Depression Support Group
Depression is a real and debilitating condition that is often misunderstood by family and friends. Its meaning can range from a prolonged period of sadness to an actual mental illness with specific symptoms. Find and share experiences with others who are going through the same struggles.
hey all -
about once every 2 months, like clockwork, someone jumps onto DS and starts to shout about how DS isn't "secure".
to be honest, we find those comments very frustrating. we spend a significant amount of time on maintaining and improving security at DS. i'll remind everyone of a few simple rules:
1) DS is based on anonymity. Don't use your real name or even a common "handle" as your username.
2) The only thing we know about our users is the information they post to their public profile, and then we hold onto your email address but DO NOT display that to other members.
3) You can currently "lock" your journal posts, and soon we'll add additional features to that set, which I expect will be the ability to lock up your photos and possibly your entire profile.
4) We do not know of any incident where DS security has been compromised. Really.
So please, let's keep it all within reason, folks.
doug
about once every 2 months, like clockwork, someone jumps onto DS and starts to shout about how DS isn't "secure".
to be honest, we find those comments very frustrating. we spend a significant amount of time on maintaining and improving security at DS. i'll remind everyone of a few simple rules:
1) DS is based on anonymity. Don't use your real name or even a common "handle" as your username.
2) The only thing we know about our users is the information they post to their public profile, and then we hold onto your email address but DO NOT display that to other members.
3) You can currently "lock" your journal posts, and soon we'll add additional features to that set, which I expect will be the ability to lock up your photos and possibly your entire profile.
4) We do not know of any incident where DS security has been compromised. Really.
So please, let's keep it all within reason, folks.
doug
It's great you've addressed security concerns, as they've been popping up often in msgs - And I'm sure most will be happy with balanced solutions which do not completely denature the spirit of DS with 'security walls' everywhere.
As far as the search engines is concerned at least, the problem could be easily solved if ~PARTS~ of the site only available through logging in the site.
(Like people's personal profiles for example.)
Search engines would still be able to find the site through communities posts.
A large number of dating or help sites do that: they let you see an outline of the site but the rest is viewable through membership...Facebook is one that's only viewable through loggin in, but that's a bit extreme.
This would protect members' info from being accessible (and archived forever!) by search engine.
Or at least, if you guys use meta tags to prevent google from archiving the site it will make privacy that much easier esp if someone needs to delete their profile, and not have it remain online.
Also people have different levels of comfort regarding privacy. Abuse survivors in particular, who've had their trust, safety, boundaries violated repeatedly, often feel particularly sensitive about these issues.
As I mentioned in another post, ensuring safety and privacy should have been among the top priorities when DS was established.
Maybe this is in the terms of service. How many people actually read those. Very few.
I went back to read the terms and still didn't find anything that made it clear our information was available on the internet.
Many websites protect their members privacy. And it is reasonable to be concerned. I did protect myself by using a screen name and not giving out personal details such as age, city, state, etc. But as a way of helping others understand who I am, I did go into some detail about my abuse history and how it affected me as an adult.
I did that only for DS members (particularly members of the PTSD site where I spend most of my time). It's also the principle of the matter. This is a site for healing and that requires safety. There should be prominent warnings that our information is being indexed by Google. That way we can make informed decisions about whether we feel comfortable becoming a DS member and also so we would be aware of how important it is to be cautious about what we share on this site.
I often shared my abuse and recovery experiences in some detail with other DS members as a way of giving them hope that recovery from even the worst abuse is possible. I won't be doing that anymore.
Even I am not THAT important!!!! LOL cor blimey guvnor as London East Enders say.
I checked out this topic. Even after reading it, I thought..well, hey..don't care what anybody reads about me.
Then I decided to google my user name and DS. Cheez Louise ! There are all my private thoughts. There are my replies to the depression board, profile, hugs to people and from people etc.
So, ok, nobody has any idea this is me interacting with people. Still, it sure felt uncomfortable to see my stuff come rolling right up on google.
If there is a vote, I vote for lock down and private. If people join this site, they can roam around. Just don't want to see it coming up on google or anywhere else than here.
That's how I felt too, but not for me.
I don't have pics, videos or much info on my profile. All my journals are locked. Mainly cause I'm aware of the security issues.
But I was thinking of a lot of people who are less "net savvy", and there on google and yahoo were all their thoughts complete with their photos all xeroxed and accessible to all.
As others have pointed out this is the internet, if someones interested enough theyll probably find you but whos that interested in what someone thousands of miles away says? Or, even in the same room? Most people are so wrapped up in themselves they have no time to spend thinking about what someone else is saying, and if they do usually its just plain nosiness. But Im afraid youre ALWAYS going to have someone griping about security! Security! To be blunt, some people are just paranoid and NO amount of reassurance or security measures are going to help, it is THEIR pathology. I had some concerns about it when a colleague looked over my shoulder at work and may have seen my screen name. So, I closed that account and created this one, and have not logged on at work again.
What bugs me is that this board has people claiming to know others personally, living in the same small town etc., I know its possible but it seems highly unlikely to me. Yeah, some folksll exchange real names, locations and phone numbers but again this is the internet so be wary. I knew a woman about ten years ago who fell in love with someone she met on AOL, she was shattered to discover that it was a woman posing as a man. Most people seem honest but we never really know whats going on in someone elses head, and if youre like me sometimes not even in you OWN head, but thats another community.
Anyhow, I think you and DS should try to put it into perspective, not every lid fits every pot and therell always be a crank who complains about something. Bottom line is you cant please everyone but DS is a tremendous resource for many and focusing on the few detractors is futile. Im not suggesting that you disregard complaints but not every complaint is legitimate in this case the customer is only right in his or her own mind and youll never be able to change that. Thanks.
these shout outs really were unnecessary. DS and any site is as unsafe as you make it.