Privacy

ZombieZombie

I am not happy that anything posted here can be read by anyone on the internet. Why don't Scope make the forums private?

Adrian_Scope

Hello @ZombieZombie and welcome to the community.
Accessibility concerns aside, we don't like the idea of hiding information behind a sign-in wall. Keeping the forum publicly viewable ensures that visitors can view information quickly and anonymously.

While I appreciate you might have reservations about posting publicly, we go to great lengths to provide our members with anonymity - members aren't required to provide a name, date of birth or even asked to verify their email address. We're also very quick to remove personal information if it is posted in error.

I hope that helps!

ZombieZombie

It isn't "hiding". It is privacy. Do you show your emails to everyone? People are sharing very personal things, and are often vulnerable, and because the forums are open to anyone, that could lead to people being compromised. It doesn't take a genius to work out who someone is if they are from the same community/family/estate. What is your problem with basic privacy for forums?

Cressida

@ZombieZombie . How do you think it could work if it was private? I'm not sure it could. 

Adrian_Scope

Hello,
We certainly don’t have a problem with privacy. We do all we can to ensure your experience here is more private and anonymised than most. 

If you particularly want to communicate privately, you can also use the private messaging function once you have at least 25 points. 

However, the forum is public because we must balance the demand for an accessible platform and a need to openly provide indexed information and advice with said privacy.

If members particularly wanted there to be private areas of the community, that is something we might consider, but it is not something we’ve ever really seen requested.

A lot of our members find us because they’re seeking support from others with similar experiences or in similar situations. If we were behind a sign-in wall, visitors would be less likely to find that support.

woodbine

Couldn't agree more @Adrian_Scope.

lisathomas50

It wouldn't be a forum if others couldn't see it and see what others were saying to get support 

cartha

Adrian_Scope said:

8<

If members particularly wanted there to be private areas of the community, that is something we might consider, but it is not something we’ve ever really seen requested.
8<

I think it would be useful to have a private area where only members can see. I know that doesn't guarantee privacy because members can talk but it would prevent unwanted URLs linking to the pages. Besides being a very private person myself, I also have a court gagging order on me, so I have to be very careful with what I say in public.

ZombieZombie

"However, the forum is public because we must balance the demand for an accessible platform and a need to openly provide indexed information and advice with said privacy." You don't have the right or consent to use people's personal information as "indexed information". I never gave you permission. And it has NO privacy. Any crook can read these forums.

ZombieZombie

We will only collect, use and otherwise handle your personal data:

• where you have consented to this for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes
• where this is necessary to fulfil legal obligations that apply to us
• where it is necessary for our legitimate interests relating to running our daily operations, as long as, in each case, these interests are in line with applicable law and your legal rights and freedoms.

cartha

I think it would be very difficult to make a fully private forum because each member would need to be checked out before being given access, otherwise anyone can just sign up to get access. This would add a lot of work to the Scope team.

I don't mind this site using and indexing the information I am willing to share here as long as they aren't profiting from it, and it is being used to help other people.

woodbine

cartha said:

Adrian_Scope said:

8<

If members particularly wanted there to be private areas of the community, that is something we might consider, but it is not something we’ve ever really seen requested.
8<

I think it would be useful to have a private area where only members can see. I know that doesn't guarantee privacy because members can talk but it would prevent unwanted URLs linking to the pages. Besides being a very private person myself, I also have a court gagging order on me, so I have to be very careful with what I say in public.

Just a suggestion that being the case that you remove your photo from public view?

woodbine

@ZombieZombie I'm not really sure exactly what your problem is? After all no-one is forced to use this forum and very little info about an individual can be gleamed by another member.
Also scope has never ever used my membership of the forum to try and sell me anything, unlike some other online forums.

cartha

@woodbine Thank you for the suggestion but I'm not allowed to be anonymous. If I take away my photo then I would have to change my user name to my real name. I prefer the photo. Besides, that could be a photo I got off the internet as far as anyone is concerned, it's on enough websites ;-)

Adrian_Scope

ZombieZombie said:

"However, the forum is public because we must balance the demand for an accessible platform and a need to openly provide indexed information and advice with said privacy." You don't have the right or consent to use people's personal information as "indexed information". I never gave you permission. And it has NO privacy. Any crook can read these forums.

We don't use people's personal information as indexed information and I'm sorry if my reply has led you to believe that we do. The information I was referring to was the help and advice that we post and share here.

We actively encourage people to NOT share personal information, but if you have concerns over your privacy and would like to delete your account and remove all your posted content, please let us know.

Cress

Curiousier and curiousier....

Swatteam

[Removed by moderator - please remember to keep it friendly.]

mikehughescq

Bear with me here. 

I take privacy very seriously indeed and I’m not passive about it in any way. Some would see my steps as extraordinary but they’re remarkably easy. I have never had a Facebook or WhatsApp account. I use a VPN on my iOS devices which I can scale to remove tracking from Google, Amazon and Facebook to whatever extent I need. Generally, I filter out 75% of their tracking. I need some access to Google as I use their maps for navigating unfamiliar routes and some Amazon access as I occasionally buy from them. When I don’t need those thins or block 100% of their tracking. 

I have turned off background refresh on all devices and location services for everything bar finding the device itself. You do not need the latter for weather apps for example which people unthinkingly do. I limit myself to less than 10 forums; am rarely active on more than 3 at once but have never hidden behind a pseudonym. Whatever presence I have is limited but consistent and obvious. You will never see a picture of me as an adult on a forum nor anything which explicitly gives away or states my precision location. 

All that you say... I take privacy very seriously but... when you create an account in a place like this you are agreeing to the T&Cs. It is also obvious whether the forum is public or private. Knowing all that, you are making a clear and fully informed choice about what you’re doing and on that basis an equally fully formed view on how much you elect to disclose. 

On that basis I can’t imagine much odder than signing up for a forum and then complaining that it’s public and that you didn’t consent to what it’s doing. Er, you did exactly that when you signed up. Couldn’t be clearer. 

ZombieZombie

Yes delete it all. I would but there is no option. @Adrian_Scope