Mr. Excel privacy concerns...

[NdNoviceHlp]

I'm still concerned after reading the post "Re: Help!!!!!!!!!!!!It's due tomorro!!!!!!!!!!!!!11 " of yesterday (please use search...sorry don't know how to paste location...if someone wants to clue me in I'd appreciate it). The OP was to say the least rude, however it is Ivan's post that I'm most concerned with as perhaps Mr Excel should also be concerned re. liability. For us niave computer users, how did Ivan get the OP's IP, address etc. and was it really necessary to post it? Ivan is a great resource and his help has very much been appreciated by myself in the past. I agree the OP deserved this suitable "punishment" however I'm just wondering if my personal information is going to be posted (or sold) someday by the good folks @ Mr Excel.com? (not that I'm planning on being offensive). I believe this is a legitimate concern and I will appreciate any comments or feedback. Dave.

 

[Von Pookie]

Moving this to "Questions About This Board."

Also, for the record, to make a link to another thread, just copy and paste the url into your message

As to your general question, I'll leave it to the others, as I had nothing to do with that particular thread.

 

[Mark O'Brien]

This is my guess from looking at the abusive poster FAQ:

http://www.mrexcel.com/board2/faq.php#44

Note, that the FAQ is largely (entirely?) written by the people that wrote the phpBB software on which this forum is based.

I would have to guess that Ivan got the IP through maybe being a moderator or some other means and then did a "whois" lookup (or "nslookup") on the DNS server. (or whatever it's called)

I was trying to find the MrExcel privacy statement as well that everyone agrees to when they sign up, but can't find the URL. If someone could be so kind as to post it, that'd be great.

 

[XL-Dennis]

Hi,

"For us niave computer users, how did Ivan get the OP's IP, address etc..."

The IP-address is rather easy to track with suitable tool and require also some administration rights on the site.

"...and was it really necessary to post it?"

In general, as long as You follow the netiquette and as well as the specific rules that may be applied on a board like MrExcel You don´t need to worry about it.

I strongly support the way Ivan et al dealed with the OP and also published the information.


Kind regards,
Dennis

 

[Mark O'Brien]

Ah, found the agreement with a little help from my friends:

Registration Agreement Terms
While the administrators and moderators of this forum will attempt to remove or edit any generally objectionable material as quickly as possible, it is impossible to review every message. Therefore you acknowledge that all posts made to these forums express the views and opinions of the author and not the administrators, moderators or webmaster (except for posts by these people) and hence will not be held liable.

You agree not to post any abusive, obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, threatening, sexually-oriented or any other material that may violate any applicable laws. Doing so may lead to you being immediately and permanently banned (and your service provider being informed). The IP address of all posts is recorded to aid in enforcing these conditions. You agree that the webmaster, administrator and moderators of this forum have the right to remove, edit, move or close any topic at any time should they see fit. As a user you agree to any information you have entered above being stored in a database. While this information will not be disclosed to any third party without your consent the webmaster, administrator and moderators cannot be held responsible for any hacking attempt that may lead to the data being compromised.

This forum system uses cookies to store information on your local computer. These cookies do not contain any of the information you have entered above; they serve only to improve your viewing pleasure. The e-mail address is used only for confirming your registration details and password (and for sending new passwords should you forget your current one).

By clicking Register below you agree to be bound by these conditions.



I Agree to these terms and am over or exactly 13 years of age

I Agree to these terms and am under 13 years of age

I do not agree to these terms

 

[Legacy 21301]

I think it was a great thread - very entertaining.

Particularly the bit where Pennysaver advised the OP that "Attitude goes a LONG way, not just here, but @ work, life, etc.! " and "you can still be nice even if YOU are still having a bad day! ".
(Rings a bit hollow from a person who referred to someone's post on this board with the comment : "that's the sort of blinkard, philistine pig-ignorance I've come to expect from you non-creative garbage...")

Let's hope the attack on bocchino hasn't been such that he will not return in future to add some more spice to this site.

 

[Von Pookie]

I'm still concerned after reading the post "Re: Help!!!!!!!!!!!!It's due tomorro!!!!!!!!!!!!!11 " of yesterday (please use search...sorry don't know how to paste location...if someone wants to clue me in I'd appreciate it). The OP was to say the least rude, however it is Ivan's post that I'm most concerned with as perhaps Mr Excel should also be concerned re. liability. For us niave computer users, how did Ivan get the OP's IP, address etc. and was it really necessary to post it? Ivan is a great resource and his help has very much been appreciated by myself in the past. I agree the OP deserved this suitable "punishment" however I'm just wondering if my personal information is going to be posted (or sold) someday by the good folks @ Mr Excel.com? (not that I'm planning on being offensive). I believe this is a legitimate concern and I will appreciate any comments or feedback. Dave.

For the record:

I have taken it upon myself to edit the IP information out of Ivan's post ( http://www.mrexcel.com/board2/viewtopic.php?p=306961#306961 )

And, as no one involved seems to be around at the moment to comment on the situation, please do not think that posts such as that are the normal way of going about things here. In that post in particular, I know that Ivan was simply trying to make a point that the OP wasn't as anonymous as he may have thought, to be posting as he was.

There was a discussion about it in which I suggested the removal of said information as the point had already been made, however, I originally stated I would leave it up to them as I really had nothing to do with that thread. I decided to take action myself, for the time being, after re-reading the registration agreement.

As moderators, we are able to check the IP addresses of posts but tend to use our powers sparingly except in extreme circumstances of abuse. Again, it is not nor will it ever be a practice of the board moderators or adminstrators to sell or use any personal information of anyone on the board.

 

[whiteghost]

well said Kristy. I for one trust the moderators to both protect the users and make sure the board is not abused

 

[NateO]

Hello Dave,

Yes your info is logged, the point was more to make the user aware of such. No, to the best of my knowledge, there is no intention of doing any mass IP posting (along with your handle) or selling of this information. I rarely would think to even look at this information, I'm more intereseted in Excel than IPs.

Ponsy Nob., I sent the OP a note stating that while I locked that particular thread, they are welcome to try the forum again if they please.

 

[Smitty]

Ponsy Nob, et. al.,

Particularly the bit where Pennysaver advised the OP that "Attitude goes a LONG way, not just here, but @ work, life, etc.! " and "you can still be nice even if YOU are still having a bad day! ".
(Rings a bit hollow from a person who referred to someone's post on this board with the comment : "that's the sort of blinkard, philistine pig-ignorance I've come to expect from you non-creative garbage...")

Let's hope the attack on bocchino hasn't been such that he will not return in future to add some more spice to this site.

Still a bit embarrassed about that one, and my apologies again to all, but truth be told, the wife, an unruly Scottish woman, had been watching a Monty Pyton movie that evening and thought it appropriate to (attempt to) bring some humor to a rather tense thread, so she added to the post. (It's a John Cleese quote that, in context, is actually quite amusing). Unfortunately it didn't work, much to my lament. That still doen't mean that it's not my fault.

So again, my apologies, and I hope that bocchino and others come back. This is a great place and my work has definitely become more productive as a result.

Have a great weekend!

Smitty

Ponsy Nob...Call me "Smitty" & if you're ever in my neck of the woods, look me up. I'd be happy to buy you a drink.