Thread: Group Buys

So, how does one go about seeking permission to post a group buy regarding surface plates, as per the forum guidelines?

Cheers,

Simon

The link in Big Shed's post has the info.

I thought the PM ability on the forum was a private and confidential matter between the sender and recipient.....but it appears that the messages may be able to read by the mods. Is this correct Niel?

Originally Posted by eskimo

I thought the PM ability on the forum was a private and confidential matter between the sender and recipient.....but it appears that the messages may be able to read by the mods. Is this correct Niel?

This board uses vBulletin software. The system administrators certainly have the ability to read PM's. Whether this ability is available to individual forum moderators, I don't know, but nothing posted here is private, I assure you. I always post accordingly and I suggest others do the same.

PDW

PMs between members are not accessible to Mods.

If this question was prompted by the first post in this thread, the 2 attempted Group Buys, both for the same item, were posted as a thread in the Metalwork Forum, subsequently deleted and the posters referred to Ubeauts' thread on Group Buys.

No conspiracy here Eskimo

Originally Posted by simonl

So, how does one go about seeking permission to post a group buy regarding surface plates, as per the forum guidelines?

Cheers,

Simon

As Acco already pointed out, but I'll amplify. Just a simple PM to Ubeaut will do the trick Simon.

Originally Posted by Big Shed

As Acco already pointed out, but I'll amplify. Just a simple PM to Ubeaut will do the trick Simon.

Cheers,

Simon

Originally Posted by Big Shed

PMs between members are not accessible to Mods.

If this question was prompted by the first post in this thread, the 2 attempted Group Buys, both for the same item, were posted as a thread in the Metalwork Forum, subsequently deleted and the posters referred to Ubeauts' thread on Group Buys.

No conspiracy here Eskimo

what prompted me to ask was because of what is written in Big Shed's link above which states:

"The forum PM system can not be used for any group buy"

if the mods dont have access how would they know if the PM was used to negotiate a group buy?

or put another way...does anyone other than the recipient and sender have access at any time to eavesdrop/spy on any messages sent via the PM system?
( other than the server holding messages for legal issues/reasons etc)

Originally Posted by eskimo

or put another way...does anyone other than the recipient and sender have access at any time to eavesdrop/spy on any messages sent via the PM system?
( other than the server holding messages for legal issues/reasons etc)

I already answered that.

Yes.

Whether this capacity is used or not is a different question. Its existence is a fact, inherent in the vBulletin software that runs this board.

PDW

I can tell you for certain that the moderators/super moderators do not have such permissions. In my six years moderating I have not heard it discussed in private or in moderating messages.

Note:
I have not included admins in the statement above because I am not an admin and cannot speak from first hand experience. I can say I have never heard or seen it discussed by them. A super admin might be able to browse the database table directly, or use a third party plug-in, but I have seen absolutely no evidence of this in my time (even when it would have saved a lot of grief for the owner and mods to do so).

Everyone should note that at times people use the normal "Forward PM or Report PM" to send a PM to moderators, especially when someone spams their PM inbox - but this is the only way we see them, if the user sends it to us.

PDW..you did say that the program allows for it to happen...I knew that
but is/was it monitored was what I wanted to know.

It appears that it may not be monitored....but????

Originally Posted by eskimo

PDW..you did say that the program allows for it to happen...I knew that
but is/was it monitored was what I wanted to know.

It appears that it may not be monitored....but????

Well eskimo, ultimately the choice is yours, if you don't trust the mods don't use the PMs, simple, there is no compulsion, you can always use a new fangled invention, it's called email.

And if you really value your privacy, you could even stop posting on a public forum.

I take exception to my integrity being questioned as I'm sure do the other mods.

Just remember without the mods donating their time you would not have a forum to bitch about them.

Originally Posted by eskimo

PDW..you did say that the program allows for it to happen...I knew that
but is/was it monitored was what I wanted to know.

It appears that it may not be monitored....but????

If a capability exists, it can be used. For the security of the forum owners, this capability has to be there. I, personally, have no problems with it.

Kind of a pointless thread hijack, discussing if this can be done. Were I the owner or one of the sysadmins, I'd certainly have the ability and I'd expect to rarely use it, probably only as a precursor to banning someone. I'd keep it as tight as possible so I'm not surprised the moderators don't have access.

The point remains. If you send something in a PM, it *can* be read by a person other than the intended recipient. So what? Any email you send via any ISP to anyone else can also be read, unless you use PGP to encode it.

One of my software designs logs every query against its database. We almost never look at the log, but we *can*.

PDW

Originally Posted by Big Shed

Well eskimo, ultimately the choice is yours, if you don't trust the mods don't use the PMs, simple, there is no compulsion, you can always use a new fangled invention, it's called email.

And if you really value your privacy, you could even stop posting on a public forum.

I take exception to my integrity being questioned as I'm sure do the other mods.

Just remember without the mods donating their time you would not have a forum to bitch about them.

I think saying he's bitching is an overreaction. He's asking, sure, but so far he hasn't made any comments about what he thinks of it, right, wrong or otherwise, so he's seeking knowledge, perhaps as a precursor to 'bitching' perhaps not.

He certainly didn't question your integrity and claiming that he did is plain wrong. Now, like it or not, you are coming across as defensive and over the top.

I'd suggest that everyone just DROP IT.

PDW