Admins reading PRIVATE messages with PM Spy Mod

[DF031]

In the mod forum it is not allowed to discuss about mods. So I better give my opinion about a mod here.

Mods like PM Spy are totally against rules of proper conduct and against the law in many countries. Any admin using/wanting this add-on should step down from his/her position immediately !

I think mods like PM Spy give VB a bad name. I have no idea why this forum supports spying on forum members and does not step up for the most important thing of any forum: The Members !

[huskermax]

You can read the pm's in the DB you don't need an add on. Not sure why this is a big deal. The title "private" is misleading. That could be changed but that is a pain. I have had users use PM's to try and bring down the site so I think it is important for an admin to be able to do this if needed.

[Scandal]

There is already mods for reading PMs. It is not something new.

[DF031]

Good or bad is what counts for me. It does not matter if it is Old or New.

I am very disppointed that VB actively supports people reading private messages addressed to others.

[Zachery]

There is no official, or unofficial endorsement for these addons from vBulletin Solutions, Jelsoft.

If its legal or not, is up for a court of law, or the laws of the lands of the site owner and or where the site is hosted.

If the terms of service, privacy policy, etc, make it clear an administrator may view your private messages, it may allow them to.

However, since nothing is ever encrypted in any public internet forum software, you should never be willing to post anything you are not willing to say to your friends/families/coworkers to their face.

[Paul M]

Originally Posted by DF031

I am very disppointed that VB actively supports people reading private messages addressed to others.

There are many things in this world that disappoint me, but, life goes on, and I get over them.

[DF031]

Originally Posted by Zachery

There is no official, or unofficial endorsement for these addons from vBulletin Solutions, Jelsoft.

It is allowed / promoted on this official VB mod forum which is funded by Jelsoft / Internet Brands !

Originally Posted by Paul M

There are many things in this world that disappoint me, but, life goes on, and I get over them.

In my world many people actually try to change things and not just move on and do nothing.

[nhawk]

While it's not common practice to read private messages, site owners have every right to know what is passing through their site. People need to realize that in most cases, forums are privately held and not subject to normal 'rights'. What rights someone has on a forum are those granted by the site owner and are revokable at any time.

The mod provides and easy way for site owners to verify if something illegal or unscrupulous is happening in private messages should that be brought to their attention. Which when used, can enable the site owner to notify the proper authorities of any illegal activity.

As stated earlier, if an owner wanted to read PMs they could easily open the database with phpMyAdmin and read them. The mod only enables owners to skip that step.

[In Omnibus]

There is no inherent right to privacy on a message board. Ethics are a matter of opinion. The only legal issue with reading private messages is in that your right to the information ends with breaking either your own privacy policy or other existing laws, such as the dissemination of personally identifying information publicly.

If a forum administrator , for example, obtains a member's real name, address, telephone number, social security number, employer, credit card information, etc. and uses it in a manner clearly intended to cause or likely to cause legal damages that's an issue.

If a forum administrator uses the information purely for his or her own internal use to determine if members are spamming, or otherwise disrupting the community there is no issue. It's done all the time. There's not even an ethics debate in such cases.

[Paul M]

Originally Posted by DF031

It is allowed / promoted on this official VB mod forum which is funded by Jelsoft / Internet Brands

Allowed ? Yes.
Promoted ? No more than any other modification here.

Originally Posted by DF031

In my world many people actually try to change things and not just move on and do nothing.

There is nothing that needs changing. So in this case we will move on, and do nothing.