Your Real Name (and Date of Birth reminder)

[Larry H-L]

As one (along with 67,000 others) who just had their names, SS numbers, addresses and health records stolen from a web server, I would advise against putting your actual DOB on this or any other site.

I'd also like to know what type of security exists for protecting personal information on this site?

[Tom Westbrook]

I noticed that, too. It's canned text from the vBulletin people. I presume it was just a gentler way to say "if you lied and and want to change it", or "you didn't lie the first time and want to now, please contact us"

love the bit where it says:

"Please contact the Administrator if your date of birth has changed."

do you know something about time travel that we don't?

We don't much care if members lie about their DOB--we just need each to say they are 13 or over, the only way we have of doing that is collecting a DOB. Whether it a true DOB or not is your call.

[David A. Goldfarb]

You should have the right to remain publically anonymous, though I personally find that kind of odd and a bit chicken s...

But, if you are writing things on this forum that negatively "carry over" to your other life and don't want to publically accept responsibility for your statements, I suggest that you rethink the nature of your posts.

I completely agree. I also agree with Ole's post above, as I've been using my real name on internet forums since 1992, and I haven't experienced any negative consequences.

[tim atherton]

Hermit,

You should have the right to remain publically anonymous, though I personally find that kind of odd and a bit chicken s...

But, if you are writing things on this forum that negatively "carry over" to your other life and don't want to publically accept responsibility for your statements, I suggest that you rethink the nature of your posts.

or rather - rethink the nature of your life?

[tim atherton]

I completely agree. I also agree with Ole's post above, as I've been using my real name on internet forums since 1992, and I haven't experienced any negative consequences.

I think it depends a lot on what kind of person you are - both online and in "real life"....

[Tom Westbrook]

I'd also like to know what type of security exists for protecting personal information on this site?

In general, I think security is quite good here. I tend to be more cautious than most, but I won't discuss security measures publicly for obvious reasons. If you need to know about vBulletin's security go to www.vbulletin.com and search the site for info on that. Also check in at www.mysql.com for info on database security. Both vendors take security seriously and we do stay on top of patches/fixes when they are released.

[Gordon Moat]

I think it depends a lot on what kind of person you are - both online and in "real life"....

Many of us know that the agenda of some internet posters is strictly the posting aspect. They get a chance to state things they might not be able to in public, without recourse. If some people conducted themselves in real life the way they did on internet forums, they would be getting their a$$ kicked on a daily basis.

Of course, it can make some people happy to vent and express anger, or rage about someone/something. Another aspect is that someone can express things that might concern their work, or their customers, without worry that such negative statements might affect their real life . . . maybe we could call that virtual bravery.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat

[Nitish Kanabar]

The moderators have decided to add a new requirement that all users store their real name in their user profile (aka User CP). To that end, we've added a custom field. To find the new field, go to User Options. The Real Name field is the last question in the upper "Required" box near the top of the Options page.

The Real Name field is for administrative purposes only, and is only visible to Moderators of the the LF Forum. As you might guess, it's so the site administrators know who you are, should you choose to use something less than your full, real name as your user ID.

While you are filling that in and if you haven't already done so, please also fill in a DOB that indicates you are 13 years old or older. This prevents problems with US federal law regarding storing young users personal information online. We're volunteers and would prefer not to spend any time visiting with the FBI if it can be avoided. So please fill that in.

Please fill in both by June 15, 2006. After that we will begin nagging you to do so.

Thank you for cooperating.

Tom,

Can you share what purpose will be served by the "Real Name" requirement? How do the administrators see this feature being put to use?

[Bob Gentile]

Tom,

You guys run a great forum here. You do what you must to comply (as best you can) with all the various laws, policies, server Ts & Cs, and members' cultural conventions. (Mustn't offend anyone.) You also do what you have to do to limit (as best you can) your own liability amidst our litigious society. And then you take great pains to explain the reasons behind your decisions. Finally, you have to deal with all the questions and unsolicited "feedback" (ahem) whenever a change is necessary.

You all have my empathy. Please keep up the good work!

[Ralph Barker]

Tom,

Can you share what purpose will be served by the "Real Name" requirement? How do the administrators see this feature being put to use?

I can't speak for the other admins, but if an issue comes up that requires a personal (and, confidential) e-mail, I like to know the name of the person with whom I'm communicating. I see it as a courtesy thing.

Like many others, I've used my real name consistently, and back as far as the Usenet groups back in the '80s. But, I don't try to second-guess those who prefer to use a "handle" on the forums, even though in some photography circles doing so would immediately make the person suspect.