Are the PMs of forum members routinely read or not?

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Moog
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18 Dec 2011, 7:10 am

Tequila wrote:

MCalavera wrote:

Alex can, and will, read the PMs of anyone, if he so wishes to. So be wise when you send sensitive PMs and don't assume the best.

I think they're lying about it but I can't prove anything. I wasn't thinking of alex so much as the other moderators on this site.

What's the situation with phpBB?

Ahh, we're all liars now. Cheers. :roll:

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riley
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18 Dec 2011, 9:56 am

Tequila wrote:

TeaEarlGreyHot wrote:

Uh... why would they do that? Also, why are you so concerned about it? Have you been naughty via PM again?

Because I send a photo of my torso to one of the members here but the recipient said she hadn't seen it but one of the moderators who she was quite friendly with Iand apparently was quite protective of her) had. Given her reputation on these forums I thought this was quite a curious strange of events.

"Given her reputation on these forums" does not justify sending pics of your torso unless she specifically asked you to do so which I doubt.

Cornflake
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18 Dec 2011, 10:25 am

Tequila wrote:

I think they're lying about it but I can't prove anything. I wasn't thinking of alex so much as the other moderators on this site.

What's the situation with phpBB?

Oh great, you think I'm a liar. Thanks mate.
But phpBB is free software and the documentation is also publically available. There are some very active phpBB user forums around too.
You could even download a copy and install it to find out about it for yourself.

MCalavera wrote:

You do realize that once you do get to access reading the PMs made by the mods, you have access to all the PMs made by all the members.

That's a non-issue. Any top-level administrative function (network, server, OS or application) must have full access to what's being administered in order to be able to administer it at all.
I know that you know enough about Windows administration to understand this.

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hyperlexian
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18 Dec 2011, 11:19 am

rrrrrriiiiiiiggggghhhhht. because i want nothing more than to look at someone's naughty pix that i would find a magical way of breaking into their PMs. <------ attempt at sarcasm.

Tequila, i sent you a PM and you didn't open it. i asked you to remove a public call-out of another member - not acceptable as it is a personal attack. you have been previously warned for your posts, several times, and you were told you will be suspended or banned if you continue. you are expected to follow the rules like everyone else.

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emlion
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18 Dec 2011, 11:22 am

this thread is ridiculous.

hyperlexian
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18 Dec 2011, 11:37 am

something that did occur to me is that it is very easy to confirm whether a recipient has read a PM, which i am sure you are aware of, Tequila.

simply looking in the Sent (Read) folder vs. the Out (Unread) folder will confirm this for you.

did you check that already?

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smudge
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18 Dec 2011, 11:51 am

Why would you send someone a picture of your torso?

MCalavera
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18 Dec 2011, 5:44 pm

Cornflake wrote:

MCalavera wrote:

You do realize that once you do get to access reading the PMs made by the mods, you have access to all the PMs made by all the members.

I understand that. I do not condemn Alex for checking PMs through the database.

All I'm saying is that it's not as "innocent" as a couple of mods have made it out to be. Admins will look when they have to and when they wish to. So the responsibility of the member is to be wise and cautious with their "private" messages and only allow information that he does not mind the admin possibly viewing.

MCalavera
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18 Dec 2011, 5:45 pm

hyperlexian wrote:

Actually, if one can view your unread PMs via the database file, then you'll still have your PMs marked as unread. Checking the database doesn't affect the forum's PM code itself.

hyperlexian
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18 Dec 2011, 5:48 pm

MCalavera wrote:

Cornflake wrote:

MCalavera wrote:

You do realize that once you do get to access reading the PMs made by the mods, you have access to all the PMs made by all the members.

do you raelise that every email you send can be read by the administrators of the ISP? how is this any different? of course the owner can read stuff, and nobody could have any reason to complain (though he may choose not to).

however, moderators cannot read them, which was the question here.

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MCalavera
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18 Dec 2011, 5:51 pm

hyperlexian wrote:

Yes, and?

Quote:

however, moderators cannot read them, which was the question here.

I don't know anymore what the question really is about. All I'm doing is pointing out certain things and correcting mistakes I spot.

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18 Dec 2011, 7:29 pm

MCalavera wrote:

All I'm saying is that it's not as "innocent" as a couple of mods have made it out to be. Admins will look when they have to and when they wish to.

I think you're being unfair here because I seriously doubt there is any "and when they wish to".
Why would they wish to - it's a quiet day so they decide to go and crap on someone's trust? Yeah right.
I believe you maintain (or have maintained) servers? So how many times did you go and have a look at private stuff, just because you could?
And if you did so, how did you manage to sleep at night?

It sounds like some people are conflating an administrator's "technical or legal requirement" with "idle curiosity".
The same activities may be involved to gain access for both cases but there is a massive difference in the ethics.
Frankly, it's disappointing and, as a (previously) multi-server administrator myself (not here), it's also insulting to have someone suggest that you have casual peeks at private data for the fun of it.

I'll expand on what hyperlexian said: everything you do online that's not encrypted can be read and tracked by your ISP "when they wish to".
Every single word typed, every single site visited and every single image viewed. All of it.
So I'd say that some imagined scenario of a PM being read is the least of your worries.

The current moderators have no access to someone else's PMs.
Period.

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hyperlexian
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18 Dec 2011, 7:42 pm

MCalavera, nothing that the moderators have stated has needed correcting, so i am unsure as to what you are trying to do here. care to clarify? EDIT: also you missed the point. Tequila can see whether the RECIPIENT read his PM quite easily.

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