Are private messages really private?
 

I was wondering...from past experience and a true lover of YT...are our private messages really private? The word private in itself means alot. If I am to use this feature to chat with my online yt friends about ANYTHING that I would rather not display publicly, am I really doing just that? Just wondering...and wanted to add that I love my online community here, but private should mean private. :)

Being that pm's are not for the public to see, and are from one person to another just like email, shouldn't our members be able to discuss anything they would like to in private, and not be subjected to anyone else monitoring it? Just my thoughts...

Admin...don't get mad at me PLEASE! I was just curious... :) ;)

I never thought about it but just assumed they were private :confused:

This one discusses it more...

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sho...hlight=private

admin
Administrator
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All private messages are stored on the YorkieTalk server. There is a way to access it if need be, but we would only access a member's private messages if there is an immediate and direct threat to YorkieTalk or if we were required by law to do so.

Everything that you write as a post or private message on YorkieTalk is saved. If you want to correspond with another member without the possibility of anyone from YorkieTalk seeing it, use email or instant message or a telephone.

I will follow suit and post mine as well

kteal@san.rr.com

while i *sorta* understand the reasoning behind it ( *sorta* ) it still kinda makes the word "private" an oxymoron, doesn't it ?? :rolleyes: Maybe they should be called "Semi-Private Messages" :D

Well, nothing is really EVER private on the internet... It's kind of scary, but as long as you're not talking about something illegal... What's there to worry about? ;)

Reminder to anyone posting an email address here
 

Keep in mind that ANYONE can come here and read, and they don't have to be members. I get a ton of spam now, and therefore will never post my email address in an open post. Anyone who wants it that knows me is welcome to PM me (yeah, admin knows my email, lol) and I will happily give it over.

The internet is a strange and mysterious beastie, is it not? Unfortunately, wherever there are beasts, there will always be predators. :(

It's not really a matter of worrying --- if I would like to say something to a particular member, but not the whole forum, I shouldn't have to wonder if someone other than who it is intended for reading it... kinda like going through someone else's mail. I think its just a privacy issue. ( I'm sorry, but something about it just doesn't set right with me, that is why I very rarely ever send a PM) Its just my opinion though. I have not made a habit of sending a personal attack to members, but I agree with yorkiemom in that private should mean private.

Private messages are not monitored, but as we have had problems in the past with spam, personal threats, personal attacks, and other abuses of the system, we have had to look into a member's private messages before because of potential liability to YorkieTalk and because situations have gotten out of hand before. There are just some things we can not have on the YorkieTalk server that we pay for and are responsible for. PMs can be used for anything, but they are not for spamming members, attacks, or threats.

For your privacy, we do not share your personal email address or any other pertinent information to anyone unless we notify you in advance or required by law. But as our Rules & Regulations state, we do not allow personal attacks or spam, and the only way we can determine if that rule has been broken in Private Messages is by looking into the messages themselves (which usually only happens when a member complains about a PM they have received).

You are no in way required to use the Private Message feature of YorkieTalk. You can always email or instant message your YT friends if you do not agree with our written policies regarding PMs. But, just like YorkieTalk, any email or instant message you ever send (at least using public free services) is stored somewhere and someone will be able to retrieve that message or email if need be.