real names for people living outside u.s.a.

I have been pointed to a thread, now deleted, where philip stated realnames are

going to be implemented. Fortunately i can quote part of philip's statement.

<br><br>

QUOTE: "Using a combination of listed phone numbers, verification by existing

verified users, and credit card processing of $1 charges, we will try to build a

community of people who stand behind what they say. Your street address and

phone number will remain confidential, but you will be identified by your real

name and city of residence, e.g., "Philip Greenspun, Cambridge, MA". ENDOFQUOTE.

<br><br>

this seems ok to me, but i would have reassurances that member living outside

U.S.A. can be validated as well... i woulnd't like to wake up tomorrow and

discover myself an unverified john doe, even if i really wanted to tell my name.

<br><br>

On the other side... how are you going to manage reserved informations you

receive from us? How can we be sure that these well be accessible to us for

modify / deletion (through a formal amministrative procedure or whatever) should

these information need to be changed e/o deleted?. How can be sure these

information will *never* be communicated or sold in the *unlikely* but *still

possible* case photo.net is sold or acquired by third parties? Could you summon

up your privacy policies and put into the site into static html so they can be

always accessible?

<br><br>

this is not a critique to site administrators, but just a necessary request for

informations from a *worried* member.

The passage that you quoted does not mention North American residence (except the example). It talks about people having either a phone number, or a credit card, or a friend who is an existing verified user. If in the country where you live, you believe that people do not have any of these things, you should propose an alternative that would work in your country.

On the name confirmation issue, when times comes to do it,

will I be contacted or will I have to contact myself? If I have to do it, how can I? Thanks for any attention given.

" . . . OR a friend who is an existing verified user.

 

Oh I like this one . . . MATE VERIFICATION!

 

You see, Philip, for you it's all about the forums, but for most of us (based on the number of page hits) it's about the gallery.

 

Do you remember Jayme's comment about signing up friends and family to rate your images? Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?

 

It happens . . . enough to be obvious in the TRP results and turn off more and more people who could make valuable contributions to the site.

 

. . . and will we have check boxes to evaluate the value of each rating to the user?

Who the heck is going to sign up for an internet forum with all this info needed? Am I the only one lmao? So you're going to end up with a data base of real name, credit cards #'s, addresses, and thier jpgs...hmmm...right, have fun guys.

Here I use one junk email account to sign up for upgrades, get trial software, web site subscriptions etc. In most cases the email address gets sold, so the email gets royally clogged with spam. In one old computer site I "joined" I ended up getting 50+ emails a day on IT problem solving, even with ALL the checkmarks enabled to not receive any mail.

There is not much chance that I would ever give any website including this one either a critical ISP e-mail address or a physical mailing address. As soon as somebody gets the money bug, the information would be sold in bulk to advertisers.

 

I already get enough spam and viagra e-mail and I keep a big wastebasket next to my mail bin outside. My condolences to all the trees were murdered to print some of that junk.

I just wonder what the point of it is. Even verified people are still capable of making postings based on their own point of view. You could end up pushing out a lot of members that have valuable information to give but may not want their identity revealed on a public website.

Thanks for your kind answer philip. Of course in italy we have all the items you listed... i was worried that there was less chance of controlling something outside u.s.a. for your team. I am not expert enough to know wether you are able to really confirm my telephone number or address are really what i claim them to be... not that i have intention to lie, but i though your checking methods could work better for your "local" population and far less better for foreign... Provided they work, it is all ok to me.

<br><br>

but then... how will we be able to access / modify informations whenever they *need* to be - example: i buy a new house at another address, and obviously i am forced to change telephone.... to me the only constants here are: 1. my credit card number 2. my name - associated to credit card number.

<br><br>

a final question... will credit card number be stored on your server or you will never see them?

<br><br>

thanks for the time you are putting into these answers. i appreciate.

I also am interested in seeing an airtight Privacy Policy on this site, and have similar concerns.

 

For various reasons the state and/or even country of my residence during coming months/years may have vital privacy importance for legal/tax/marital matters, and I may not wish to make a choice or decision (or appear to make a choice/decision) which I trumpet to the whole world and say "THIS IS WHERE I LIVE"

 

In fact, because of unique circumstances, I have lived in a variety of countries during the last ten or 15 years, keeping a driver's license in one state, but often living not only in another state, but often in more than one foreign country. I kept the driver's license mainly out of laziness and to keep auto insurance continuity, and may do so in the future.

 

For instance, I have spent more time in Ukraine (or as much time) in Ukraine and Europe as I have spent in the U.S. this calendar year, and I could as easily call that my home, and might want to on official documents, but someone might want to challenge a statement I lived there, based on any stated PN residence 'affiliation'.

if my PN residence were associated with a U.S. community.

 

For my unique circumstances, sometimes my name might best be listed as follows: John Crosley: California (various cities), Seattle, Dnepropetrovsk and Odesssa, Ukaine and Moscow, Russia.

 

Philip, this is NOT a tongue-in-cheek or biting or sarcastic inquiry or statement. It is a real posting with a real legal cicrumstance and consequences.

 

Various 'tax' 'marital' and other matters all relate to matters of 'residence' and 'domicile' (related but different definitions), but, uniquely maybe, I have circumstances where I have and may want to keep flexibility in those matters -- and to breach my flexibility may cost me enormous amounts of money.

 

For instance, if I am seen to be living in a certain California county in which I maintain my 'principal residence' and sell my house but again take up 'principal residency' within that (or several other) California counties within two years, I get an enormous tax break on property taxes.

 

I might consider a new home California home a 'principal residence' though I am spending much of my time traveling elsewhere and posting from there, and receiving mail there -- and the law generally would allow me to do that.

 

But if I announce that I'm 'John Crosley' -- Vancouver, B.C. or Amsterdam, Netherlands, based on where I'm sleeping for a while, and someone in charge of tax records on a challenge goes to archive.org and sees a Photo.net listing, then I've got a more difficult argument about my legal status. (I know this sounds overly complicated and dreary, but such is life; composed of overly complicated and dreary stuff)

 

If a member is 'verified' as I certainly can be, could you please consider an exception of stating 'residence community' for those of us who have multiple residences or for whom stating 'residency'

poses 'legal' and/or security problems that you may not have anticipated.

 

(For instance, I once for four years picked up an Internet stalker . . . . based on postings and correspondence elsewhere . . . and every indication is that person was in my house . . . . a most chilling thought).

 

I know it is only through forum posts that you can learn of such instances.

 

As to Mr. Miriello's post explicitly . . .

 

The word of the day is 'privacy'

 

No self-respecting, privacy-respecting individual is going to be joining a site or retaining membership on a site that can sell or disseminate its membership info unless that site has an ironclad privacy policy that cannot be changed (in the event, say, of bankruptcy when a judge can approve things management abhors, say after a new site operator purchases, and later goes bust).

 

It is time to write a privacy policy now that is ironclad and makes NONCHANGEABLE guarantees of privacy, and then to trumpet that to potential members -- it would be a sure selling point when one is asking for otherwise confidential information and should ease the transformation of the site from an 'anonymous' site to a 'verified' site.

 

If not, there may be a HUGE membership loss over time, which I'd hate to see.

 

Not to have such a privacy policy may lead to a draining off of some of the more intelligent members who are aware of such things and who are some of the more aware and competent PN citizens, and probably such a loss would be insidious -- e.g., it would not be sudden (however large) and you mostly would be unaware of it, and as to discouraged members, you would never know at all.

 

With respect.

 

John (Crosley)

 

 

It does seem strange to me that everywhere we are told to be careful when online don't reveal any personal information and yet photonet wants to implement a real names policy. I understand wanting to keep trouble makers from postings but some people have real reasons for not wanting to reveal their indentity online. Johns is just one example.

I too would like an answer to Giuseppe's question about credit card security. I asked in

another thread whether, if stored, they were encrypted. This is not some fantasy-land

paranoia - or didn't you hear about the 100,000 compromised Visa cards last year?

I have been slightly been misrepresented (above) by a poster who suggested that I was fearful of having my real name used. That was not the point. I am PROUD of having my real name used. There are complications from having to be associated with a 'residency' for myself, since my 'residency' for legal purposes is somewhat ambiguous -- something that has precise and important legal significance and consequences.

 

The post by Joe Blow, above, about the current Privacy Policy, stating that our 'information' would be disseminated in the event of a sale, merger, etc. of Photo.net is a major argument (as I noted in my post), for a permanent, unchangeable, and irreversible promise and commitment to members (and thus enforceable against a bankruptcy judge and/or subsequent purchasers) that our information is something we have some enforceable rights to protect.

 

It is not something that is a small thing in this day and age; it's important enough that eventually it could drive many people off of this site -- I have had my attention called to the fact already that there is a site just for PN detractors to gather, and one can only imagine that such an issue would not escape their notice in the future if the Administration does not fully protect our interests in this regard.

 

Also, PN is a business in competition with other sites; it seems only good business to assure its mostly very intelligent users/members/subscribers that supply its content that the site has a communality of interest with them in protecting them - a sort of quid pro quo -- 'you come here, enjoy yourself here, spend your time here, learn and/or teach here, post your photos, critique and do your club/community thing here, and we at the Photo.net Administration will do important things about relieving you of any nagging doubts you might have about security of important things by having an ironclad 'Privacy Policy'.

 

In other words, 'We at Photo.net Administration so much value your loyalty, we want to take steps to let you know how much we value it, and this is one important way. Have fun on our site and be and feel secure with your data entrusted to us!'

 

I hope this helps Photo.net develop into a site that meets everyone's concerns as it transitions.

 

Respectfully,

 

John (Crosley)

Giuseppe: One someone is verified, we trust them to update their city/state/country as necessary. Regarding credit card number storage, we don't store them now and there is no reason for us to store them in the future. What we need to store is a "verified by credit card" flag that we once ran the credit card. I faced this issue for the first time in 1995 when I set up the Web infrastructure for Hearst Corporation and I told the management that I didn't think the convenience of storing credit card numbers was worth the extra cost of security and sysadmin to ensure that the database didn't get cracked. Since we only want to do one charge, there is even less reason for us to store a number than a merchant who expects repeat business.

 

Stuart: What is the point? Imagine a university where students and teachers ran around with masks over their heads and wouldn't tell you their names or where they were from. This might be your idea of a great educational experience, but it isn't mine. Since photo.net doesn't make any money, we might as well do something that we enjoy. We don't enjoy running a community for the kind of anonymous angry people that so often dominate the feedback forum, so we're not going to.

 

John and Stuart: We do not have a goal of universal membership. If someone is running from an ex-wife or the law, we may sympathize with their plight, but we don't mourn their loss as a potential member.

 

Our goal is to have the most productive online photography community on the Internet, not the largest. If a person spends three hours over a week with photo.net, we want their photography to have improved more than if they had spent three hours over a week at any other site. If we achieve that goal, it doesn't matter to me whether we have 5 registered users or 5 million.

 

[Page views are up, by the way, by about 15 percent since we redesigned the home page and cleaned up the forums a little. The site is getting more usage, not less.]

Thank you for your answer Philip.

 

My hubris does not extend to thinking that I have any particular importance to this site.

 

[For the record, I am not 'running from the law' -- having peace with the authorities, nor running from a wife or ex-wife, and in fact my beautiful young wife suffers from rare brain cancer, which sometimes causes unusual financial difficulties and causes legal minds to be enlisted about my unusual personal/financial circumstances -- factors you could not have known about).

 

John (Crosley)

thank you for your kind answer.... according to what you stated and to the terms of use - i have been reading throught - i have no more doubts on keeping myself here on pn. Hope all your redesign work works smooth and quick.

Sorry John I did not intend to misrepresent you. I was only trying to point out that there may be real reasons why some would not want their identity revealed be it name, place of resident or both. I pesonaly have no problem using my real name and I already display my country of residence but can understand why others may not want to.

<em>"MᲩo M. Rodrigues Photo.net Patron, sep 24, 2006; 10:14 a.m.

On the name confirmation issue, when times comes to do it, will I be contacted or will I have to contact myself? If I have to do it, how can I? Thanks for any attention given.</em><p> Mario, Before you get into the details of name confimation..please change your bio according to the note I see in your bio field and please do read the Terms of Use.

Someone felt free to edit my bio, I dont realy mind, its funny in a way. I give the same freedom to the editor to re-edit. As for me I will not. Actualy I would appreciate if all my posts, photos and critiques were removed and deleted permanently as if i had never been here, I think it has been done before with other members. Thank your for your attention.