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[David George 1Participant @davidgeorge1]

[David George 1Participant @davidgeorge1]

I like to look at problems that other members have as well as getting inspiration from others work but it would be nice to see where they are based and what experience they have but a majority of members don't have a profile. Do members know about profiles or is it just members like to be anonymous?

David George

[JohnFParticipant @johnf59703]

Here ! Here ! George even if it was very basic info such as country, county & or town John F

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Having a public profile is a matter of personal choice.

Some people are nervous about revealing their location (if you fill your profile in correctly it should only show your county) but many are uncomfortable about posting a 'biography'.

Neil

[egaParticipant @ega]

On the occasions when a member posts a problem it could be very helpful to know roughly how far away they are. Biogs are interesting but not compulsory.

[Jon CameronParticipant @joncameron26580]

I'd be happy to add some more info, but not sure where?? Also I know on other forums I have issues loading a picture because I browse from my mobile phone, which cannot resize images.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Bear in mind some people might not feel comfortable giving a location if they are apprehensive about offers of visits they would rather not take up. Not everyone is gregarious!

Neil

[Anonymous]

I'm probably one of the few to have a profile. I wouldn't want to give a precise location, but county is good enough. It's rather tedious when someone asks for help and then there are twenty questions to determine where they are. On at least one forum (PracticalMachinist) it is compulsory to give a location at least to the state level.

A profile can also be useful in avoiding putting ones foot in it by offering "advice" to a time served toolmaker or someone with a room full of models behind them.

Andrew

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

I found a profile quite handy, within days of joining up, I found someone local(well 40K away).

Ian S C

[egaParticipant @ega]

Jon Cameron:

I think you just go to Settings at top left.

Neil Wyatt:

Doesn't Jon's post make the point that members may well be willing to give some information and that the facility should, perhaps, be more apparent? Your posts seem to advise against having a public profile; needless to say, you have one yourself and the facility is presumably provided by the website for good reason.

[NigeParticipant @nige81730]

I have a profile that is complete apart from my house number, (I give my postcode) but there doesn't appear to be the facility to give any sort of biography supposing somebody wanted to

[Anonymous]

Posted by Nige on 28/10/2017 17:25:53:

………but there doesn't appear to be the facility to give any sort of biography supposing somebody wanted to

Err, isn't that the 'More about me' box?

Andrew

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Some people (Nige ) haven't clicked the 'My Profile' link after going to their settings.

If someone's query would be easier to answer witha location or background, then suggest they use their profile, but I don't think a first-time poster shoudl be greeted with instructions to fill in their profile as if this was a condition of participating. Many people will want to get to know the forum for a while before they decide/feel comfortable with sharing more personal information.

I have been contacted more than once by forum members who felt they were being unreasonably pushed to have a public profile.For everyone who contacts me, half a dozen will just quietly stop posting.

So all I say is , let people decide for themselves and don't try and make them feel they are doing something wrong by not having one.

Neil

[mark costello 1Participant @markcostello1]

I wanted to find a friend's phone number, found out everything else but that. Someone was selling it for a fee. Got His arrest record , house fire record, property tax, house selling price, previous house owners records and interior house pictures free, but no phone number.

[NigeParticipant @nige81730]

Oooops  Sorry, I miss obvious stuff and I forget stuff. Two bouts of meningitis will do that to your brain 

Edited By Nige on 28/10/2017 20:47:07

[Simon CollierParticipant @simoncollier74340]

In the spirit of this post, I have just added a profile (I think!)

[I.M. OUTAHEREParticipant @i-m-outahere]

It can be frustrating when someone asks where can i get this or that from but doesn't state which country they live in so i usually check out thier profile which usually comes up no public profile .

On this forum complete anonymity is possible as you don't need to show your real name , image , location or any profile whatsoever but i feel it should be compulsory to show what country you are located in as there is little point trying to answer the above mentioned question if the person is on the other side of the planet !

That being said i would never have my full address or phone number shown in my profile and why the profile section even has the address lines , date of birth and sex is beyond me , maybe some see that and think it is compulsory to fill all of it out ?

Maybe it could be changed so the facillity is there to show your name ( real or nickname ) , country ( compulsory ) and state or county only (optional ) .

Ian .

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Posted by XD 351 on 29/10/2017 03:06:35:

That being said i would never have my full address or phone number shown in my profile and why the profile section even has the address lines , date of birth and sex is beyond me , maybe some see that and think it is compulsory to fill all of it out ?

Ian .

The Profile section only ask if you want to show Real Name, County/State and Country.

The Settings section has boxes for the other things as it may be used by MTM for marketing etc and also is used to verify subscriptions eg name, e-mail and subs number entered on forum needs to match the one you subscribed with. Only MTM and mods can see this

The Profile draws its information from that entered in the settings.

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

A technical question about pics.

I understand that pics on twitface, etc, have embedded information of time, date and location which can be deciphered by those that know how (low life included). So is this info available from uploaded pics such as albums, or pics in posts?

[Jon CameronParticipant @joncameron26580]

Well I've updated info on my account but because I'm on a mobile device I'm unable to create a pic for my profile despite trying several attempts. (It won't click and drag the box to where I want it, just zooms in and out).

[egaParticipant @ega]

Isn't there a well-known convention that starred fields are compulsory or "mandatory"? I agree that providing personal data for public view should not be compulsory.

I am glad to see some of the positive reasons for knowing a member's general location being aired, however.

not done it yet raises an interesting point; does anyone know the answer?

Edited By ega on 29/10/2017 11:23:54

[Bodger BrianParticipant @bodgerbrian]

Posted by not done it yet on 29/10/2017 07:42:14:

I understand that pics on twitface, etc,

Twitface? What's that?

Brian

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

Posted by not done it yet on 29/10/2017 07:42:14:

A technical question about pics.

I understand that pics on twitface, etc, have embedded information of time, date and location which can be deciphered by those that know how (low life included). So is this info available from uploaded pics such as albums, or pics in posts?

Well, I've just downloaded one of your album pictures and it doesn't contain any EXIF data.

Russell

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Good to read that, Russell. Does that necessarily hold for all pictures, uploaded by everyone/anyone, whether into an album or into a post?

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Russell Eberhardt on 29/10/2017 11:38:08:

Posted by not done it yet on 29/10/2017 07:42:14:

A technical question about pics.

I understand that pics on twitface, etc, have embedded information of time, date and location which can be deciphered by those that know how (low life included). So is this info available from uploaded pics such as albums, or pics in posts?

Well, I've just downloaded one of your album pictures and it doesn't contain any EXIF data.

Russell

Good news, it seems that pictures stored in a Forum Album have metadata automatically removed.

Bad news. Pictures that are retrieved by an external link to a third party do include metadata. How much you get depends on how you stored it and with whom.

I try hard to minimise the amount of personal information I put on the web. It leaks like a sieve and is vulnerable to both simple and sophisticated analysis. Once someone has some basic information it's much easier to impersonate you or to whack you with a convincing confidence trick.

Here's an example. The externally hosted photograph I chose randomly to see if metadata was visible, opened the door to:

• A members full-name, Postal Address, email address, Land-line Telephone Number, Mobile Telephone Number, Nationality, and Age (Year and Month)
• Ditto his older brother's details.
• A proportion of their financial data.
• The name his web provider, the server software and version they use (two different products), and the address of his email portal
• Other clues I didn't bother to follow up.

That's more than I would be happy to make public. But be aware my sister suggested yesterday I was about 5 years away from wearing a tinfoil hat and never going out!

Dave

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