• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

Future of the Forum

Ummm... I'm not really comfortable with handing over all the information I signed up with to a random person who has offered to take over the forum rather than an organization that has to adhere to privacy policies.

Is there a suggestion on what to do about that?
 
RemieV said:
Ummm... I'm not really comfortable with handing over all the information I signed up with to a random person who has offered to take over the forum rather than an organization that has to adhere to privacy policies.

Is there a suggestion on what to do about that?
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Yeah, I raised that issue with JREF myself. (Not that I ever felt particularly random!) From my perspective the privacy policy will stay much the same (I won't be selling your details to Facebook) and I suggested all members be emailed and given the opportunity to opt out of the transfer. Note that right now the anonymous non-JREF employee admins and mods can access your info, as can the data centre employees if they wanted to.
 
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icerat said:
Yeah, I raised that issue with JREF myself. (Not that I ever felt particularly random!) From my perspective the privacy policy will stay much the same (I won't be selling your details to Facebook) and I suggested all members be emailed and given the opportunity to opt out of the transfer. Note that right now the anonymous non-JREF employee admins and mods can access your info, as can the data centre employees if they wanted to.
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They are official volunteers of an organization that has accountability.

It is against privacy laws to give you the registration information of the members.

I cannot believe this seemed like a good idea.
 
Well, that escalated quickly. From discussions of hardware modernization to forum disownment in a few days :(

Good thing there's plenty of people with interest and dedication around to buffer this. Sad thing that JREF apparently has an even lower opinion of the forum than suspected. Scary thing that we now appear to have to rush into this because the infrastructure is visibly tottering (couldn't log in for most of the day because Sucuri hated me - fine now).
 
RemieV said:
They are official volunteers of an organization that has accountability.
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How the forum is run is still up for discussion. Simplest is my company (not me personally) takes it over, but the best option might be to set up a new NFP or perhaps B-Corp.

It is against privacy laws to give you the registration information of the members.
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Straight up, probably yes, but there are (legal) ways around that. In principle though I entirely agree with you, which is why I raised it with them. It's an issue that needs addressing - What would you suggest?

I cannot believe this seemed like a good idea.
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The option is the forum is turned off.
 
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icerat said:
Rick says he hasn't blocked China, so that's not it. Some other complication between the firewall and vbulletin.



Yes, it will be a challenge. Technically - and to my great surprise - the buck will stop with me. I made an offer to take over management of the forum and they've accepted. Personally I'd like to keep the forum site pretty much as is with the same mods and admins, I'll just be more available to harass for technical problems if things break and responsible for paying the bills. JREF and the "new" forum will continue to cross-promote each other.

Quite frankly I personally find the forum of such value if I end up having to fund the whole thing myself I will. As I told my wife the other day I enjoy a place where I regularly feel intellectually intimidated! Good for the soul :) There's a lot of people who know a lot about a lot of subjects on this site, and it's not a resource I want to see disappear and that's been a very real possibility. IMO none of the other skeptics sites seem to have come close to matching what is available here.

On a positive note, for the first time in apparently quite a while, as of today there is actually a full backup of the site so if the hardware fails all is not lost!

Might be worth starting a new thread to talk about options, just not sure what category is appropriate!
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Speaking as one of the very numerous lurkers/infrequent posters, welcome and thanks. I'm glad someone is going to save the forum, it sounds like JREF really dropped the ball.
 
I don't know about a specific law, but I can say this...Tesco, the UK grocery store chain, briefly tried to get into the US grocery market with a chain called Fresh & Easy. They had a members reward card. Eventually, Tesco decided it was not a money maker and sold it another company called Wild Oats. When the sale went through, those of us with a member card were told repeatedly they were not allowed to give over our member information and we had to re-sign up for the rewards card.

From their FAQ:

On September 10, 2013, we announced we were selling the business to a Yucaipa affiliated company. We also announced that the Friends of fresh&easy Rewards Program (“Friends Rewards”) will be offered by the new company in the stores that continue to operate.

Unfortunately, legally we can’t transfer your personal information to the new company because of privacy restrictions in states like California and Arizona. The process is really simple!
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http://www.freshandeasy.com/contact-us/faq/friends-transfer/

It is something to consider.
 
It's illegal for a couple of reasons, the first of which is the Online Privacy Protection Act, which is what Lisa's post refers to.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_Privacy_Protection_Act

The other is that it violates the JREF's own privacy policy, an enforceable contract.

The relevant bits:

Privacy

The JREF is committed to safeguarding your online privacy and does not sell or share the information you provide during registration with any other organisation. The JREF Forum has a Privacy Statement that can be found in the FAQ.
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And from the FAQ:

How your information is used.

The information collected by the JREF during registration may be used to contact you either regarding JREF or JREF Forum matters of interest, issues or other JREF business.

The JREF does not sell or share the information you are required to provide during registration with any other organisation.

With whom your information may be shared.

As a general rule, the JREF will not disclose or share any of your personally identifiable information except if you have given permission or when we believe in good faith that the law requires it.

How your information is secured.

Other than officers of the JREF, agents acting on behalf of the JREF or the administrators and moderators of the JREF Forum you are the only person who has access to your personal information.
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Lisa Simpson said:
It is something to consider.
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It's a common problem. People have learned to put in fine print to cover ownership changes.

A simple way is just to purge all identifiable info for the migration, leaving username and (encrypted) password, and when the transfer happens people have to agree to new terms to login.
 
Floyt said:
Well, that escalated quickly. From discussions of hardware modernization to forum disownment in a few days :(
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Well, after six months of such problems, anyway.

Sad thing that JREF apparently has an even lower opinion of the forum than suspected.
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Yes. Losing this forum would be very unfortunate. It's been a good ressource for me over the years, at least.
 
Besides the privacy issue, the biggest problem I foresee is that we lose our benevolent dictator. Decisions that many may disagree with but were probably for the best could just be chalked up to: "That's what JREF wants. It's their forum, their rules." I always felt that JREF having the final say was a needed safety valve.

Where it's hosted and how privacy laws are followed are some of the lesser issues really. Those are just technical problems. We are going to have political issues. I agree with Wolfman, we may be heading to a battle royale over the direction of the forum. Someone needs to be in charge, but who and how are they selected?
 
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