Please set email address default to hidden (many users now have visible email)

[Xinixs]

I just noticed that my email address was visible when clicking on my username, so had to go into account settings to hide it.

I believe that the default behaviour should be to HIDE the address, and NOT to make it visible. I checked with 5 accounts, and 3 of them had the address set to visible. Very nice for email harvesters.

Please admins, fix this, it is an annoying privacy issue.

[vinnywright]

Re: Please set email address default to hidden (many users now have visible email)

well this is a privet site and I dont think guests can view your profile.....no thay cant

I personaley like my e-mail and other thing's viewable so anyone who want's to contact me can

and if I decide I dont want some one bothering me .........thay go on the spam list

VINNY

[slush1000]

Re: Please set email address default to hidden (many users now have visible email)

I believe that the default behaviour should be to HIDE the address, and NOT to make it visible.

I agree that this should be the default behaviour.

I personaley like my e-mail and other thing's viewable so anyone who want's to contact me can

That is the reason why it should be a choice to make it viewable to the 'public' of the forum. It's a personal preference and many users may not know their address is viewable by default.

[Ole Juul]

Re: Please set email address default to hidden (many users now have visible email)

I'm sure it's not a problem. I've been around here for a while now and haven't gotten one single piece of spam on this e-mail address. I tend to use different addresses for different things - that's how I know for sure.

You're right though. Someone could join the group just to harvest the e-mail addresses. It's probably not worth the trouble though. Perhaps the default should be different, but the idea here is to form community, and sharing is more welcoming. I personally don't care either way, but would probably set the default to hidden if it was my board. Anyway, anybody who is paranoid should probably use different addresses for different forums, or at least different purposes. I set up about a dozen accounts just for that convenience. They all funnel into the same one so it's absolutely no trouble at all.

[Xinixs]

Re: Please set email address default to hidden (many users now have visible email)

I agree with the idea of a community sharing, but there's always a nutter / spambot aboard. The forum offers PM for private messages and you can always swap addresses with someone specific. I am just a bit worried that the default is on, in other forums I know of the default is off.

[oshunluvr]

Re: Please set email address default to hidden (many users now have visible email)

+1

Defaults should always lean toward security first, convenience second.

[JRoque]

Re: Please set email address default to hidden (many users now have visible email)

Hi. +1 on hiding email address.

Was this a deliberate and conscious decision to expose all member's addresses by default (and take some major Darwinian award) or was this an accident?

I just received the first couple of spam messages originating in Pakistan, through Hotmail, hopping through Google SMTP services - seemingly intending on obfuscating routes - and finally to my server. They used the address I have set for this forum. I've changed my profile so to "hide" my address but, has this always been how profiles here work?

Regards,
JR

[Snowhog]

Re: Please set email address default to hidden (many users now have visible email)

A registered members email address is not visible to guests/other members if it has been set in the profile to not be visible to them. You will always see your email address when you view your profile.