How anonymous am I on Flyertalk?
 

A recent thread on the BAEC board got me thinking. It was a discussion about the BA App and the information it collects while you have it running.Some concern was shown that it might be snooping on the user without their knowledge.

It got me wondering just what type of information about me might be collected by Flyertalk whenever I'm logged on. For instance do people in certain positions on FT have ready access to my current location? Can they identify my computer? Do they keep track of my FT browsing habits?
I don't wish to sound paranoid because I'm not and have certainly got nothing to hide. Just curious really.

If this subject breaches Flyertalk rules I apologise....although it would be quite worrying if it did.

Well, and this based purely on my past experience of being a moderator on another online forum, FT moderators should be able to identify your IP address and your posting history (though the latter is public anyway). I highly doubt that your web browsing history is accessible as this would require more access to your pc/mac/tablet/phone. It may be possible that your machine ID is logged, though highly unlikely.

Rest assure HIDDY your BA Gold aspirations are safe :cool:

H

:D

I wasn't thinking of my off Flyertalk browsing that would be spooky. :eek:

It was more to do with my habits while logged on to Flyertalk. I know things like accessing my posting history is open to all who wish to look and even though I might be in invisible mode to members I won't be to the Mods. However I was wondering if other things were logged like my time spent online on FT, which forums I visited, threads looked at etc.

Not anonymous enough unfortunately. :)

exactly and don't post anything that might give you away

examples are

exact miles or points balance in a program
exact location
frequent stay or fly number
name of course
where you work

anything that the airlines, their FT reps or hotels can do to track you down and that includes car rental agencies

Hoch has stated it well. It's nothing interesting, that's for sure.

That's what they all say when they're trying to hide the truth. :p

Thanks, much appreciated.

Some info here: http://www.wilderssecurity.com/threa...lletin.355149/

FT currently runs on vb3.x so you can research on what the software (currently) can and cannot record. The manuals are here: http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html?m...rsion=40202604

Thanks. ^

I can still see you.

I'm curious that when the Coupon Connection hub-bub was occurring, (people were getting shut out of their FF accounts for violations) it was stated that you shouldn't use the same email for FT as is entered on your FF program. Why was that?

Just a guess - if an airline subpoenaed FT about the account details behind a handle, FT would have to provide that information? It's happened with libel actions on other boards.

I thought Coupon Connection was CLOSED quite some time ago ?

Hence the warning : " Son, never write down anything you don' want the world to know about.!"

A good rule of thumb is, don't say something online that you would not want attributed to yourself offline. The vast majority of FlyerTalkers abide by this, in my experience.

That said, we have only the information that you give us. And publicly, you control what's visible.

Paul

In the course of "exchanging" items its quite likely you'd be emailing concerning the trade. If your "exchangor" was working for the airline all they had to do was compare your email address to the email address on file for your account and bingo, they know who you are. In the event of a non-sanctioned trade (swapping miles for upgrades, selling upgrades, etc.) they'd audit and shut down your account (not necessarily in that order).

CC was closed for a while, IIRC for about a month in late spring to early summer of 2014, but it's been back for quite some time, although trading of AA items is now forbidden.

Ahh, that makes sense. Undercover moles!!!

Google "HIDDY Flyertalk"

You'll discover you are quite famous.:D

Thanks.

Thayer are all over !:mad:

Yep, an " icon" on BAEC forum !

More infamous than famous.

Thank goodness I'm not like that in real life. :D

Here's a quote from a thread on the AA forum. You can find it HERE. The thread has been going since 2007 and is 135 pages long. Chock full of how AA finds you and the punishment they inflict upon offenders.

Though they (AA Corporate Security) are pretty sophisticated (running auto scripts and filters, monitoring places like Craig's List, eBay etc.) it doesn't have to be so - a longtime member or two here who is "sheep dipped" (their AA connection not revealed, participating in discussions as any member) could garner a lot of information to feed into the wheels and gears. Particularly if they had Coupon Connection access from their longevity and posting numbers.

And anonymity ain't all it's hyped - post here, soon that post will be archived by the Internet and you can find yourself via Google caches, the Wayback Machine, etc.

We've had members who have posted extensively on lifestyle issues such as drinking or relationships ask for hundreds of posts to be deleted because they'd turned another chapter in their life book and didn't want a significant other, etc. to read posts about their previous life. FlyerTalk generally won't do that - it would require extensive censorship, deleting post quotations, etc. and the material would likely still be available elsewhere.

(On the other hand, FlyerTalk will help as much as possible if there were a hypothetical case of member harassment, stalking, etc.)

There's an entire thread on The Coupon Connection closure.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/techn...ed-issues.html

Read only archive: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/techn...pr-2014-a.html

Those people in the flying industry doesn't even know flyer talk exist

That is not correct.

The AA identification and discipline of FlyerTalk members who violated AAdvantage terms and conditions is well documented.

The BAEC forum, Air Canada, perhaps others, have an official representative, identified by their green username.

Several airline fora have participating employees, in some cases offering to answer questions, etc.