Forum Discussion

jd48's avatar
jd48
Member
10 years ago

ATT ADMIN... RE IMPORTANT PRIVACY ISSUE

Hi not sure of the best way to contact admin so hoping this works.

There is one thing that I hope you consider changing on this Website and that is 'privacy' or post visibility.

This is a great site and an invaluable resource to those going through BC but as is right now one can only chose to make all posts public (as in available to be viewed by the whole.planet and appear in any google search by anyone) or visible to their contacts only.

I feel there needs to be a 3rd choice - ie available to bcna site / group members. 

If this is a site where we can come to search for information, share our stories and experiences we should also be able to do so by allowing other members see these posts without worrying about family and/or friends seeing them too as sometimes they are the subject of our worries and posts.

If we start restricting it to 'contacts' then it beats the purpose of allowing other group members to see it as they need to be a contact 1st so majority will see nothing.

I guess having a user name that is unrelated to one's real name may help with anonimity BUT when one is registering it is not made obvious to them every blog is subject to the wode public so many choose own names or surnames which in turn makes them volnourable.

I may be alone in this but somehow I do think other members would also appreciate being able to choose to share just woth other group members or to at least be made aware very much in advance when they choose their ID at least (or before they find something they thought was in fact private on a Google search).

 

6 Replies

  • Mishie's avatar
    Mishie
    Member
    10 years ago

    This IS a very supportive and lovely community. I'm so grateful for the words of the other members here through what's been an incredibly difficult time for me and my family, and would like to continue here as a member.

    I would like to point out, however, that freedom of speech is provided under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, written by the United Nations. You can find it here: http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/ Freedom of speech is covered in the preamble and addressed in Article 19.

    From the preamble "Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,..."

    From Article 19 "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

    I know it's tempting to blame the Yanks for "freedom of speech", since they DID impose Maccas and Donald Trump on the world :) but it's a bit more univeral than that.

    I know members here are under incredibly trying circumstances, having dealt with some of these myself. I do appreciate the kindness, compassion and understanding from the members. I hope that is taken into consideration when someone has a bit of a bad day. That's all. Kind thoughts to all.

  • jd48's avatar
    jd48
    Member
    10 years ago

    THANK YOU so much for acting on my message and organising for my ID to be changed
    I truly appreciate it

    I understand how the site works now - sadly it is not that easy to come to that information when joining from a mobile device

    I know you guys are working hard to improve the site and fix the glitches and that is really appreciated.

    I guess my big worry was that if I did not get to see this than maybe some other members did not either so they may find themselves in a pickle.
    But along the same lines I do believe that the fact everything is either completely public or completely restricted to one's contact might also be the reason why some choose not to post as while they might be comfortable discussing the ins and outs of how they live through this whole BC ordeal with others going through the same they might not be that OK with making it public to the whole planet.

    I do hope that in some of the future revisions that 3rd (bcna community only) option does become available

    Again thank you for the understanding and for jumping onto the problem I was facing that quickly and rescuing me :)
    Jel.

  • Cosette's avatar
    Cosette
    Member
    10 years ago

    Thanks for your feedback, jdakic. You are not alone in your observations.

    Currently there are two settings for "Blogs", which are really just posts:

    • Public - everybody can see posts
    • Private - posts are only viewable by your contacts


    Comments are not affected by this. These options are found in Edit Profile (not Settings).

    I agree that a third option of 'viewable only by members who are logged in' is a good idea and this is something that we're working on. Creating this type of granular permissions at an individual user level is a difficult piece of development.

    Having said that, please remember that when you post something online, it is never truly private. This is why we encourage members to post only as much as they're comfortable disclosing and why we prefer for members not to use first names and surnames or emails as their user names - to protect privacy. You're right that is not obvious in the registration process and we're currently making some changes to that.

    You can always give feedback on the online network. You can also send us a private message, email or give us a call.

    Moving away from that a bit, I also want to correct some misinformation that keeps getting repeated.

    The online network is a free service by BCNA for all Australians affected by breast cancer.

    This community is not pre-moderated. We do not vet content before it appears in the online network. When you hit the post or submit button, your content goes live immediately.

    Ann-Marie, Jess, and I are community managers. Our role is to ensure that the online network is a safe space for all Australians affected by breast cancer to find information and support. There's a lot more to it, but that's the gist of it. We are not admins or developers. It is often repeated that our job is to "fix" the site; that's actually the one thing we don't do, though we do help identify issues that we then take to our developers to investigate and resolve.

    There are two reasons a post may not appear in the main feed:

    • The member's blog setting is set to private
    • The post is being affected by a bug in our system that we are currently investigating

    The community is moderated in the sense that we review content (after it's live) to make sure it is within the network posting guidelines. Most of it is. I often brag how lovely BCNA members are and what a pleasant, kind, and supportive community this is. As a result, moderation here is generally very light. However, it is incorrect to assume that anyone can post anything nor is it correct to assume that freedom of speech, which is ingrained in the U.S. Constitution and not Australia's, applies here. Every community has rules.

  • Jess_BCNA's avatar
    Jess_BCNA
    Member
    10 years ago

    Hi there Jdakic, I'm Jess and I help look after the network. Thank you for your posts and your suggestions have been very much taken on board.

    There is some good information about privacy here in our FAQs https://www.bcna.org.au/online-network/help-faqs/

    You're very right in your post in that selecting a different username, posting into private groups and selecting a restricted profile are designed for greater privacy. These settings can also be adjusted after signing up, by editing your profile.

    Thank you again for your post and as mentioned we have taken your suggestions on board. Also please do feel free to give us a call on 1800 500 258 and we will be happy to chat more.