I had never bothered with chosing an avatar. Didn’t see any need for one. When I logged onto this site today, the web site randomly took a photo off of my computer an assigned it as my avatar. I f they can do this, what else are they downloading and looking at. Maybe they have always had this capability, but I don’t like someone taking something from my computer and posting it on this site, without my permission. There is nothing on my computer that I am concerned about BIG BROTHER seeing, but it is still a violation of my privacy, and I am POed about it. I just wanted everybody to know what they are capable of doing with YOUR data.
Just wondering,is there anything to this? what does this mean?can someone from FSm address this this?I am not that computer savy,and I was wondering if this was really true ? any thoughts or info out there ?
not being critical,just would like to understand what is going on.
thanks
This is a technical possibility according to out IT person at he office. However, you would need to illegally hack past any firewalls and security software, while the computer was turned on and logged into the internet, shop through all the persons files looking for a picture that was not inappropriate. The ethical and legal ramifications and potential cost to a major corporation found doing something like that would be disastrous.
What browser are you using?
If this is true then cancel my account. I have nothing to hide but this is also my work computer as well.
Same thing happened to me except it didn’t grab the picture from my home computer but from my WORK computer. Very bad indeed! So as of today, I’m out of here. Thanks to all of my FSM friends for the conversations thru the years.
E
Wow, this is a serious violation of privacy. I’ve never heard of such a thing before. Who cares if someone has an avatar or not?
Of all the complaints about the new website, this is the one that needs to be attended to!
Well look and see if it’s off of your photosharing account, because if it is that’s a url glitch only. I seriously doubt, to the point of outright dismissal, that FSM is onto your hard drive.
Can’t take a chance. No response from the staff yet, so I’m gone and won’t be back. Not cool at all.
Hey everyone-
Just wanted to let you know that we looked into this as soon as we saw the post. The images were not pulled from your computers. We definitely do not have that kind of access. They were older images that were previously used as avatars, but later removed. So, they were avatars that were disabled pre-upgrade and the new system pulled them. The issue has been resolved and we apologize for the confusion.
Ah, that explains it. Hard to comprehend how forum software could access a user’s computer and choose an image from their hard drive. I could imagine some people may have images (not me, nosiree!) that would not be forum friendly!
Megan, thanks for the update. You must feel like your in the “hot seat” these past few days!
Yes, thanks Meg. Not to polish your apple, but I’m onboard. Between us kids we’ve answered each others questions. Keep working on that load speed, and lay off the coffee![prte]
I will reply to Megan in person tomorrow, but I have never used an avatar so it can’t be an old one. The one generated on this forum came from the “My Pictures” folder on my work computer. It’s a picture of a some friends having lunch. It may be a url glitch as mentioned before with photo sharing but that part is beyond my comprehension. The bottom line is that the forums reached out and grabbed something that I did not generate.
E
But you did, though. You put it online, at some point, with your email address or some other way got yourself a cookie, and the new system tripped over it.
Anything that anyone puts on the www, be it photobucket or whatever- it’s in the public domain.
I haven’t seen this and I access the site through two different computers, my home and office computers. I had to go into my profile and click around and then click on browse to load my avatar. There was no automatic loading. I bet its a url glich or some thing of that nature. The trouble that a corporation would get into by invading private computers would be huge. For one it would be illegal and would open them up to law suits that would cost at least millions. Not worth the effort or the risk the owners of FineScale to mess with. Call me niave but I don’t think this is anything to really worry about.
Actually it is not. Many take the attitude that something online is public domain, but it is still protected by copyright the same as a photo in a magazine or hanging on your wall.
That all depends on what and where, actually. For instance, posting images on a hosting site like Photobucket gives Photobucket a license to use those images for their own purposes, regardless of any copyright that may precede it.
From their Terms of use, pertinent section in bold:
For the most part, you are correct. Posting on the internet does not automatically remove copyright.
Oh, and Photobucket passes along the responsibility of copyright protection to their users, so be careful grabbing images off the web and reposting them!
I’m not sure how the FSM website posted avatars they shouldn’t have had access to, but it apparently happened, and is a concern for us all! It certainly convinces me that my already cautious (some say paranoid) habit of NOT using Windows default locations for storing documents, pictures, videos and music is sound judgment, and one that I recommend to everyone concerned about security and privacy.
Do you realize the logistical, statistical, technical improbability of what you’re suggesting?
Come on–you must have screwed up somewhere in the signal chain and forgot where or how you posted it. That;s easier for me to believe that some mysterious program reached into your personal computer and grabbed some random photo. The odds are too long to even calculate.
I agree with Doog, not to mention (but I feel I must) it seems pretty drastic to default to “Later, I can’t take any chances, I am out forever, bye” over something like this.
Just my two cents, but I would wait for the dust to settle before I sotrmed off.
I have no illusions of privacy in this computer age, that’s why I will never put anything into a computer that I would be afraid to view on the front page of ‘The New York Times’.