Posts with personal info.

[esjliv]

One time when I saw an OP entering way too much personal info. on the public forum, all I could think of was, this person is gonna get SIM-Jacked!

I selected "Report Inappropriate Content" (shown on below screen shot), because I was hoping it would ping to someone who could remove the info. 

But instead, it removed the post completely. I have not done that again since.

Now, I wonder what (other than telling the OP's to correct their post) is the best/quickest way to help them to remove the personal details? I have seen people reference Oracle's names to request an edit.

Is that the preferred method? I guess I am asking PM employees/Moderators or Oracles?

Thanks

[RosieR]

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@Anonymous wrote:

 @RosieR 

Whoa..."simple people"...heavy words.

I don't think it's about rules. I think it's about protecting oneself. Questioning "is this the right place to type this?".

But it seems to me that some people just don't care.

I don't think it's reasonable to expect the somewhat few Oracles to be around 24/7. If there were more then maybe. They have lives too.

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@Anonymous I didn't mean to insult.  I meant ordinary folks who have very little knowledge (or none at all) about the internet and public forums.  Some PM users come to the community forums because they need help and are not aware of what to share and what not to share.  They just need help.

No disrespect to the oracles and retired oracles.  Sure, they have lives too.  Thus volunteer forum moderators are needed.  There are members who may or may not have lives, who might want to volunteer.  No monitary gains necessary, just have the power to monitor the forums.  We can call them "PM Forum Police".  😊

[computergeek541]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I don't think it's reasonable to expect the somewhat few Oracles to be around 24/7. If there were more then maybe. They have lives too.

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There isn't any way that you're going to be able to get Oracles to take shifts unless they are made to be made to be paid employees.  At the moment, they're essentially volunteers and the $20/month doesn't even begin to cover the amount of time that Public Mobile expects of them.

[Anonymous]

 @RosieR 

Whoa..."simple people"...heavy words.

I don't think it's about rules. I think it's about protecting oneself. Questioning "is this the right place to type this?".

But it seems to me that some people just don't care.

I don't think it's reasonable to expect the somewhat few Oracles to be around 24/7. If there were more then maybe. They have lives too.

[computergeek541]

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@Anonymous wrote:

 @RosieR 

In forum-speak you're saying the proper definition of what a moderator is. But no...this place chose to call CSR's "moderators". This forum's moderators ARE the Oracles. If they had more then maybe one of them would be present 24/7.

But I still go back to personal responsibility. esjliv is right...there should be some kind of big bold thing saying that this is an open forum. But still...wouldn't one pause and think "Who can see this?", "Am I supposed to give all this information here?" "Doesn't seem right." "Oh well...Post."

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On many message boards, someone who is has some privileges to edit messages of other messages but is not a paid employee of the website or company is in fact, called a moderator. Most sites that I see would refer to to Public Mobile's moderators as administrators instead.  I think part of the issue who is when there's a problem, the official company line isn't to contact customer service but to go to the Community. I believe that results in customers thinking that only emlpoyees are in the Community or can see the posted messages.

[RosieR]

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@Anonymous wrote:

 @RosieR 

In forum-speak you're saying the proper definition of what a moderator is. But no...this place chose to call CSR's "moderators". This forum's moderators ARE the Oracles. If they had more then maybe one of them would be present 24/7.

But I still go back to personal responsibility. esjliv is right...there should be some kind of big bold thing saying that this is an open forum. But still...wouldn't one pause and think "Who can see this?", "Am I supposed to give all this information here?" "Doesn't seem right." "Oh well...Post."

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@Anonymous you're right, the PM moderators are not really moderating the forums.  A misnomer indeed!  I'm sure they have other duties more important than moderating.  They should be called online customer service representive because that is what they are really.  

There are enought oracles and retired oracles to be able to monitor the PM forums 24/7 as part of their volunteer jobs.  If they only arrange this amongst themselves.  This can be done!

Most people don't read forum rules.  Lots of people don't understand what to post on public forums.  They are not aware that posting personal information is against the forum rules as they just want help.  They are not aware that posting personal information on public forums might hurt them.  They are simple people who just need help.  They don't think, they just do it. 

So, it is up to us to help them.  I want to help them and I'm sure many regular poster do too.  PM forums need some changes.

[Anonymous]

 @RosieR 

In forum-speak you're saying the proper definition of what a moderator is. But no...this place chose to call CSR's "moderators". This forum's moderators ARE the Oracles. If they had more then maybe one of them would be present 24/7.

But I still go back to personal responsibility. esjliv is right...there should be some kind of big bold thing saying that this is an open forum. But still...wouldn't one pause and think "Who can see this?", "Am I supposed to give all this information here?" "Doesn't seem right." "Oh well...Post."

[RosieR]

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@esjliv wrote:

One time when I saw an OP entering way too much personal info. on the public forum, all I could think of was, this person is gonna get SIM-Jacked!

I selected "Report Inappropriate Content" (shown on below screen shot), because I was hoping it would ping to someone who could remove the info. 

But instead, it removed the post completely. I have not done that again since.

Now, I wonder what (other than telling the OP's to correct their post) is the best/quickest way to help them to remove the personal details? I have seen people reference Oracle's names to request an edit.

Is that the preferred method? I guess I am asking PM employees/Moderators or Oracles?

Thanks

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Hi @esjliv I also reported that post as I was soooo stressed about the amount of personal information the OP was sharing and no amount of telling from us other users to remove the images.  I was also surprised that the thread was just removed from the general forums to "purgatory forums" as one of the oracles said in the forums that there are threads that only the oracles can see.  

I was a volunteer "forum moderator" in one of the social forums and as forum moderators we could delete posts that do not follow the Forum Rules.  All the forum moderators were volunteers, no monetary gains, just the power to oversee the forums that members who posted do not attack or insult others, post spam or advertisement, post personal info and all other things against the Forum Rules.  It was very efficient as the moderators talk among themselves and made sure that a moderator was present 24/7. 

Public Mobile could do this.  Assign Forum Moderators.  There are so many times that oracles and retired oracles were not around and personal information are being left posted for more than a hour.  As a former forum moderator, that was stressful for Me!  Forum moderators should be appointed in these forums.  They don't have access to self-serve accounts, only the forums.  How's that for a suggestion?

Have a great week ahead everyone!  😊

[esjliv]

I believe most people do not even realize when they "Ask a question", for example under

"Getting Started"

After hitting the "Ask a question" button, it looks like this:

There is really no BIG OBVIOUS sign that this is going to be posted on the Live Internet for ALL TO SEE.

We tell people to message the moderators with a link that opens up the below screen (or private messaging anyone directly, for that matter).

There is no real difference in appearance, between these two:

1. Open to the Public for viewing (above)
2. Private message to the person(s) they are directed to (below)

Wouldn't it be a change in the right direction if all the "Ask A Question" messages were identified differently, or with a confirmation before you finally post it.

Something like this?.

"This will be posted on a Public Forum, confirm there is no personal details in this post...do you wish to continue?"

My feeling is that some people may think these message are being funnelled to a secure location. Then again, maybe not.

User names, yes, scary sometimes. The phone numbers are cringey.

[esjliv]

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@kb_mv wrote:

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@esjliv wrote:

One time when I saw an OP entering way too much personal info. on the public forum, all I could think of was, this person is gonna get SIM-Jacked!

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@esjliv I remember that post! I was thinking the same thing. It's tough. I try and advocate for more and better online security and awareness but it does seem like it falls on deaf ears. You can lead a horse to water.....

I'm not sure how to get people to care about their personal info before they have been sim jacked or had their identity stolen. Maybe it's too much bother or inconvenience. Too bad they don't consider how much of a bother or inconvenience it will be trying to recover from it. Even Microsoft is now advising people to not use their phone number for 2FA, instead recommending an authenticator app.

The gentleman earlier today that had his name as a user name and posted his phone number is a great example. I googled his number and him. I know who he is, where he is, what school he went to etc. I didn't even look that hard but a person bent on identity theft now has a great starting point.

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That's freaky.

[esjliv]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@LurganIeUk wrote:

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Yes, numerous  username choices here are very poorly chosen. Some names are unique and that person maybe easy to research. But why would any one research a stranger? But never the less there are many poor choices...and then the ones that are a phone number. 

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There was once an Oracle that had what appeared to be a phone number as a username. Shrug.

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😲

[CFPartDeux]

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@Dunkman wrote:

@esjliv 

Probably the fastest would be to check which oracle is online at the present time and then tag the oracle in your post.  

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Except that, some of the Oracles have their account set up to NOT show them as being "online", so they might be here, and you wouldn't know it, simply by checking the list of members online at any given time.

[LurganIeUk]

I agree......don’t use your phone  number for 2 factor.....especially a bank or credit card. I have a bank with some real nice notifications but by text only...I won’t do it. I have a credit card that notifies same by either text or email....I chose email and when out, I turn my data on occasionally for the email. 

[kb_mv]

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@esjliv wrote:

One time when I saw an OP entering way too much personal info. on the public forum, all I could think of was, this person is gonna get SIM-Jacked!

---

@esjliv I remember that post! I was thinking the same thing. It's tough. I try and advocate for more and better online security and awareness but it does seem like it falls on deaf ears. You can lead a horse to water.....

I'm not sure how to get people to care about their personal info before they have been sim jacked or had their identity stolen. Maybe it's too much bother or inconvenience. Too bad they don't consider how much of a bother or inconvenience it will be trying to recover from it. Even Microsoft is now advising people to not use their phone number for 2FA, instead recommending an authenticator app.

The gentleman earlier today that had his name as a user name and posted his phone number is a great example. I googled his number and him. I know who he is, where he is, what school he went to etc. I didn't even look that hard but a person bent on identity theft now has a great starting point.

[benfatto]

@esjliv  Very surprised whole post was deleted; maybe mods are too busy to edit a post. 😞

[Anonymous]

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@LurganIeUk wrote:

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Yes, numerous  username choices here are very poorly chosen. Some names are unique and that person maybe easy to research. But why would any one research a stranger? But never the less there are many poor choices...and then the ones that are a phone number. 

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There was once an Oracle that had what appeared to be a phone number as a username. Shrug.

[LurganIeUk]

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@Anonymous wrote:

There are so many ways outside of here that people don't care about exposing their personal information that I've stopped caring. The username is also a concern. That most recent one for example.

So I leave it to those that have the ability to do anything about it.

I think it's very nice that others are more caring. I just don't see the concern from the originators therefore why should I.

But that's just me.

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Yes, numerous  username choices here are very poorly chosen. Some names are unique and that person maybe easy to research. But why would any one research a stranger? But never the less there are many poor choices...and then the ones that are a phone number. 

[Anonymous]

There are so many ways outside of here that people don't care about exposing their personal information that I've stopped caring. The username is also a concern. That most recent one for example.

So I leave it to those that have the ability to do anything about it.

I think it's very nice that others are more caring. I just don't see the concern from the originators therefore why should I.

But that's just me.

[kselmak · Accepted solution]

You can check oracles that are online and mention them in the response, they are usually very fast when they notice it. 

If the post was removed, you could contact the op directly and tell them to post it again without personal/sensitive info too

[Dunkman]

@esjliv 

Probably the fastest would be to check which oracle is online at the present time and then tag the oracle in your post.  

[Triguy]

Usually Oracles remove the info faster than a moderator.