Does it bother anyone else that you can come to this site and view the discussions?
Don't get me wrong I love this site, but recently with all the talkings about public versus private information I like to think of my conversations with this group as being limited to the members of the group, not open for the world to see.
Of course outsiders can not post comments unless they join, but they have open access to read what the groups are discussing. I was thinking about pointing to this site on a few of my other websites but then I realized people from those sites might be able to read things I have shared with tidiabetes members that I do not want them to see.
Is there a way tudiabetes could reduce the amount of publicaly available info on the discussions, maybe show the poster and the original question but not have access to all th eanswers and member comments without joining.
I believe groups can be made private, as can blog posts. Also, your profile can be made private so that only friends can view it. Discussions can't be made private (to my knowledge) and it might be a good idea to have that as a feature, if it's possible. I don't think all discussions should be private and the default should be public, but an option may not be a bad thing.
Personally, I consider anything I post online whether it's in a "private" site or not to be public. This is why I don't post about my work or life at all much outside of diabetes/health. (I personally don't care if people know my heath history.) Even private sites can be compromised or the information may somehow go public one day.
I don't think in terms of "insiders" and "outsiders" when it comes to TuD. People come along, read a few posts and get useful information for themselves or their family and then they either move on (for whatever reasons) or decide to join. Some may join and rarely post, others are regulars. But the process of "lurking" and getting a feel for what this site (and Diabetes!) are all about is what message boards are about. I wouldn't want to do anything to stand in the way of that. One of those "lurkers" may get the exact information or reassurance they need that way.
As for privacy, I'm with Jen. It doesn't really exist on the internet, so we each make choices about what we do and don't share.
You make some good points, and I have thought about those considerations myself, but in the end each individual has control over their own privacy here by whether or not they use their real name and/or photo or disclose their location. Many members chose not to do any of the above, and nobody seems to take any issue with that.
Thanks for the info on the settings. I did change my profile to only be viewed by members. It looks like if I want to keep much else private I will need to start "friending" other members.
As far as what Zoe said, even though there is some truth to that, I guess maybe I could be less open with my questions and info about myself. I do a lot of web work but have never been that big into social sites; rarely use FB, etc.
If you are concerned, then you can use a pseudonym, and make your info private, and it's easy to join, so the information is sort of out there. The big thing for me is that the site also serves as a huge information resource for diabetics needing help. In my case, I found the site doing a google search on LADA/T1 diabetes, got good information reading some old discussions, and then joined.
I would argue that there is no true privacy on the internet, so it's mostly a matter of what others must do to uncover it.
In my view, our community consists of our members and people who just come here to look. I think it is actually a good thing that our postings are readable by those that just "lurk." While I appreciate that some of us don't want to make our private information visible, you are free to limit that information. Don't use your real name and don't reveal personal information on your profile. Many of you may recall that before I became an admin here I didn't reveal my real face and I still don't make it very clear. And I don't use my real name. I actually think we should all be prudent about protecting our privacy and our personal information, but it is important that TuDiabetes be open as our broader community, which probably numbers in the millions really benefits by just reading.
I agree, Brian. Tudiabetes, in the broader community sense, really benefits millions. I use my real name and am pretty open about diabetes and some personal issues that influence my diabetes management. However, I know that EVERYTHING online is pretty public,so if there is information that I do not want anyone or everyone to know, . I just do not post it.
before I became a member, I was lurking and skulking, gleaning information about all aspects of D care. It was after checking out a couple of sites that I decided to join tuD, because of the immeasurable knowledge of its members and their unwavering support of each other. I am so glad all posts were public because it helped me decide to join.
I am also pretty open about my D and so i don't have a problem with it. you could always create an alter ego account and use it to post what you consider too private?
I don't have much to hide :) ...and one will NOT have access to my credit card or bank account nor will I discuss on Facebook or here if I had a fight with Hubby ( and my blood sugar reading is UP due to that type of stress )
I agree with all responses. I think this is the most educational forum out there. But I do have a question. I have been on this forum for a few years but I still do not understand the "friend" thing. I don't comment enough to be "friend-like" to anyone but I see that lots of posters have lots of 'friends.'
What does it mean? What is the advantage of "friending" someone or asking to be a friend? Do you ever get turned down if you ask someone to 'friend' you? It is all a mystery to me!
Is it mainly the regulars who post a lot who friend each other? Perhaps that is it. I know this is weird and I am the only person on earth with this question so you can just laugh it off and I won't know it! Unless you post the laugh, which i kind of hope you don't!
No, Nell, you are not alone. I don't use social media and think the whole "friend thing" is very high school. The only purpose I see to friending is you can't send messages to someone unless you are "friends". So if anyone sends me a friend request I accept. But a better solution, imho, would be if you could just message anyone. I don't collect friends or count them. You are right in not understanding it because it's pretty silly.
I never post anything to a BBoard/newsgroup/forum/whatever on the internet without the express understanding that I have no control over what I post once it's committed.
Remember: A free discussion board has no fiduciary duty to you. They own whatever you put on their site. If they decide to datamine the posting history and sell information to an advertiser, for example, they can.
You should always post with that in mind, no matter what sort of "privacy" controls, features, and promises are in place.
