Is it okay to post private messages?

Daniel Ward87 said:Yeah... dealing with people spewing nonsense at the moderators is really the Administrator's call...

That said, I'm with Michelle Alvarez8—leaking private messages in public isn't right 👍. But think about this: what if the Admin drops a ban because someone sent an insulting PM to a mod, and then that user goes to the KzB complaining they have no idea why they got sanctioned? How do you prove it without showing the message? If the reason just says "due to an insulting PM," people are going to start spinning stories, claiming it's fake or demanding proof—even though the rule against sharing PMs still stands 🤷

Daniel Ward87

It’s actually quite simple if you just add one tiny detail: "posting private messages is prohibited without the author's permission." And there you go—wishing everyone the best of luck. The person claiming it didn't happen will either agree to let the message be posted (and then screw themselves) or refuse to allow it (and thus screw themselves by essentially confirming the message exists in the first place).

Nicholas King said:It’s actually quite simple if you just add one tiny detail: "posting private messages is prohibited without the author's permission." And there you go—wishing everyone the best of luck. The person claiming it didn't happen will either agree to let the message be posted (and then screw themselves) or refuse to allow it (and thus screw themselves by essentially confirming the message exists in the first place).

Yeah, sure, but now you have to draft that in triplicate and get it notarized by a public official😁 I don't exactly think this forum's rules change that easily... besides, every single PDF seems to have its own weird little set of supplemental bylaws, if I'm noticing anything at all...😕

I actually dig this, Nicholas King
🙂
cosmictinker21, that would just fall under the general forum rules, so it wouldn't even be subject to the specific sub-forum regulations

hollowtrucker77 said:I actually dig this, Nicholas King
🙂
cosmictinker21, that would just fall under the general forum rules, so it wouldn't even be subject to the specific sub-forum regulations

That would actually be great! Though, I have a feeling it wouldn't do much good against the bad actors. They’d just reject the whole idea of posting anything, then claim they aren't guilty by making up some excuse about how it's a private matter and they won't allow any public oversight into their personal business. They’d kick up such a massive fuss, something along the lines of: "Who do they think they are, sticking their noses into my private correspondence? Everyone knows I'm an upright, blameless citizen. I won't allow it. I couldn't care less what people think, blah, blah..." And then, acting all nonchalant, they play the principled hero who refuses to let anyone peek at their "privacy." Meanwhile, they'll round up a mob of opportunists and sycophants to cover their tracks... those types would rather cause a scene than just admit: "Yeah, I'm a total jerk, sorry."🤷

cosmictinker21 said:That would actually be great! Though, I have a feeling it wouldn't do much good against the bad actors. They’d just reject the whole idea of posting anything, then claim they aren't guilty by making up some excuse about how it's a private matter and they won't allow any public oversight into their personal business. They’d kick up such a massive fuss, something along the lines of: "Who do they think they are, sticking their noses into my private correspondence? Everyone knows I'm an upright, blameless citizen. I won't allow it. I couldn't care less what people think, blah, blah..." And then, acting all nonchalant, they play the principled hero who refuses to let anyone peek at their "privacy." Meanwhile, they'll round up a mob of opportunists and sycophants to cover their tracks... those types would rather cause a scene than just admit: "Yeah, I'm a total jerk, sorry."🤷

The crux of the matter is that instances like this are incredibly rare—but then again, personally, I find the publication (or even just the retelling) of the President's private business to be utterly unacceptable.

Not everyone necessarily needs to be privy to that whole mess involving the pokemon-bokserieca and those teddy bears. 🤣

Nicholas King said:The crux of the matter is that instances like this are incredibly rare—but then again, personally, I find the publication (or even just the retelling) of the President's private business to be utterly unacceptable.

Not everyone necessarily needs to be privy to that whole mess involving the pokemon-bokserieca and those teddy bears. 🤣

Wait, what on earth was that??? Go ask the author for permission right now! I need to know, I absolutely musssttt...🤣

cosmictinker21 said:Wait, what on earth was that??? Go ask the author for permission right now! I need to know, I absolutely musssttt...🤣

I already asked. He says nom. 😁

Nicholas King said:I already asked. He says nom. 😁

*snort*😢
I’m not about to provide any juicy material for the gossip mills... not when I’m already known as such a delightful person🤣

Nicholas King said:It’s actually quite simple if you just add one tiny detail: "posting private messages is prohibited without the author's permission." And there you go—wishing everyone the best of luck. The person claiming it didn't happen will either agree to let the message be posted (and then screw themselves) or refuse to allow it (and thus screw themselves by essentially confirming the message exists in the first place).

Before we implement this prohibition—which, in my humble opinion, is a sound idea—perhaps we could consider something like this first:

Any form of sending unsolicited information, harassment, provocation, or insults to other members via private message is strictly prohibited.

Believe it or not, some American forums even enforce permanent bans if a member constantly harasses, insults, or provokes another user through PP messages. 😲

In addition to this rule, I believe the most constructive step would be to establish a robust reporting system for problematic private messages. This would allow more people (specifically, the editorial team) to review the problematic content, ensuring that decisions regarding such messages and the users who send them are handled fairly and thoroughly.

Steven Clark2 said:Before we implement this prohibition—which, in my humble opinion, is a sound idea—perhaps we could consider something like this first:

Any form of sending unsolicited information, harassment, provocation, or insults to other members via private message is strictly prohibited.

Believe it or not, some American forums even enforce permanent bans if a member constantly harasses, insults, or provokes another user through PP messages. 😲

In addition to this rule, I believe the most constructive step would be to establish a robust reporting system for problematic private messages. This would allow more people (specifically, the editorial team) to review the problematic content, ensuring that decisions regarding such messages and the users who send them are handled fairly and thoroughly.

I honestly believe that less regulation is always better. It’s a massive gray area—I mean, what one person considers "unsolicited info or harassment" is entirely subjective... for instance, I personally get bombarded with data about phone numbers, bra sizes, and all sorts of nonsense. That's pretty disturbing to me, too. 😍

Nicholas King said:I honestly believe that less regulation is always better. It’s a massive gray area—I mean, what one person considers "unsolicited info or harassment" is entirely subjective... for instance, I personally get bombarded with data about phone numbers, bra sizes, and all sorts of nonsense. That's pretty disturbing to me, too. 😍

Yeah, you give them everything, but you won't be giving me any pokemon-bokserieca🤣

Man, I used to get these messages telling me they were going to ruin my life, claiming I was schizophrenic, saying I'd lose my job, that there'd be chaos in my neighborhood, that I was having hallucinations or projections... basically telling me to go get help because I'm crazy, and all sorts of nonsense... some idiot even took a photo from my Facebook—just a public one from a high school friend group—and sent it back to me. They figured out my username, hacked my password, and who knows who they were sending those creepy messages to... honestly, only someone who actually knows me in person could have pulled that off. And there are veeeery few people like that here... it's hard to pin down who it is, even if they tried to clone themselves a hundred times, ha, ha. I eventually had to message the administrator to deal with the moron. It worked, though...☕

Nicholas King said:I honestly believe that less regulation is always better. It’s a massive gray area—I mean, what one person considers "unsolicited info or harassment" is entirely subjective... for instance, I personally get bombarded with data about phone numbers, bra sizes, and all sorts of nonsense. That's pretty disturbing to me, too. 😍

If you actually intend to claim that constitutes harassment—then by all means, go ahead. And if you feel so strongly about it, why not just violate the rule regarding posting PP and give us all something to talk about? 😂

Nicholas King said:I honestly believe that less regulation is always better. It’s a massive gray area—I mean, what one person considers "unsolicited info or harassment" is entirely subjective... for instance, I personally get bombarded with data about phone numbers, bra sizes, and all sorts of nonsense. That's pretty disturbing to me, too. 😍

🙏🙏🙏

restlessharbor5 said:🙏🙏🙏

Trojčica? 😁

Sam Green73 said:I actually went looking for this in the current terms of service.
I didn't find anything.

Honestly, people should have the right to be protected from spam and harassment through PMs.

It's right there in the rules. I read them recently. 😛
Even if it isn't in the latest update, you haven't just joined the forum yesterday.
There was even a case here recently where someone got banned for posting a private message.😉
I find it hard to believe most users know it's against the rules while you, the administrator, somehow don't.🙄
I suppose you know it's forbidden, but maybe you're just playing dumb to protect your colleague Steven Ruiz.🙂

Quote:

Michelle Alvarez8 says: Harassing people through DMs is such a messy situation. Beyond what we’ve already dealt with here, it is way too easy to fake or edit messages when you forward them. Maybe using screenshots could fix this issue.

Yeah, right. Even that wouldn't work because anyone can just fake a message first and then take a screenshot of the lie. 😢

Alex Barnes8 said:It's right there in the rules. I read them recently. 😛
Even if it isn't in the latest update, you haven't just joined the forum yesterday.
There was even a case here recently where someone got banned for posting a private message.😉
I find it hard to believe most users know it's against the rules while you, the administrator, somehow don't.🙄
I suppose you know it's forbidden, but maybe you're just playing dumb to protect your colleague Steven Ruiz.🙂

Cornix frames oculos non effodiet ☕

Alex Barnes8 said:It's right there in the rules. I read them recently. 😛
Even if it isn't in the latest update, you haven't just joined the forum yesterday.
There was even a case here recently where someone got banned for posting a private message.😉
I find it hard to believe most users know it's against the rules while you, the administrator, somehow don't.🙄
I suppose you know it's forbidden, but maybe you're just playing dumb to protect your colleague Steven Ruiz.🙂

In my book, that kind of thing—whether it's leaking emails or any other private correspondence—is just wrong. Regardless of whether the rules technically forbid it or not, it's plain rude and completely uncultured (no matter what the actual message says).

If she had apologized for posting it but stood her ground regarding the ban, she might have at least kept some dignity. But the way this played out? It was honestly just embarrassing for everyone involved.

Posting screenshots of private messages has always been against the rules here on this forum. I don't recall them ever lifting that ban.

I'm with Nicholas King on this—leaking private chats is just straight-up trashy behavior. It’s rude, period.

In my time lurking on this site, I've dealt with tons of insults, and it never even crossed my mind to report the sender (which is also banned) or beg the Admin to step in... let alone leak their private messages. You just ignore the idiot and move on...

Actually, sending private messages isn't against the rules here (except on a few specific sub-forums), though sharing someone's private info like their full name or anything like that is definitely a no-go...
The DM mentioned above didn't actually contain any private details at all, unless you count the sender being a bit rude...

@observer, the sender hasn't been penalized, and the administrator hasn't been asked to take any action against them either...
That said, we have definitely handed out punishments before for people sending weird or offensive DMs on the forum...