E-mail addresses

Unknown said:

Nothing is private in this cyber world that we live in today.

Yes, TJ, and sometimes that can be easily forgotten.

Unknown said:

It has always been the case that unregistered people can view our profile pages - it isn't something new on this updated website.

[/quote]

Sparrow,

I knew that, but didn't know about the Google thing until I tried for myself. I also tried Googling in respect of another Forum I subscribe to but my profile page was not visual in that case. Maybe something else for the forum administrators to think about?

"The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom" - Wlliam Blake

ClaireM said:

I knew that, but didn't know about the Google thing until I tried for myself. I also tried Googling in respect of another Forum I subscribe to but my profile page was not visual in that case. Maybe something else for the forum administrators to think about?

Definitely agree with that!

:-)

I just tried to see someones profile on BirdForum and it wouldn't let me without a password etc. Not that I've any skill in these matters.

I think security on this forum needs tightening up. I'm not comfortable that our profiles are public.

Hi all,

Thanks for your feedback. Please be assured that I'll continue to keep a close eye on this and if there's any indication of improvements or changes we can make to further increase the level of privacy and direct control for you over your privacy, we will make sure we take action immediately. This really is our highest priority - we know how important privacy is.

I'd recommend double-checking that you haven't added any personal information to your your profile pages that you would only want a limited group of people to see. You can edit this and add or remove any details to guarantee you're in control on those pages. This will protect you from unwanted attention from anyone (whether they are registered on our community or not).

I'll also look into your other suggestions about profile page visibility for non-registered users and get back to you next week when I've had a chance to discuss them with some of my colleagues.

Thanks again and enjoy your weekends,

Cliff

Hi Forumites,

Just to help you understand about your posts appearing in Google, is quite normal and nothing to be alarmed about.

Since I built my own website I learnt  a lot about how it works, however I do still have a lot to learn lol.

Basically when you build your website and then publish it to the net, you create whats known as a Site Map, you can then submit this Site Map, to various search engines, Google being a very popular search engine is one of the most common ones. So what happens is the RSPB site is constantly being trawled by Google Bots and others looking for updated content which is then uploaded to the web. So that's why you are seeing your threads.

It's a necessary part of a website folks.

Don't want to teach anyone to suck eggs, just wanted to let you know how it works, pretty snazzie stuff realy :-)

Have just checked in on this thread. I am not comfortable with the fact that I can type in my RSPB user name (and I have just done it to check) and up come three results in Google! They lead to my profile page. I have also tried typing in a thread name and the whole thread comes up on a Google search. Not sure if it would do the same if I didn't have access to the forum, but I could ask a friend who is not a forum member to see where they get with it. I have also typed a thread which I have taken no part in and it has come up too.

I don't chose to have comments that I make on the forum and my personal details made internationally available. I believe this is a serious breach of our privacy and makes a joke of the fact that you have to be a forum member to access the information. If I find that this is the case (and not just happening because I have access to the information anyway), then I will cancel my forum membership immediately. Why is it always Friday evening when something goes wrong?

Hello Alan, so all our comments, serious and silly are there for the world to see? I have just emailed a friend and asked him to search on Google and see what he gets. As a non forum member, if he comes up with my profile page and can read all the posts, I am going to have to seriously think about coming off the forum. I thought this was a relatively small group of people who could talk to each other with a certain amount of privacy. Not on speaker phone! I have found this a bit of a shock.

I am so very careful what I say on facebook and have my settings in such a way that a non-friend sees nothing about me, so why would I want my conversations broadcast by the RSPB? I can't see the funny side at the moment. Am I over reacting? If Tash is reading this, now I am frowning Tash! Sorry if this sounds grumpy. I am not grumpy with you Alan.

Unknown said:

Just to help you understand about your posts appearing in Google, is quite normal and nothing to be alarmed about.

 

I understand that, Rhona, but personal profiles appearing on Google is a different matter, and I think that is what is concerning people at the moment.

Hi ClaireM, yep profiles are open to view on other forums I am a member of, however, a few have the option to hide your personal details, if they don't then its an indicator not to include your real name if you want to remain anonnymouse :)