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View Full Version : Private Messages, ARE they PRIVATE........?????



Sourdough
03-03-2010, 03:02 PM
Are Private Messages on this Forum Private.......???? Do Administrators, or moderators have access to them.....????

doug1980
03-03-2010, 03:04 PM
I know that Mods do not. At least on the forum I mod I don't have access to them. Not sure about admin though.

crashdive123
03-03-2010, 04:09 PM
Moderators and Administrators cannot view a private message to a member unless they are carbon copied or the message is forwarded to them.

Sourdough
03-03-2010, 04:24 PM
Moderators and Administrators cannot view a private message to a member unless they are carbon copied or the message is forwarded to them.


Thank You.............

Rick
03-03-2010, 04:27 PM
You said something bad about a mod in a PM and now you're worried aren't you. Uhuh. Maybe we can and maybe we can't. How you like them apples? :innocent:

Ken
03-03-2010, 05:02 PM
Sourdough,

about that PM I sent you last week - the one where I wrote that Chris and Sarge and Rick and Crash had to be 4 of the greatest guys in the whole-wide-world - please keep that absolutely private, okay?

Thanks! :)

Ken
03-03-2010, 05:03 PM
http://underthebutton.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/suckup.jpg

doug1980
03-03-2010, 05:04 PM
Got a little brown there on your nose Ken. Might want to clean that off. :)

Ken
03-03-2010, 05:08 PM
Got a little brown there on your nose Ken. Might want to clean that off. :)

I have nose soap for that. :innocent:

http://images.teamsugar.com/files/upl1/1/13254/03_2009/ccd8b09320cf112f_nose.xlarger.jpg

doug1980
03-03-2010, 05:10 PM
I have always wondered if you guys just have all these random pictures saved for moments like this or if you just google to find photos that are relevant? Either way they always make me laugh.

Ken
03-03-2010, 05:12 PM
I have always wondered if you guys just have all these random pictures saved for moments like this or if you just google to find photos that are relevant? Either way they also make me laugh.

What's a http://images.google.com/intl/en_ALL/images/logos/images_logo_lg.gif ? :innocent:

Ken
03-03-2010, 05:15 PM
I have always wondered if you guys just have all these random pictures saved for moments like this.......

Actually, I do have a few on reserve in My Favorites. They're for those "rare opportunities" that sometimes present themselves. I keep 'em in my "2dumb" Folder. :blushing:

doug1980
03-03-2010, 05:24 PM
Actually, I do have a few on reserve in My Favorites. They're for those "rare opportunities" that sometimes present themselves. I keep 'em in my "2dumb" Folder. :blushing:

Ha Ha Ha yeah I figured as much.

Justin Case
03-03-2010, 07:29 PM
Ken is The Kink Of Images !


http://www.itinual.com/faceless-king-fotilia.jpg

Batch
03-03-2010, 07:34 PM
The Admin can set vBulletin to allow him to read PMs by installing a hack for that or by accessing the privatemessage table directly in the database.

I was an admin on a site that used vBulletin that admins were definitely allowed to access PMs. I am still a super moderator at that same site and I can not access PMs at all.

I think the guy who owned the site may have been reading PMs because he started "hearing" that people were talking about him behind his back. LOL

2dumb2kwit
03-03-2010, 08:24 PM
Ken is The Kink Of Images !


LOL....Don't let the crown fool you....he's just a wannabe.:innocent:

pocomoonskyeyes
03-03-2010, 08:29 PM
Cute dog you have 2D2K.

BENESSE
03-03-2010, 08:29 PM
LOL....Don't let the crown fool you....he's just a wannabe.:innocent:

Is that you on the right?

Rick
03-03-2010, 09:33 PM
Chris isn't much for hacks so I'd doubt very much that he's added one for that. I certainly can't see PMs and don't have a need to.

LowKey
03-03-2010, 09:36 PM
As a supermod on another sight, I can't see PMs. But I would never, ever underestimate the person who owns the site. ;)

Ken
03-03-2010, 09:37 PM
Chris isn't much for hacks so I'd doubt very much that he's added one for that. I certainly can't see PMs and don't have a need to.

Thank God! :innocent:

I mean, thank God that you guys are so honorable and all. :innocent:

Rick
03-03-2010, 09:37 PM
I can clarify that I guess. I can see all manner of statistics associated with PMs. For example I can see all the members that have 50 PMs for example. I can even see how many PMs an individual member has in their Inbox and Outbox. I can even delete all of them. But I cannot read them or otherwise view the actual message.

Rick
03-03-2010, 09:38 PM
To clarify that even further. I don't really need to read them. I can just make something up then ban you.

Ken
03-03-2010, 09:39 PM
To clarify that even further. I don't really need to read them. I can just make something up then ban you.

:sneaky2: You wouldn't dare.........

Ken
03-03-2010, 09:40 PM
Would you? :innocent:

Justin Case
03-03-2010, 09:41 PM
To clarify that even further. I don't really need to read them. I can just make something up then ban you.

LOL, LOL Job Perks .

Rick
03-03-2010, 09:42 PM
Yeah, that and all the Chinese spam bots you can eat.

Justin Case
03-03-2010, 09:49 PM
Trust me, I know,, BTW, we are getting a new wave,, they are from the US and are putting links into their sig, I check EVERY new member. LOL,,

Rick
03-03-2010, 09:52 PM
As long as the link is in their signature and they aren't trying to spam the forum then they are legal.

Justin Case
03-03-2010, 10:07 PM
on the forums i deal with, I ban them,, if they post one bogus post and thats all,, and they have a spam link,, c-ya,, lol, we (other forums) only want posters that contribute to the communities , :)

crashdive123
03-03-2010, 10:08 PM
And when the are trying to spam us, we have perfected the Moderator/Administrator tag team to dispatch them post haste.

Justin Case
03-03-2010, 10:15 PM
Thats what ya gotta do, they get a foot hold and they are a REAL pain in the Azz, I had a Bad wave about a month of spammers from russia,, had 5 or 6 registering at the same time,, LOL,, I had to get a splint for my Ban finger,, LOL

Rick
03-03-2010, 10:17 PM
Yeah it's kinda weird to ban one and go back to move the posts and they aren't there. You're like WT? then you find out Crash has moved the posts and is looking for the guy to ban. We did good this morning. We had a little game of ban war going.

Justin Case
03-03-2010, 10:31 PM
I just use the "Delete as spam" menu.. I do not even have to go into the CP. On my boards, I check the box next to the spam post, then scroll down and select the "Delete as Spam" from the drop down menu, Then I am given the option of deleting other posts by user and To Ban or not. I get a screen like this,


C&P,


Deleting 1 post(s) from 1 thread(s) in 1 forum(s).

* Delete other posts and threads started by the affected users

Deletion Options
How would you like to delete?
'Soft' delete - Leave "Deleted" Message
Keep Attachments
Physically remove
Reason for Deletion:
Punitive Action
What do you want to do to the 1 affected user(s)?

* Do nothing
* Ban these users

Affected Users
The user(s) who posted the spam are



Of course there are boxes to check,

Ken
03-03-2010, 10:33 PM
Rick? You misspelled my name in your PM to Crash a few minutes ago. :sneaky2:

Rick
03-03-2010, 10:34 PM
We don't actually delete them. We have a special H$ll for spammers. They have to sit in a room all day and memorize posts from the 2D vs. Ken thread.

Justin Case
03-03-2010, 10:36 PM
OOOHHHHH OUCH !!! Thats Harsh !!! LOL

Rick
03-03-2010, 10:37 PM
Hey, we don't play around here. This isn't some mamby pamby forum. This is a wilderness survival forum! The law of the jungle, Darwin ... or Gilligan or some body.

rwc1969
03-04-2010, 11:32 AM
I don't know squat about how forums work, but I do know that admins and mods can gain access to view all your pm's and such if they want to, and many do.

PM's aren't necessarily private, unless the admin deems them so.

I know one forum in particular that went to hell because the admin was reading pm's and allowing mods to do the same.

BENESSE
03-04-2010, 11:50 AM
Nothing is private on the net.
(Just thought you'd like to know.)

DOGMAN
03-04-2010, 12:33 PM
If you guys want to read my pm's go ahead....if your that bored, It'll give you something to do for a few minutes

pocomoonskyeyes
03-04-2010, 12:42 PM
I'll just have everyone know that the Mods read at least half of mine, Since that is who they are sent to! Isn't that right Crash?:innocent:

Justin Case
03-04-2010, 12:43 PM
I don't know squat about how forums work, but I do know that admins and mods can gain access to view all your pm's and such if they want to, and many do.

PM's aren't necessarily private, unless the admin deems them so.

I know one forum in particular that went to hell because the admin was reading pm's and allowing mods to do the same.

Not In VBulliten,, Mods For sure Can't and Admin Can only with a Hack,, And I am Pretty Sure Most Admins do not Hack their own system ,, Maybe The Kids do on Game sites etc, No Respectable Admin would do that,, Besides, Who Cares what in peoples PM box ?

Justin Case
03-04-2010, 12:45 PM
LOL, I wonder How Many PM deletes have happened since this thread was posted ? LOL

pocomoonskyeyes
03-04-2010, 12:47 PM
LOL, I wonder How Many PM deletes have happened since this thread was posted ? LOL

Not me. If they want to read 'em fine.

crashdive123
03-04-2010, 03:16 PM
I don't know squat about how forums work, but I do know that admins and mods can gain access to view all your pm's and such if they want to, and many do.
PM's aren't necessarily private, unless the admin deems them so.

I know one forum in particular that went to hell because the admin was reading pm's and allowing mods to do the same.

I am not doubting you when you say it happened on another forum that you were on. I will say this again, and take it for what it's worth - Moderators on this forum cannot read the contents of your private messages. I do not have Administrator access, but Rick says that he cannot read them either. If you are doubting our word, then I don't think anything we say would be helpful in convincing you to the contrary.

Rick
03-04-2010, 05:23 PM
Ditto what he said.

2dumb2kwit
03-04-2010, 10:24 PM
I am not doubting you when you say it happened on another forum that you were on. I will say this again, and take it for what it's worth - Moderators on this forum cannot read the contents of your private messages. I do not have Administrator access, but Rick says that he cannot read them either. If you are doubting our word, then I don't think anything we say would be helpful in convincing you to the contrary.

Well, OK....but if my PM's start getting moved to the "2D vs Ken" thread.....:sneaky2:LOL

Chris
03-04-2010, 10:52 PM
I can see PMs if I want to, by merely viewing the raw database files, it isn't complex or difficult.

I don't do so as a rule, but any data that is not encrypted (which is everything except your passwords really) can be viewed in the raw database files.

I've had to do so in the past with particularly problem members, legal issues (violent threats) or allegations of PM spam. But they're not monitored.

No one else can read them, not Rick, not Crash, not Sarge.

rwc1969
03-04-2010, 11:49 PM
I am not doubting you when you say it happened on another forum that you were on. I will say this again, and take it for what it's worth - Moderators on this forum cannot read the contents of your private messages. I do not have Administrator access, but Rick says that he cannot read them either. If you are doubting our word, then I don't think anything we say would be helpful in convincing you to the contrary.

I'm not saying you guys do it!:tongue_smilie:

But, the ability to do it is there and it most definitely without a doubt happens on other boards, vbulletin or otherwise, and the mods get access to those pms. Whether they are forwarded to the mods by the admin after he hacks his own system or whatever Justin says they do I don't know. All I know is they read them.

The admins and mods of a forum I visited frequently were and probably still are accessing the pms. I doubt very much the admin who ran the forum I'm thinking of knew how to hack anything, but he certainly was using vbulletin recently and before that it was phb or something and he was reading people's pms the whole time. He was the owner of the site.

There's no way he could have had issue or referenced what he did if he did not read people's pms that were not intended for him. And there's no way the mods could have responded to those references without knowing what the admin knew, alas, they were all reading everyone's pms.

Also, I've read posts on other forums I visit where there were issues with this very thing. The admin and mods were accessing people's pms. They were spying on them. Lotsa ruckuses have come up over this issue.

Sourdough asked if pms are private and my answer based on experience in general is: only if the owner, admins, etc. deem it so, otherwise no they are not.

All I can say is don't assume anything you post anywhere on the net is private or will remain private. The internet is a public network, not private. Once you post something or pm something you have no control where it goes or who's hands it ends up in. You are relying on the honesty and integrity of the forum owner, admins, mods, and it's possible that forum can eventually change hands or as Justin already said get hacked by who knows who. Then you are relying on the new owner or hacker to protect your data, data that you essentially have no ownership of in the first place.:innocent:

Rick
03-04-2010, 11:53 PM
RWC - That last paragraph is excellent advice and very, very true. I'm reminded of an old saying...

The spoken word is like the air.
The written word is always there.

Justin Case
03-05-2010, 12:19 AM
RWC - That last paragraph is excellent advice and very, very true. I'm reminded of an old saying...

The spoken word is like the air.
The written word is always there.

Best Advice all the way around :)

Alaskan Survivalist
03-17-2010, 04:04 PM
Moderators reading PM's are least of my worries. I was searching for photos just now and clicked on something called shared files and saw Interpol listed there!

Sourdough
03-17-2010, 04:51 PM
Moderators reading PM's are least of my worries. I was searching for photos just now and clicked on something called shared files and saw Interpol listed there!


Interpol is looking for "Nativedude" and "Spud".........I know this because I am the Man from U.N.C.L.E.