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Personal safety and security when using the forum.

Contralto said:
I am kind of uncomfortable that in addition to individuals, there are often somewhere near 50 robots on the forum collecting data. Is there some way you could block bots from the Forum?
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Most of the bots that are on this forum are search engine bots such as Googles and Bong, they index the forum all the time which is why DCUK has such a high ranking in searches compared to other diabetic forums.

If you are worried about your personal info in your profile, change it so you are not readily identifiable, my profile could be correct or it might not be as I have taken care what I put in it.

DCUKMod said:
Not all bots are undesirable Contralto. Those decisions are not mine to make.
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As I said to @Contralto they mainly search engine bots, and the Admin will want those on the site at all times.
 
@Contralto there are standard protocols in place for controlling robots access to websites - or various parts of them, and these are set up for each site by the site administrators. As already mentioned most robots do a vital and necessary job indexing sites for the search engines. The robots will respect and adhere to the access permission set for each site, and for the most part this keeps information and data safe and secure, but occasionally there are rogue robots which ignore these protocols, e.g. to collect email addresses for spamming purposes, which is why we should all take care about what and how much (personal) information we choose to make public online. Have a Google search for "robots.txt" if you'd like to see further information about these protocols.

Robbity
 
I think it's important that this site does show up on Google searches. That's how I and many others found it.
 
I'm not too worried about the bots, probably because I don't understand them, but I am concerned about the number of people who have been identifying themselves recently and, perhaps more so, those who unwittingly identify themselves. Perhaps it doesn't matter to you if neighbours, or people you don't really know, but see you around, are aware of your medical history, but what if you criticise your doctor's surgery (libel) or ask for advice for taking insulin into the USA for next week's holiday (leaving house empty) or say that your next door neighbour has just been diagnosed (breach of trust) and so on.

Once out of the bag, personal information cannot be retracted and the ability to discuss something private, and keep it private, on the forum goes. While some will happily go public with their identities, it is so important that we all think through the consequences and remember that the internet record will be available world wide, long after the local paper has been through re-cycling.

Sally
ps, if you live next door to a nice middle aged couple called "Sally and James", it's not us!
 
Well, I'm little, grey and a bit catty at times.

I do recall a few years back there was a big wave of complaint because some people had misunderstood the nature of the Forum and thought that all their postings were (and should be) private to the forum only.

As others have said, if the Forum is not visible to Google (other search engines are available) it is very difficult for non-members to find the forum and to find relevant topics within the forum to encourage them to join us. Hiding from the world, and especially other people with diabetes, seems unfriendly to me.

Remember also that we don't pay for the Forum, and it is run by a commercial enterprise. If they can't advertise via searches then how are they going to fund this very useful Forum?
 
[QUOTE"Contralto, post: 1888400, member: 118285"]And my antivirus suggests that by entering this site, I am not secure. So, I will probably have to leave[/QUOTE]
If you click on the locked padlock in the address bar you will see this info for the https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/ site.

I have never had any warnings with this site being unsecure by my AV programme coming here.

 
Contralto said:
the site, yes, the log in page, yes, individual posts and avatars, no, the personal blog posts, no
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Contralto said:
the site, yes, the log in page, yes, individual posts and avatars, no, the personal blog posts, no
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Contralto - I have to say I'm really struggling to understand where your concerns lie.

The site bears the https:// and the padlock symbols, signifying it to be secure:



Appearing in high positions in Google (other search engines exist of course) is important, if we consider how many people have found this site by utilising search engines, searching for answers to an issue a the time, and how valuable so many have found the site having done so. To render the site unfindable would, in my personal view, be a disservice at best and a very cruel step.

If you have genuine concerns or queries then please do email forum@diabetes.co.uk and explain them as fully as you can, so that they may be investigated more fully. This thread was established to warn people of other very important aspects of their personal physical, mental and potentially even financial security and well being and this discussion is deflecting from it.

The safety and security of our members is paramount to DCUK.
 
So pleased to see this excellent system in place ... I am on many internet forums (mainly for video games), which are usually madhouses not for the frail, so it's nice to see caring advice to people who are putting themselves out there, and making themselves vulnerable. As we say on my favourite forum "Respect, Dude!"
 
Thank you very much for creating this forum. I have a big concern. I started taking insulin a weak ago but my body is not responding at all. My doctor tried all types of insulin but no response from my body. Has anyone experienced such a thing. I really need some help here. Thank you in advance.
 

Hi Anonym - Welcome to the forum.

This post I am referring to is probably not best positioned on the forum to achieve most responses or support. It would be better placed, I think, as a thread of it's own.

You can either create a new thread, or I can mose this post to somewhere it might have better visibility? Just let me, or any of the Mods know.
 
Bump - It's been a while since this was brought out for a reminder.
 
 
Thank you so much for this informative information.
 
Bumping this post up. Never a bad thing to remind ourselves of these issues.
 
Bumping this post up - seems timely for a reminder of @DCUKMod ’s wise words. Please don’t hesitate to report anything of concern, whether on the open forum or in a private message.

———-

From time to time, on a forum such as this, an unfortunate set of circumstances or actions arises, giving one or more members concerns. Examples of what might happen might be an inappropriate attachment from one member to another, suggestions to go off-site to one-to-one contact within, say, WhatsApp, Facetime or Messenger. Other examples would be for the sort of scamming activity we might see on TV; perhaps individuals looking to raise funds for “medications/treatments/emergency repatriations” - just as examples.

I am sure we are all familiar with those “Foreign Prince” email scams that encourage us to part with our money, but it is less easy to spot a clever bit of manipulation on a forum – especially one populated by fellow travellers along a sometimes tricky diabetes path. We have a natural “me too” response to much we read.

So please remember that we only have each other's posts to go on, for everything we know about our fellow posters. DCUK have a system of checks and an active moderation team, but while it may be easy to spot a scam email, it can be less easy to spot a dishonest poster. Sometimes someone may post on the forum with the goal of extracting money, whether by promoting products, encouraging Private Messages or by a sob story.

Should you ever find yourself on the uncomfortable end of any of those circumstances, or indeed something else, please hit the Report Button, immediately. The Report button is located under every post, and every Private Message conversation entry. Please check that you know where the button is. Alternatively, email forum@diabetes.co.uk to express your concerns.

Any such concerns will be thoroughly investigated, and where necessary, actions taken.

Raising a Report or emailing your concerns is not telling tales. It is playing your personal part in the safe and happy running of DCUK and a valuable feedback loop into the site Management/Admin Teams.

The safety, security and privacy of our members is paramount to us at DCUK, and we do need your assistance to ensure, where at all possible, any undesirable behaviour or actions are prevented or nipped in the bud.
 
Bumping this thread again.
Should you receive a Private Message asking for personal information or contact details, please report this message.

Think very well about your online safety and the information you want to share with a stranger from the internet before replying to such a request.
 
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