works (we saw it firsthand when it was implemented).



This is an issue for a very small minority of users - looking at this thread there are 7 people who have spoken up as it being an issue for them and this thread has been viewed 1192 times. We have received more correspondence both through this thread and privately in support of the policy. This is the first time it has come up as an issue since the policy change back in 2001 (it was discussed extensively then).

I think if you ran a poll today you would find the majority against showing last names. Put a poll in every forum and see what the results are, this forum probably does not get as much traffic as others so it may not be a good representation of the populous. I would prefer not to have my last name showing, I would not cancel my membership over it but again given the choice... .

 

[JeepRig]

Gee, should we throw away all the phone books too?



This Privacy Act crap is a joke.

All someone has to do is follow you home and they can find out anything about you they want.



I agree that those wanting their last name hidden are worried about their posting. They want to be invisible so they can post what they want.



If someone wants your identity, they will get it and not from the TDR.

 

[PatrickCampbell]

I am not sure how having the last names being in the profile would decrease the antagonistic posts only because my guess would be that most people didn't even realize it was there.



The BBSes that used handles were up to no good to begin with - running hex editted copies of PCBoard beta versions so they didn't expire and distributing pirated software.



Personally I was more a fan of the shareware Apogee games and Fido



Sysop

1:2604/519

 

[msperos]

Hey lets run a poll to see if we should run a poll to tell Steve and Robin how to run there site that we agreed to the provisions of, but now don't like

 

[Bertram65]

Gee, should we throw away all the phone books too?



This Privacy Act crap is a joke.

All someone has to do is follow you home and they can find out anything about you they want.



I agree that those wanting their last name hidden are worried about their posting. They want to be invisible so they can post what they want.



If someone wants your identity, they will get it and not from the TDR.

So basically the point of having your last name listed is so if someone wanted to find you they could to retaliate to a post they did not like in some way other than reply to the post using the board? Or is there so other reason?

 

[CMusgrove]

I've been a member for 2 months. I read lots of new posts nearly every night to learn more about my first diesel truck. At first I was not going to say anything about this last name stuff but I'd be just another one of the 1,100 or so who have seen the thread and did not comment. I support the staff 100%!!! I've been on a board or two and it's generally a thankless job. This site has been one of, if not the, cleanest I have experienced in my web surfing. My last name being seen by all is not a problem to me. Thank you whoever is in charge for a really neat way to learn about cummins engines and ram pickup trucks.

 

[bmoeller]

How long has this been going on? A major violation of trust as far as I'm concerned.

Why is this a violation of trust? They didn't do anything without your knowledge, assuming you read the site guidelines before signing up. A little late to raise a stink.



Besides, someone can get more info from your phone number from Google than they could here, even if they took the time to thumb through all of the posts. Wouldn't be worth the effort if they wanted to mine infomation.

 

[Bertram65]

Hey lets run a poll to see if we should run a poll to tell Steve and Robin how to run there site that we agreed to the provisions of, but now don't like

It is thier site, they can run it however they want, my suggestion for a poll was based on the statements that most people feel last names are a good thing. It would seem that is based on 2001 information, alot has changed since then, views on exposing personal information may have changed for the majority.

 

[Chief USA]

I don't care for the policy either. I did not find out about it until I recently renewed my subscription. I renewed but I am not happy about this policy. It is totally uncalled for and subjects all of us to potential invasions and abuse of our privacy. I am an administrator on a website forum and yes, I agree that moderating and administrating can have its unpleasant moments, but I have NEVER found ANY reason to publicly post my members last names. Posting members last names in an attempt to reduce uncivil posts reflects the inability or refusal of the moderator and administrative staff to support and enforce their own rules. It is tantamount to writting EVERYONE on the highway a ticket because one or a few people are speeding or violating the driving laws. If there are problem posters, give them a warning or two and then suspend or ban them if they cannot restrict there post to being civil and within the bounds of the website rules and regulations.



Yeah, I am still a member and choose to be but I am still mulling over in my mind if I will renew because of this rule. It may have seemed like a good idea back in 2001 but times change and so does the need to periodically change and review the rules. If folks want to really get excited, I think they should also be thinking about what they send in their PM. I may be mistaken but I believe this version of Vbulletin allows administrators to read everyone's PM's. Now that is something to get your dander up about. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[PatrickCampbell]

I may be mistaken but I believe this version of Vbulletin allows administrators to read everyone's PM's. Now that is something to get your dander up about. Just my 2 cents worth.

If it goes on here the administrators can read it, not saying that they do...





#ad

 

[Delta King]

The sky is falling, the sky is falling

 

[MMiller]

I have no worries of my last name being out there. Heck I even sign my posts with my first name. If somebody wants my stuff bad enough, then they will take it. No matter how I lock the garage, lock the doors to my truck, or try and remain anonmys on the computer. Its a fact of life. I just hope that when the day comes somebody "needs" my stuff more then me, I get to be there to advise them otherwise.



I enjoy this site more then any other I go to, its clean, easy to get info from, little flamings twords "newbys", the list goes on. I can't imagine getting off here just for that. I understand your concerns, but really question the necessity to get off this board.



I say to Robin, Steve, and all the rest, thanks for the hard work, and this is a great site.



Michael

 

[CMullen]

I couldnt agree more. I enjoy this site very much. and I think that in general there are so many ways for people to get info on you that, someone lurking here is the least of our worries. As soon as you got on the net, whether you came here or went to email or yahoo, someone could watch and follow your tracks.



Moral of the story for me is if your on the net your in open territory, be careful but not paranoid.

 

[Miner49er]

I'm also with Steve, Robin & the rest of the guys & gals of TDR. I've learned plenty in the last 6 months about my new Dodge... probably the best $35. 00 investment I ever spent. Some folks really know how to beat a dead horse...



I tip my "aluminum foil hat" to yu'all...

 

[DF5152]

my 2cents... . Identity theft is the up and comming thing. I am a police officer and have been deaing with ID theft more and more. It is becoming such a problem that I dont understand why the bodies that handle you credit report dont change there policy to elimintae much of the problem before it starts but that another issue. The membership has legit concerns especially since they now put the idea in somones head. just the mere ownership of a dodge diesel doesnt mean your are of the most sincere character. for the most part it would seem that the membership here seem to police itself execept when a transmission debate starts. I dont understand the necessity for members to be able to view other members last names. as a moderator i thing you should have access to this info and since it is the moderators job to truely police the posts and make/take appropriate action when necessary. it would seem a simple task to remove the field in the member list. and make it available to only those who need it for moderation purposes. incidently of all the cases of ID theft nothing has come from a BBS. most all are either you use your credit card and someone gets a copy of the reciept or a copy of your drives license of they hacked some financial institutions server. . and finally none of your finacial info is on this board and dont dont give out personal info on the web.



do you enter give aways on the web are you sure when u enter your personal info that the page is secure?



How many of you have entered your vanity plate on a thread... I just got all your info, not realy not interested but you get my point.