Have a say - more privacy?

[Babeba]

Hello folks,


We mods/admin have been discussing whether this forum would benefit from a slight change in privacy mode.

Currently, the TS forum is available to the whole wide Internet: you don't have to be signed in to see these posts. On the one hand, that lets newcomers see this is more than just crossdressers. On the other hand, it may keep some people from posting in case they get 'caught.'

What is your opinion of setting this forum so you must log in to see posts? There will be no restrictions on post counts needed to access the forum (unlike private messages) and no need to apply to join (unlike Safe Gaven or the religion/well being forums).

Is this something you would be for or against?

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http://www.crossdressers.com/forums/...=1#post3029304

PLEASE READ THIS LINK BEFORE REPLYING, THEN REPLY PLEASE.[/SIZE]

[Miranda-E]

The people that post here are out in the real world already. Living and dealing with life not living in fear of being found out.
We don't fear getting "caught" by wives and neighbors as were already dealing with ID's, government paperwork, court hearings and employers.
The whole idea about getting "caught" for being human being is silly and insulting.
No need to hide it.

[Kaitlyn Michele]

It seems like a sensible thing to have some minimal step to see posts.
Not everyone is comfortable with anyone on the Internet reading every post.

Can it be set up so that this sections topics are visible but to see the posts you need to log in? (With no restrictions. Just log in).

[AllieSF]

Babs, I am not sure why you need more privacy. Can you explain that better, i.e. have members requested that, have you had some troll issues, what? How will that log in work? Will one have to sign in to see every thread, or sign in twice? Maybe just have us non-TS's get permission to join the TS section based on how long we have been here so when we sign in, we are automatically given access to that section. I think a double sign in would be too cumbersome and confusing.

Miranda, I understand what you are saying, but I believe that there are many TS's here in this section and in the General section that are still in the closet as they try to find their own way and to determine who and what they are. But who knows what privacy they desire.

[PaulaAnn]

Hi; No ,please leave this forum as it is .I've got nothing to hide ;I'm out to all.Miranda-E has said it all rather nicely.
Paula

[Bree-asaurus]

I'm a member at another forum that is entirely private except for an introductions forum. Once you post and introduce yourself, you request permission to join the private forums. That kind of privacy sounds good to me!

But even simply requiring you to be logged in to see the posts would be good to. As it is, I think posts here in the public forum show up in Google. That can be solved with a simple robots.txt, but an additional layer couldn't hurt.

[sandra-leigh]

Can it be set up so that this sections topics are visible but to see the posts you need to log in?

That might be good. On the other hand, if the topic index is available then people still get to see who is posting here, and still get to look at profiles (I think?) so there would still be some element of the fear of "getting caught".

There needs to be enough available to the public to allow them to find the forum and be able to see that topics they are interested in are being discussed here.

Question: is it practical to have google index the section, but not cache the pages, with people required to log in to read the messages? I have seen arrangements like that for some technical systems. The impression I had was that google was given a login method by the relevant site admins, but it could be that instead google just had more access because the admins had configured wider access when the site detected that it was google's crawlers accessing.

Allie, it wouldn't need a second login: it would just be something similar to "Members Only" like the Lounge is.

[Babeba]

It seems like a sensible thing to have some minimal step to see posts.
Not everyone is comfortable with anyone on the Internet reading every post.

Can it be set up so that this sections topics are visible but to see the posts you need to log in? (With no restrictions. Just log in).

This is exactly what the situation would be. Everyone with an account would still be able to log in and see/ post in the section as per usual; it just would mean you could not see the posts if you were surfing as a 'guest.' For members who come to the site and immediately log in, nothing would change in your experience. If you like to lurk and then only sign in to your account if you have something to say, then you would have to sign in to do the lurking.

Basically, this forum would be at the same access level as the body issues forum, or the beauty forum in the Mtf cross dressing section. All logged in members could see it.

As Bree points out, this forum can come up in google searches as it now stands. If you had to be logged in to access this, these posts wouldn't show up on google.

The idea was floated around the staff because this is a more serious and personal forum than, say, the MTF crossdressers. Some of us thought it might make it easier for people to post if this section was not open to all and sundry. We also think it's important to get the opinion of the users of this forum, rather than just change it and see who notices!

[Tamara Croft]

In other words, would you prefer the TS section members only like body issues, or leave it open as it is? It wouldn't require additional log in, just guests can't view the section, you would have to join. And yes, I have been told by a few members that they would prefer it a bit more private, which is why I brought the idea to the staff to discuss and then to you for discussion, but we are going to need a good clear concensus, so yes or no and a reason please?

[Badtranny]

I say no because I personally like the totally public aspect of the forum. I like what I write to be visible to the world and accessible by all. There is a lot of self serving BS out there and my posts may be self centered but they are absolutely honest with no regard to my own public image. I post here for the girls like me who are on the edge of self discovery or the beginning of an exploration. I lurked here for months before I joined and it was the TS girls that really spoke to me.

[sandra-leigh]

I have no real opinion on the privacy of this section.

I do note that in practice, matters that are perhaps more suitable to Body Issues get discussed here, hormones in particular. Sometimes those also get discussed in the MTF Crossdressing section.

By the time I was ready for this section as more than a curiosity, I had already been a member for a fair while, having found it while searching Google for some clothing related information. I think it likely, though, that others are finding the section by searching for information on more serious matters (e.g., hormones), so my concern at this point is that enough information of this section be findable on google to attract new people to the site to log in. However, if others have particular desires to close the forum, I would be fine with that.

I do have a bit of a privacy concern in using the site: if I do get around to changing my name and change it to Sandra-Leigh, then finding my postings and discussions of being trans becomes much simplified.... and a bit of a business risk (people search for my writings quite a bit, as I have written roughly 50,000 technical pieces.) However, I took that same risk (and more, in some ways) by posting in the Crossdressing section, and will find some way to deal with the matter later.

[Kirsty_D]

I'm 50/50 on the issue... Some privacy would be nice but as Melissa said, with it being public it is there available to help others.

If people want more privacy there is the Safe Haven, which is excellent but I feel it often under utilized.

[Rianna Humble]

Although I personally would not benefit from increased privacy because of the publicity about my transition that went viral on the Internet. I can see that some people who are questioning might not want their posts to be a mere Google search away from their employers.

For this reason, I would support the idea of making this forum only accessible to members of crossdressers.com

Currently about 90 - 95% of what Google shows about me comes from this forum. It might reassure questioning members if the same were not true of them.

Safe Haven would not achieve this aim as it is an invitation section for MtF transsexuals, not for our FtM brethren, nor for those who are just starting to question

[Saffron]

Requiring log-in sounds good for me. Creating an account it's easy and free so...

And of course keeping it available to all members.

[ReneeT]

I favor a login requirement to view threads in the TS section, but I am not adamant about it. In this era of ever-shrinking privacy, a bit more is not all bad

[Sandra1746]

We are also responsible for what we post. If we post readily identifiable information and it gets us "outed" we have nobody to blame but ourselves. The same could be said about any "open" section on this site.

As for me, the posts I have made, in aggregate, are certainly enough to identify me and determine a relative location if anyone is ambitious enough to 'data mine' them. Am I worried, no because I regularly go out dressed in "plain femme". I also have prescriptions for Estradiol and, HIPAA aside, that in itself lets a lot of people know something about me. Then there's the obvious support of Question 6 in Maryland; but I digress.

My summary; I like the open nature of this part of the forum. If another really private section is needed, that's fine but the whole purpose of the site (IMHO) is to provide information and education to the public and we can't do that by hiding under a rock (or in our closet).

Just my $0.02
Sandra1746

[BRANDYJ]

I like the idea of the whole Forum to be private. If visitors want to read or spy on, look for somebody, they have to join. This would help keep out those here to troll or otherwise get their jollies looking at pictures and reading about what to some uneducated people think is just some weird kink. If you have a real interest you need to and should join. There is already to much information on the net that can trace anyone. In fact, I think for it being as open as it keeps the really closeted potential members from joining. Look at the visitor vs. Member count at any given time and the visitors far out number the members. If those same visitors had enough reason or purpose to read the forums then they should have to join. I would like more privacy for the whole site.

Don't forget, the vast majority of crossdressers are very very closeted. They might think twice about joining knowing it is as open as it is now. Make it more private and watch the membership roster grow appreciably.

[kimdl93]

The question I have is how would potential members decide to join?

[BRANDYJ]

The question I have is how would potential members decide to join?

I think that's simple Kim. HOME page shows a declaration of who we are, and what the purpose or goal of this site is all about. In that declaration it would be great to point out that this is not a dating site and we do not tolerate any form of pornography or vulgar language.
Point out that we are private and secure for the safety and comfort of our members. Point out who is welcome to join us, what our goal is and why we are the best site on the net for questions and answers for the wives and SO's of crossdressers, or anyone needing help in understanding anything about gender issues. A mission statement of sorts.
Well, you get the picture.

[CharleneT]

Speaking from the perspective of a post-op who is now moving toward a somewhat stealthy life - I'd vote for more privacy. I truly think that it should be easy to access though, so I like the sign-in is all you need. That makes it pretty easy, but slows down some strange folks and some search engines. For a while now I have been struggling with whether to post here any more or not ? The recent dust up made the decision for me. I rapidly felt remorse over that though . . . this would be a good solution ( in that regard ). A person who identifies as TS is going to have to do some pre-searching to land on this site anyhow, so the extra bit of work to get here is not likely to matter - that is pure opinion though.

Thank you mods for continuing to care and plan for the betterment of this place: three cheers for ya'll !!


. .

[Kate T]

I'm not TS so I dont know how relevant my input here is. BUT I do see some concerns if the TS forum is made private. Kims point about how would people know if this site is fair dinkum or is relevant to them if they can't see the TS postings is a valid one. Sure HOME PAGE sets out the goals and rules but until you see a few posts you don't really know if it is "your crowd" so to speak. I looked at a number of Crossdresser "forums" and chose this one in part because of the TS postings that indicated it wasn't just about a bunch of guys having fantasies. Yes I know that the crossdressing forum is public viewable but at times you have to dig deep and hard to find a post that isn't about what colour bra or dress you wore or what is your favourite fantasy. On the other hand I would hate it if a member was discriminated against because a potential employer etc. found a post via a google search (and yes, as an employer, I do google searches if I'm looking at employing someone).
I didn't really help. My vote would be to leave it as it is.

[morgan51]

The log in requirement would be ok with me I'm out so not really adamant about it.

[Anne2345]

Kim's question is legitimate. If the TS sections are set to private, how will potential new members decide to join? The name of this site is crossdressers.com, after all. If a login is required to view the TS sections, prospective new members may not know that this forum even has a TS community within.

[Aprilrain]

I like the Idea of having to login to see the TS section.

[CharleneT]

Kim's question is legitimate. If the TS sections are set to private, how will potential new members decide to join? The name of this site is crossdressers.com, after all. If a login is required to view the TS sections, prospective new members may not know that this forum even has a TS community within.

Nothing on the front end will change, they could find it before, they could find it after the change. You would see the forum there, but without an ID, you could not read it. The main diff here is whether you have to setup a user ID to read it. That only takes a couple of minutes, so it is no obstacle really. It does give a layer of protection from either: search engines or people who are just a "guest".