webdiplomacy.net

ubercacher16 wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 18, 2021 3:58 pm

I open the link and see like 5 people "viewing who is online"

e.m.c^42 wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 18, 2021 5:17 pm

To be honest, I don't think it's particularly any more of a privacy breach than a "someone is online", "someone is typing", or "seen" notification, which are staples of almost all messaging applications.

Private messages are essentially user-specific forum threads, so it's no different from the "viewing/replying in topic".

Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 18, 2021 6:37 pm

e.m.c^42 wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 18, 2021 5:17 pm

To be honest, I don't think it's particularly any more of a privacy breach than a "someone is online", "someone is typing", or "seen" notification, which are staples of almost all messaging applications.

Private messages are essentially user-specific forum threads, so it's no different from the "viewing/replying in topic".

I don't think it's the same at all. A public forum, where everyone can see what you post, is not the same as a messaging app, where you decide who you're exchanging messages with.

e.m.c^42 wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 18, 2021 7:49 pm

Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 18, 2021 6:37 pm

I don't think it's the same at all. A public forum, where everyone can see what you post, is not the same as a messaging app, where you decide who you're exchanging messages with.

The public forum is merely one large group chat, is sort of point I am making.

dargorygel wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 18, 2021 7:44 pm

I'd like this to be disabled, although I admit to not having enough coding information to grasp the effects of the law of unintended consequences. We DO, of course, have the option of always 'hiding' our presence. But that has the effect of un-communitying our community.

It is TMI, imo.

Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 18, 2021 6:37 pm

e.m.c^42 wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 18, 2021 5:17 pm

To be honest, I don't think it's particularly any more of a privacy breach than a "someone is online", "someone is typing", or "seen" notification, which are staples of almost all messaging applications.

Private messages are essentially user-specific forum threads, so it's no different from the "viewing/replying in topic".

I don't think it's the same at all. A public forum, where everyone can see what you post, is not the same as a messaging app, where you decide who you're exchanging messages with.

kgray wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 18, 2021 8:11 pm

Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 18, 2021 6:37 pm

e.m.c^42 wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 18, 2021 5:17 pm

To be honest, I don't think it's particularly any more of a privacy breach than a "someone is online", "someone is typing", or "seen" notification, which are staples of almost all messaging applications.

Private messages are essentially user-specific forum threads, so it's no different from the "viewing/replying in topic".

I don't think it's the same at all. A public forum, where everyone can see what you post, is not the same as a messaging app, where you decide who you're exchanging messages with.

Right, but it's not like the "who's online" feature tells you who anybody is actually messaging. I agree that it seems unnecessary (and for Mafia games is certainly not ideal) but I don't see how it's a breach of privacy. Especially since you can just hide your online status altogether if you want to.

kgray wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 18, 2021 8:11 pm

Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 18, 2021 6:37 pm

e.m.c^42 wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 18, 2021 5:17 pm

To be honest, I don't think it's particularly any more of a privacy breach than a "someone is online", "someone is typing", or "seen" notification, which are staples of almost all messaging applications.

Private messages are essentially user-specific forum threads, so it's no different from the "viewing/replying in topic".

I don't think it's the same at all. A public forum, where everyone can see what you post, is not the same as a messaging app, where you decide who you're exchanging messages with.

Right, but it's not like the "who's online" feature tells you who anybody is actually messaging. I agree that it seems unnecessary (and for Mafia games is certainly not ideal) but I don't see how it's a breach of privacy. Especially since you can just hide your online status altogether if you want to.

Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 19, 2021 12:00 am

kgray wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 18, 2021 8:11 pm

Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 18, 2021 6:37 pm

I don't think it's the same at all. A public forum, where everyone can see what you post, is not the same as a messaging app, where you decide who you're exchanging messages with.

Right, but it's not like the "who's online" feature tells you who anybody is actually messaging. I agree that it seems unnecessary (and for Mafia games is certainly not ideal) but I don't see how it's a breach of privacy. Especially since you can just hide your online status altogether if you want to.

But it is totally unnecessary, and you know I'm not the only one who's expressed concern about it, so can you (and by "you" I mean the webDip authorities, not you kgray personally) turn it off?

kgray wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 19, 2021 12:56 am

Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 19, 2021 12:00 am

kgray wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 18, 2021 8:11 pm

Right, but it's not like the "who's online" feature tells you who anybody is actually messaging. I agree that it seems unnecessary (and for Mafia games is certainly not ideal) but I don't see how it's a breach of privacy. Especially since you can just hide your online status altogether if you want to.

But it is totally unnecessary, and you know I'm not the only one who's expressed concern about it, so can you (and by "you" I mean the webDip authorities, not you kgray personally) turn it off?

I have no idea, sorry. I (kgray personally) am not the right person to ask... I have never looked at the site's code and I have no plans to.

Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 19, 2021 1:30 am

kgray wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 19, 2021 12:56 am

Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 19, 2021 12:00 am

But it is totally unnecessary, and you know I'm not the only one who's expressed concern about it, so can you (and by "you" I mean the webDip authorities, not you kgray personally) turn it off?

I have no idea, sorry. I (kgray personally) am not the right person to ask... I have never looked at the site's code and I have no plans to.

Yes but that is why I created this thread.

This is the correct area of the forum for this type of thing, yes?

Tom Bombadil wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 19, 2021 2:12 am

Can’t you as a user just turn off the option to appear online already?

Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 18, 2021 3:53 pm

I recently discovered, to my surprise, that the WHO IS ONLINE thing in the "STATISTICS" box at the bottom of the forum is actually a *link* which opens up another page.

That page displays not only who is online but what they are doing. For every person on the forum when you click it, it tells you which specific sub-forum they're reading or posting in or, more worryingly, if they're using the Private Messages facility, it tells you whether they are reading, composing, or replying to a Private Message at that precise moment in time.

I think this is an unjustified breach of users' privacy and should be disabled. I can see no reason why ordinary users need to be able to see this information about each other's activities.

I would also, frankly, like to know why webDip decided to include or turn on this stupid feature? Like who thought this was necessary or a good idea?

I would hope that disabling this feature would be a straightforward task, since I notice that tricolor.x-tk.ru, the forum that you copied, has this feature disabled.

Please can I therefore suggest that this unjustified feature is removed or disabled as soon as possible?