This isn't a bug or glitch issue, but just a question about information posted and privacy/confidentiality issues. Is it okay for someone to copy and post information from an internet site that isn't open to the public? Let's say I have a Facebook account and I post something on my site that my so called "Friends" can see, but the general public shouldn't be able to. Is it okay for these "Friends" to take the information and post it on a the Summitpost forums, which are open to the general public?

Lots of ways of looking at that question. Is it "OK"? Morally? Depends on context, motivation, and collateral damage. Legally? Possibly a copyright violation, though in most jurisdictions there are good defenses in various contexts, and it's probably de minimis anyway (meaning you'd get laughed out of court). Other legal issues like libel or harassment might apply, but truth is a defense to libel, so there's nothing you can do about somebody using your own words against you.

Bottom line is, there's only one way to prevent it: don't put anything online (or in email) that you wouldn't want to see copied all over the Web, unless you are sure you know who you are sharing it with (nearly impossible - email isn't secure, neither are most people's computers or most websites, and sites like Facebook reserve the right to change their privacy policies at any time) and that you trust them (even harder). An intermediate step that may work well enough for most purposes is to stop having so many "friends" on sites like Facebook.

Illegal? Not likely.

Uncool? Yes.

Unethical? Maybe.

KathyW wrote:Let's say I have a Facebook account and I post something on my site that my so called "Friends" can see, but the general public shouldn't be able to. Is it okay for these "Friends" to take the information and post it on a the Summitpost forums, which are open to the general public?

That's what I was thinking about when I saw Rick Kent's facebook stuff posted on the San Jacinto forum (linked here in the CA forum). I'm not sure whether or not that content was limited to just his friends, and I think it varies depending on individual privacy settings. But I thought it was rather strange for someone to just paste the info somewhere else, in a place that is a lot more public (gets a lot more exposure).

Bob Sihler wrote:Uncool? Yes.

Agreed with that, although Rick probably isn't bothered too much by it in this particular case. I do know that he wasn't asked for permission first, which would have been the appropriate thing to do.

KathyW wrote:This isn't a bug or glitch issue, but just a question about information posted and privacy/confidentiality issues. Is it okay for someone to copy and post information from an internet site that isn't open to the public? Let's say I have a Facebook account and I post something on my site that my so called "Friends" can see, but the general public shouldn't be able to. Is it okay for these "Friends" to take the information and post it on a the Summitpost forums, which are open to the general public?

If you give something to someone, don't they have the right to do with it as they please? If you give someone information, don't they have the right to pass it on? If you don't ask people not to repeat something, shouldn't they expect that it's OK to repeat it?

Day Hiker wrote:

KathyW wrote:Let's say I have a Facebook account and I post something on my site that my so called "Friends" can see, but the general public shouldn't be able to. Is it okay for these "Friends" to take the information and post it on a the Summitpost forums, which are open to the general public?

That's what I was thinking about when I saw Rick Kent's facebook stuff posted on the San Jacinto forum (linked here in the CA forum). I'm not sure whether or not that content was limited to just his friends, and I think it varies depending on individual privacy settings. But I thought it was rather strange for someone to just paste the info somewhere else, in a place that is a lot more public (gets a lot more exposure).

Bob Sihler wrote:Uncool? Yes.

Agreed with that, although Rick probably isn't bothered too much by it in this particular case. I do know that he wasn't asked for permission first, which would have been the appropriate thing to do.

That was exactly the link I wondered about. At least it wasn't offensive. But when I get a bad injury, I want to broadcast it in my own good time, in part to limit the idle speculation that extends from such an incident. I guess one must realize that in FB-like sites, non-mutual friends can see that stuff too.

Thanks for the responses. The whole concept of private sites versus public sites seems like it's full of grey areas. Posting anything on FB that you wouldn't want to share with the whole world has never seemed like a very good idea to me. Posting what you ate for breakfast on FB is a really bad idea too.