Are private conversations protected space at Mac Rumors or can and do site moderators monitor/snoop though these conversations?
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MacRumors Private Conversation Policy?
- Thread starter Huntn
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While it would be technically possible to manually extract them from the database, forum moderators and administrators do not have that ability. It would require someone like arn with server admin access to pull them out, and it's not something we have any interest in doing.
As you are probably aware, members can report private conversations to the moderators, and so in that case one member of the conversation could make messages visible to forum staff.
With a specific order, law enforcement could undoubtedly also compel us to dig into the database to retrieve a conversation, but that's incredibly unlikely.
As you are probably aware, members can report private conversations to the moderators, and so in that case one member of the conversation could make messages visible to forum staff.
With a specific order, law enforcement could undoubtedly also compel us to dig into the database to retrieve a conversation, but that's incredibly unlikely.
Yes, and please @Huntn don't report our PM's to the staff. I don't want it known to others that I'm on the Thirteenth Floor in 1930s Los Angeles, jacked into a body in 2020, trying to impersonate a retired MacRumors Moderator.
Wait, did I just say that out loud? D'oh!
Wait, did I just say that out loud? D'oh!
Weirdly enough, I was(I guess still am) a member of a forum where the owner WAS able to read PMs without a report or any other hoops.
I unfortunately found out because the owner decided that he wanted to "revamp" the site and got rid of one particular very active subforum(deleting a lot of long-standing members' hard work) because it didn't fit with his vision for the site.(BTW, if anyone is wondering, it's nothing nefarious-the owner really didn't like the fact that a bunch of vintage/antique Hamilton and Illinois wristwatch collectors had populated the Hamilton sub-forum with their research threads, and he wanted the site to be only "modern" watches, but that's all another story). I was made aware of a new website/forum that was started purely as a repository for that information, and received an infraction for sharing the link in a PM to someone with whom I was friendly who asked where all that content had gone. The infraction was for "a link to a competing website", a rule that I presumed hadn't applied to PMs.
A moderator later informed me that the site owner DID routinely read all the PMs sent on the site.
That owner is no longer involved(after selling the site), but I haven't seen any reason to participate on the site anymore.
I unfortunately found out because the owner decided that he wanted to "revamp" the site and got rid of one particular very active subforum(deleting a lot of long-standing members' hard work) because it didn't fit with his vision for the site.(BTW, if anyone is wondering, it's nothing nefarious-the owner really didn't like the fact that a bunch of vintage/antique Hamilton and Illinois wristwatch collectors had populated the Hamilton sub-forum with their research threads, and he wanted the site to be only "modern" watches, but that's all another story). I was made aware of a new website/forum that was started purely as a repository for that information, and received an infraction for sharing the link in a PM to someone with whom I was friendly who asked where all that content had gone. The infraction was for "a link to a competing website", a rule that I presumed hadn't applied to PMs.
A moderator later informed me that the site owner DID routinely read all the PMs sent on the site.
That owner is no longer involved(after selling the site), but I haven't seen any reason to participate on the site anymore.
I just assume that everything online can be accessed by someone and act accordingly.