vBulletin® Version 3.7.0 ,,, Update ( Really ) ?

[Earl K]

Hi All,

Does this latest update affect anyone else in the following way(s) ?

(i) The removal of the ability to up load any ( & all ) attachment(s) ?

- I suppose this most likely applies to myself only & is the penalty that I must pay ( for using an outdated Microsoft browser on an old Mac )

(ii) The new messaging system called ( something like ) "Visitor Messages" allows the membership to read each others messages ( assuming they weren't initially sent throught the older "PM" ) routes .

- Are these "Visitor" type of messages viewable by any others ? ( or has my older browser unwittingly hacked into others private messaging domains ? )

- If this ( sharing of message content to all members ) is the new norm, then I need to challenge the notion that we need an additional messaging system that's seemingly patterned on the semi-public "FaceBook" model ( & implemented by the dept of Homeland Security ) .
- Yes, this is an "Orwellian" concern ( for this older dude ) who still maintains a healthy mistrust of the man ( the government ) .

- One thought ; change the name of this new messaging type to something less prone to "doublespeak" and the resultant entrapment of the trusting .

<> Earl K

[hjames]

I'm on an old G4 PowerMac with Mozilla - seems I can still upload images (I use Firefox)

What version of the OS do you run - are you using OSX ?
Get a copy of Firefox for the MAC, or use the Safari browser for the MAC
IE 5.x for the MAC is BADLY outdated, unsupported and frankly, a security nightmare (no patches will ever be created!)
the current version of IE for the PC is Version 7 & MS is working on IE8 - IE5 should be DELETED from your machine,
or at the least, NEVER LAUNCHED AGAIN

PMs still work for private member to member comments, not sure about the Visitor messages ...
replied to one from Scott before I knew what it was ...


Hi All,

Does this latest update affect anyone else in the following way(s) ?
(i) The removal of the ability to up load any ( & all ) attachment(s) ?
- I suppose this most likely applies to myself only & is the penalty that I must pay ( for using an outdated Microsoft browser on an old Mac )
(ii) The new messaging system called ( something like ) "Visitor Messages" allows the membership to read each others messages ( assuming they weren't initially sent throught the older "PM" ) routes .
<> Earl K

[yggdrasil]

Hi Earl

(i) uploading: My guess is that the problem is on your side, since there have been lots of uploading since the upgrade.

The computer/software upgrade race (with backward compatibility issues) are just one of the things we have to get used to....

(ii) Visitor / Private messages: The visitor messages are a new feature. The private messages are not affected by the new feature.

[Earl K]

(ii) Visitor / Private messages: The visitor messages are a new feature. The private messages are not affected by the new feature.

Johnny, when you click on your own name ( & your User Profile Contact Page loads ), what do you see ?

- When I do this , I see a page that's laid out in such a way ( with all the options ) thats looks to be formatted to encourage me to message using only the "Visitor Messaging" route .

- "PM" messaging options don't appear whatsoever on this "contact page".
( I'll take some screen shots if you want / turn them into .jpgs for you to post / if you want to PM me an actual email address )

- I'd be curious to see others "primary contact page" & their layout / if someone wants to go the same route of publishing similar screen-shots .

:)

[Earl K]

I'm on an old G4 PowerMac with Mozilla - seems I can still upload images (I use Firefox)

What version of the OS do you run - are you using OSX ?
Get a copy of Firefox for the MAC, or use the Safari browser for the MAC
IE 5.x for the MAC is BADLY outdated, unsupported and frankly, a security nightmare (no patches will ever be created!)
the current version of IE for the PC is Version 7 & MS is working on IE8 - IE5 should be DELETED from your machine,
or at the least, NEVER LAUNCHED AGAIN

- I understand your concerns over IE5 / & it's lousy security ( & therefore ,,, ) .


PMs still work for private member to member comments, not sure about the Visitor messages ...
replied to one from Scott before I knew what it was ...

- I don't understand why you're non-plussed over the issue of others reading emails that weren't intended by the author for others to view .

- ie;
(1) Was that "Scott" email meant to be private or not ?

(2) Before the reply to your reply / Had you thought the initial message was addressed to you ?

(3) Do you think he unwittingly published this into a semi-Public domain ?

(4) Do you think we should have a software system that encourages members to make lapses of their own personal security ?

:)

[BMWCCA]

We're on all Macs at my house and to be honest I never noticed a change and have no idea what you're talking about with respect to the messaging. I, too, would recommend Firefox, with a slight reservation due to it's inability to handle PDFs within the browser. The newest Safari (3.x) actually works very well and I've not had any problem with incompatibility with any sites, but I believe it requires OS 10.4 or 10.5 to update Safari beyond v.2. Safari also handles PDFs just fine within the browser window. As long as you don't mind downloading every PDF you want to view, Firefox on the Mac is fine. How old an operating system are you running and on what version Mac? Sometimes users of old Macs prefer Mozilla's Camino browser, if you're running at least OS 10.3.9. Check it out here: http://caminobrowser.org/

[BMWCCA]

Johnny, when you click on your own name ( & your User Profile Contact Page loads ), what do you see ?
- I'd be curious to see others "primary contact page" & their layout / if someone wants to go the same route of publishing similar screen-shots .I see the VM option now. Can't say what I'd think if you hadn't already described what it does but it appears to me to be only a way to have a "greeting" message appear on you profile page and to have a "guest book" format visible in your profile. I doubt I'd mistake it for a PM path and it appears I have control over what shows up there and what does not. But I could be wrong! :D

Clicking on anyone's user name still brings up the drop-down menu with the Private Message choice. You have to select "view public profile" to even get to the Visitor Message option and even then selecting the contact tab gives you both the PM and VM option. Anyone visiting another's profile page and leaving a visitor message should realize it will be displayed on that profile page. Like most v-bulletin options, I'm sure this one could be disabled is the list owners so decides.

[Earl K]

We're on all Macs at my house and to be honest I never noticed a change and have no idea what you're talking about with respect to the messaging.,,,,,,,,,
snip,,,,,,, Check it out here: http://caminobrowser.org/

- Thanks for the link .

- Your personal computing habits may be formatted in such a way that you haven't noticed the change ( or , it doesn't exist on your platform ) .

- An example; typically, if I want to PM someone I click on their name ( as found somewhere on a relevant post ) such as the author of said post ( etc. ) / when that contact page opens I'm now presented with a Visitor Messaging "texting box" / as well as some links to recent Visitor Messages this person may have received ( from other members ) .

- ( To maintain the privacy of others ) I no longer take this route ( shortcut ) to create a PM message ( since I really don't want to read messages that weren't addressed to me ) .

- Maybe this concept of messaging voyeurism doesn't bother others enough for it to be an issue / I guess we'll see what washes out .

:)

[hjames]

- I understand your concerns over IE5 / & it's lousy security ( & therefore ,,, ) .



- I don't understand why you're non-plussed over the issue of others reading emails that weren't intended by the author for others to view .

- ie;
(1) Was that "Scott" email meant to be private or not ?

(2) Before the reply to your reply / Had you thought the initial message was addressed to you ?

(3) Do you think he unwittingly published this into a semi-Public domain ?

(4) Do you think we should have a software system that encourages members to make lapses of their own personal security ?

:) Actually, I was able to delete Scott's mail to me and my mail on the "welcome Message" screen today. I was unsure of the system at the time when I replied to him, but, I didn't leave any sensitive info there then - basically I try to be cautious about ANYTHING posted anywhere online ... nothing is REALLY private online ...

[yggdrasil]

Hi Earl

When I open your profile, contact page I get the possibility to send you a PM. This should be the case if the member have enabled PM's.

I have attached a picture of how your page is viewed to me.

[yggdrasil]

- basically I try to be cautious about ANYTHING posted anywhere online ...
That is a very good advice Heather.


... nothing is REALLY private online ...
True.

[Earl K]

Thanks Johnny !


- That's different from what I see . I realize this is probably editable for most users .

- See my reply to BMWCCA as to why I no longer click on users names to initiate the process of sending PM messages .

<> EarlK

[BMWCCA]

This is what comes up when selecting "View Profile" on my Mac with Firefox (tempting, isn't it?:

[Earl K]

Hi BMWCCA

Thanks for making my point ( about being tempted into posting semi-public messages ) .

Perhaps if you were added onto my PM list, the default Visitor Texting Window wouldn't open up & then it might look like Johnnys' window .

Give me a moment to add you to my list & then reopen my Contact Page ( or whatever it's called ) .

<> Earl K

Okay you're added !

[BMWCCA]

Still looks the same, but then I don't see that I've been added anywhere.

I'll "friend" you and see if that changes anything. (The message "Earl K has not made any friends yet" looks so pathetic!)

[Earl K]

Hi


Still looks the same, but then I don't see that I've been added anywhere.

- I've just rechecked , you've been added to my PM list .


I'll "friend" you and see if that changes anything. (The message "Earl K has not made any friends yet" looks so pathetic!)

- Yeh , that's me , pathetic :)

- I got the notification re; a pending request for your "Friendship" .
- As will continue to be the norm for my situation, that request has been denied . This is because I have no idea what it means ( internet security wise ) to create a gaggle of linkable "Friends" . It's nothing personal / though you are now on my PM list which is where these "requests" end-up . :)

Earl K

[yggdrasil]

This is what comes up when selecting "View Profile" on my Mac with Firefox (tempting, isn't it?:
This is the default page. I also had to click the "Contact page". Sorry if I was not clear on that point.

I have no idea why vBulletin has made this change, nor do I wish to defend this decision. My point was that you still can send private messages.

I guess vBulletin is made for a younger audience (at least younger than the participants in this thread...), with other preferences and personal standards to privacy.

This also shows that you must be very aware of which buttons you click, and read carefully the small print since many of your actions are rather permanent.

[Earl K]

Hi


Clicking on anyone's user name still brings up the drop-down menu with the Private Message choice. You have to select "view public profile" to even get to the Visitor Message option and even then selecting the contact tab gives you both the PM and VM option. Anyone visiting another's profile page and leaving a visitor message should realize it will be displayed on that profile page. Like most v-bulletin options, I'm sure this one could be disabled is the list owners so decides.

- I missed this post / ( & I've left out the linkable code ) .


,,,snip

I have no idea why vBulletin has made this change, nor do I wish to defend this decision. My point was that you still can send private messages.

I guess vBulletin is made for a younger audience (at least younger than the participants in this thread...), with other preferences and personal standards to privacy.

This also shows that you must be very aware of which buttons you click, and read carefully the small print since many of your actions are rather permanent.

- Yep, progress .
- Okay, I'm done ( for now ). Thanks to all who helped shine the proverbial big flashlight onto this subject .

<> EarlK :)
*

[hjames]

The internets are for the YOUNG - not old fogies like us who actually care about privacy and such!

[Robh3606]

Hello All

Any of you want those messages deleted?? Just so you know even if you delete them we, meaning Super Mods and Admins can still read them. They are like a regular post so no Privacy like a PM. Welcome to the AIM croud.

Rob:)

[Titanium Dome]

Go to your user control panel ("User CP"), select the "Edit Options" page and scroll down to this Visitor Messaging area. Turn on or off the options that suit you. Turn everything off if you don't want it to operate.

[BMWCCA]

As will continue to be the norm for my situation, that request has been denied. T It's nothing personal / though you are now on my PM list which is where these "requests" end-up . :)No offense taken; I was gonna dump you, too, after our noble experiment! :applaud:

BTW: The Mods removed my references to "surprise" Visitor messages examples and the links to them in my previous message. Good call on their part and I certainly approve and intended no ill-will in pointing them out. I figured those who weren't aware of the public nature of their Visitor's Messages would certainly remove them once they found out. Thanks to Earl K for bringing this up in the first place. However, the Mods also removed my admonishment for everyone to check their profile and see if they've any Visitors posts hanging around by accident they'd rather not have public, so I'll repeat it here:

EVERYONE: Check your profile to make sure you don't have any Visitor messages on your page that you'd rather not have in public view! :D

[JBL 4645]

EVERYONE: Check your profile to make sure you don't have any Visitor messages on your page that you'd rather not have in public view! :D

Such as spammers taking liberty at using this to post spam links as this seems like a common place for them now! So always check your (visitor message) daily for any spam messages.