A kind request

[Thotos]

This website and forum is for owners and enthusiasts of the Fiat 131 and as much as we'd like our group to have hundreds and even thousands of members, we have to accept that we'll always be a small group of motoring enthusiasts with a common and very specific interest in the Fiat 131. One thing which I feel does not belong in such a small group with a common interest is anonymity.  I appreciate that a lot of people have their favourite forum 'handles' which they use in a lot of other forums and would also like to use those same usernames here. That's perfectly OK but this forum also gives you the facility to make yourselves known by entering your name as your signature or adding your name as text with your personal photo (avatar).  I would like to ask all forum members to make themselves known by entering their name in either or both of the fields mentioned above. Please click the 'profile' button when you are logged into the forum and then select 'Forum Profile Information' under the 'Modify Profile' menu and enter your name in the Signature field and/or the Personal text field.

[Kennedy of Sixmilebridge]

Regarding your kind request:
Will you be able to ensure and guarantee that the Webbots that roam the 'net looking for juicy details like you want us  to post up on-line, will not be able to be harvested and subsequently our lives made miserable with mountains of spam and requests to send money to nigerian scam artists?

This is one of the main reason that most people do not wish to post their personal details on-line.

Do you have identity theft in the UK yet?

Are you familiar with phrase "netiquette"?

I would strongly advise you to think twice before getting your members to innocently commit themselves to your request.
You may inadvertently and quietly chase away the more 'net savy people amongst you.
I hope no one takes personal offence from anything written in this particular posting,
after all, it's only one guys opinion!!

[Thotos]

Regarding your kind request:
Will you be able to ensure and guarantee that the Webbots that roam the 'net looking for juicy details like you want us  to post up on-line, will not be able to be harvested and subsequently our lives made miserable with mountains of spam and requests to send money to nigerian scam artists?

This is one of the main reason that most people do not wish to post their personal details on-line.

I merely suggested posting names. Not email or postal addresses. Knowing that someone is called John Smith and not xyz131whatsit cannot and will not generate spam.

Do you have identity theft in the UK yet?

Yes, like almost everywhere, it is also rife in the UK. I am also unfortunate enough to have been a victim of it which is why I now have a shredder and shred all correspondence with my name and any other kind of detail. But I have no worries about identifying myself on this or any other forum.

Are you familiar with phrase "netiquette"?

Yes: "Etiquette practiced or advocated in electronic communication over a computer network."

I would strongly advise you to think twice before getting your members to innocently commit themselves to your request.

It is merely a request.  I find it easier to reply to a John Smith than to xyz131whatsit

You may inadvertently and quietly chase away the more 'net savy people amongst you.

As mentioned above, I simply made a request and neither I nor anyone else will be chasing away anyone who decides to ignore the request.

I am a strong believer in personal privacy and also a strong believer in open forums. But I don't see any reason for someone to be anonymous in a small community such as the one we have here by like minded people with a common interest. If anyone has good reasons or a strong wish to remain anonymous then that choice is and will always be available.

[mirafioriman]

I agree. I think it is fair that we get to know each others names and people are then responsible for what they say. It does cause problems on forums when people are anonymous and then are less than nice to others. I have updated my profile info and my real name is now known to you all!

[mirafioriman]

PS. I think my picture is too big!

[Thotos]

Thank you Dave.  I am glad someone agrees with me. 
And I agree with you too; your picture is too BIG! 
Avatars should really be no bigger than 65x65 pixels but I did not pre-set  the size as that usually creates miss-proportioned images that look very wrong to me. Let me know if you'd like me to resize your avatar photo. 

? Last Edit: Today at 02:37:21 PM by Administrator ?
I've resized it anyway so please feel free to change it if you don't like it.

[mirafioriman]

Thank you. The Avatar is much better now!

[jasonh131]

i stil have trouble with avatar s ,i use flicker which use  75x75 or 100x75 and i know i did it once but can't rememmber how i made them smaller  and not the 65 x 65 that you use on here ?

[Thotos]

You can use a 75x75 avatar Jason but must use it externally and not try to upload it to the site. Simply select  "I have my own pic" and enter the URL of the photo stored on flikr. 

[paulcas]

Hi all,
hope you've had a great Christmas.

In agreement with this topic - It would give this forum more of a personal feel knowing who you're communicating with. Being a fairly new member I would have found this more helpful in getting to know members quicker rather than trying to guess people's names and more often than not getting them wrong 

Theo,
just a thought, re the signature area, would it be possible to make this section hidden from any non-members making it for member viewing only?

Paul



 

 

[Thotos]

Theo,
just a thought, re the signature area, would it be possible to make this section hidden from any non-members making it for member viewing only?

Sorry Paul, that's not possible without major changes to the way the forum works. The 'signature' is added to the post and becomes a part of the post so cannot be 'hidden' without hiding the whole post. But guests cannot see members' contact details so other than a name and location or whatever else you choose to add to the signature, the important contact information is hidden from non-members.

[Thotos]

PS Have you heard of or seem www.123people.co.uk. I was both surprised and very annoyed at the information they seem to have collected about me    A lot of it is wrong as I have a very common name (yes I do - believe me!) but at least some of it is right and I don't like it as I have not agreed to it 

[jasonh131]

You can use a 75x75 avatar Jason but must use it externally and not try to upload it to the site. Simply select  "I have my own pic" and enter the URL of the photo stored on flikr. 

ido but it always comes up to large a file or its not a avatar, and your one looks so flash
 cheers  jason

[Thotos]

 your one looks so flash

  I get special consideration!    Email me the photo you want Jason and I'll sort it out for you.