Has anyone noticed that from now on in the bottom right hand corner of every posting there is a sign stating that you've been LOGGED. Seems like a big win to anti-privacy activists.

That's a standard feature of the newest version of the UBB board solution, and I suspect notification of said logging action is part of the Flyertalk TOS, and that our using the boards constitutes acquiesence. We're all here voluntarily; Flyertalk is free; Flyertalk has no idea who we are; and what's more, I think Flyertalk has a right to protect itself from any litigation that might arise from improper/abusive action of the boards. Privacy activists who argue they deserve completely free, completely anonymous use of a private firm's information resource, I think, are dreaming.

spider:
While I share your sentiments (my signature line should pretty much make that clear), I recognize that :

A) This is Randy's forum and I can always choose to leave.

B) Using my real name (which I do to both add a little credibility to what I write as well as to avoid falling into the trap of little the anonymity of the internet cloud my judgment on proper decorum), certainly strips away any real privacy.

C) It has been the latest turn of events that led Randy to believe this step was required. He'd suffered foolishness gladly for a very long time, but the charges and counter-charges of multiple handles certainly has made this forum more about arguing that travel.

D) While recognizing Ben Franklin's (I believe) observation that those who would trade liberty for comfort deserve neither, if this feature cuts down on the flame wars, I am ALL for it.

------------------
"I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own."

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum75/HTML/000016.html

Actually, IP logging has long been a feature of UBB ... at least two versions back (5.0, 5.5). But yes, we agree to possible logging as part of the FT TOS.

Logging IP addresses of visitors is a real simple thing to do on any web site, usually done without the person knowing it's done. The page you came from, operating system, browser version, monitor resolution, all grabbed in a fraction of a second with a bit of script that is free with most of the free counters. I just assume everybody is doing it, though I don't really know what for.

My firewall (zonelabs, free for individual use, anybody running Cable or ADSL should take a look at it, www.zonelabs.com) records hundreds of IP addresses of people who try to get into my computer every day, but I have no use for the data other then to wonder why they are trying. Every now and then I'll look a few up to see who they are registered to when I'm really bored, but changing your IP address is as easy as disconnecting and connecting to the internet again in most cases, so I don't really see why people get so upset by it.

I received Randy's official member notification via e-mail early this evening.

Ok, if Flyertalk is going to implement some new features in UBB, how about the feature that lets you directly go to a particular page from the main menu in multipage threads.

Neil

We are taking a look at the multi-thread option. Our first worry is performance of the board. We have several "hacks" already on the board and want to observe reasonal care when continuing to add additional ones. With the traffic this board gets, it's a little more diffiult than with much smaller boards like PlaneBusiness. FlyerTalk is twelve times the size of PlaneBusiness in number of posts and probably 50 times bigger in total traffic (lurkers). But again, we will do it if we can safely add the change. Thanks for the note.

This is going to seem like a meaningless post but hey, what the heck.

I have no strong feelings one way or another on logging ip addresses. If I wanted to remain invisible, I'd choose not to participate. But for those of you who disagree, can you give me some facts to sway me?

I agree that the logging is a good feature. However, someone who REALLY wants to avoid their IP being logged can do so, so this isn't 100% foolproof.