Sharing sensitive information

[Diabetes UK]

Sensitive information

Please be aware when posting, that this is a public space.

Do not share specific details such as names of schools, teachers, children or details of cases with Local Authorities.

Thank you 🙂

 

[Amigo]

Sensitive information

Please be aware when posting, that this is a public space.

Do not share specific details such as names of schools, teachers, children or details of cases with Local Authorities.

Thank you 🙂

It is a pity Hannah that there isn’t the option to restrict certain posts to the community. Main business could still be indexed by google etc. but it would allow members to safely share more delicate information.

 

[Mark T]

It is a pity Hannah that there isn’t the option to restrict certain posts to the community. Main business could still be indexed by google etc. but it would allow members to safely share more delicate information.

I would expect that XenForo would support that option. Other Forum software that I have used (and administered) certainly does...

Although, given that you don't exactly know who a member could be - it's best not to share such information anyway.

 

[Diabetes UK]

Thanks @Amigo, there are some options to create more restricted areas in the forum, but the implementation of them can be quite complicated. As the forum grows however, we may begin to consider where more private or restricted areas would be appropriate and what could support the needs of forum members.

Nevertheless, even with restrictions, as @Mark T has said, it is still best to discuss issues without disclosing specific details of schools or individuals.

 

[Amigo]

Thanks @Amigo, there are some options to create more restricted areas in the forum, but the implementation of them can be quite complicated. As the forum grows however, we may begin to consider where more private or restricted areas would be appropriate and what could support the needs of forum members.

Nevertheless, even with restrictions, as @Mark T has said, it is still best to discuss issues without disclosing specific details of schools or individuals.

That’s absolutely true Hannah and I always believe in anonymising avatars. However, sometimes it only takes a couple of identifiable factors for identity to be guessed.
It would be good to have the option because sometimes people can over disclose when they’re in distress without realising the information is in the public domain.

I appreciate it has IT implications but it would be a welcome addition as an ‘off the record’ section.

 

[Diabetes UK]

Thanks, and yes, you are right. It is something that we (moderators) will have to keep an awareness of, to ensure the safety of members when posting about more sensitive topics. We will continue to review the risks around this, in particular with this board and will continue to assess if the risk is too high. It's great to have your feedback as well, as we consider changes in access in the future 🙂

 

[Alister]

personally i think it is better to treat everything in social media as public, less chance of making a mistake.

all posts should be considered the equivalent of taking out a full page add in the Times, They have the same legal implications (law suit for libel etc.)
even a restricted access page has this potential.

 

[Ralph-YK]

They have the same legal implications (law suit for libel etc.)
even a restricted access page has this potential.

Personally this isn't a consideration. For me, there's giving out more information than intended. This can be from information in several posts. People can also put things together with what others say, or things that person knows.
It's possible for people to know which hospital I may be attending, even if I don't name it. Even though it could be any of 6 (use to be 7 up to last year) in any of 3 cities and 2 towns.

 

[Ralph-YK]

In terms of a "private" area on the forum.
A part that doesn't show in a Google search might be appropriate. However, people can still find and search the site.
If part of the site is members only, I would still consider it public (although there might be other valid reasons for members only area).
Registration/"membership" is not vetted, no "valid" id is needed. Anyone can sign up.

I'm on another forum that is members only. To see anything you must sign up and be signed in. (Also nothing shows up in Google, other than log in page.) I consider that completely public and that anything & everything can be seen by anybody.
The forums search function has come up in discussion there, as it had been limited there. It's been expanded there, with varying opinion.

... Sorry lost my most relevant good point.

 

[Ralph-YK]

Oh yes, this site has a search function that let's you search for thread titles, key words in titles & post content ect. Tracking info down.

 

[Ralph-YK]

Oh. We've got a Diabetes in School board.

Sensitive information

Please be aware when posting, that this is a public space.

Yes, be a little careful.

 

[Ljc]

Personally I think it wise to treat anything posted online as public, though I h@ve made a few mistakes over the years.

@Hannah DUK , One thing I have seen increasing here recently, is new members posting with what appears to be their first and surname. I think it would be a good idea to alert new members at the registration stage that this is unwise.

 

[Diabetes UK]

Thanks @Ljc . We had seen a rise in this also and it's something that we are currently updating. We're improving our registration page to make it GDPR compliant and will be making this clearer at the same time. 🙂

 

[Ljc]

Thanks @Ljc . We had seen a rise in this also and it's something that we are currently updating. We're improving our registration page to make it GDPR compliant and will be making this clearer at the same time. 🙂

Thank you.

 

[Diabetes UK]

In terms of a "private" area on the forum.
A part that doesn't show in a Google search might be appropriate. However, people can still find and search the site.
If part of the site is members only, I would still consider it public (although there might be other valid reasons for members only area).
Registration/"membership" is not vetted, no "valid" id is needed. Anyone can sign up.

I'm on another forum that is members only. To see anything you must sign up and be signed in. (Also nothing shows up in Google, other than log in page.) I consider that completely public and that anything & everything can be seen by anybody.
The forums search function has come up in discussion there, as it had been limited there. It's been expanded there, with varying opinion.

... Sorry lost my most relevant good point.

Yes, interesting point. We still have thousands of members who could access areas of the forum even if they were restricted, and there are advanced search functions within this forum: https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/search/
Although it would reduce the number of views dramatically (in comparison to potential views from the general internet) it is still a widely accessible space and worthy of consideration.

 

[Amigo]

It’s true that putting any information onto sites has risks but if certain sections were restricted and couldn’t be indexed by google, it offers some privacy and protection.
If devious people are determined to join the site to access restricted sections then they can’t be prevented but in reality it’s more open, opportunistic information that lurkers find.