How did Ozbargain know the OP of tne Special GC card was associated? Do the mods look at the location of the poster? Isn't that invasion of privacy? If they're doing this, what else can the mods see from registered or even guest users?
Does OzBargain Protect/ Respect My Privacy?
spychiatrist on 26/04/2022 - 00:48
Last edited 26/04/2022 - 00:49
Last edited 26/04/2022 - 00:49
Comments
Anything you do on the internet the other side can see your IP; they also get quite other information handed over by your browser:
https://www.whatismybrowser.com/detect/what-is-my-user-agent…
https://privacy.net/analyzer/Some details that get handed over and can be used for fingerprinting:
- IP address (location)
- Browser (+ version)
- OS (+ version)
- Language
- Timezone
- Screen resolution
- Browser Plug-ins
- Fonts
i.e. my results from the privacy.net analyser has me at the 0.78% of observed browsers with a UTC+10 timezone. 0.00% of observed browsers with my browser version (Firefox 99). Yes this information is skewed due to how many people have used the analyser, but that same skew can be applied to any particular website to improve their fingerprinting, especially if said website gives/sells those fingerprints to other websites; or the site contains content from other services (i.e. Facebook) that get your fingerprint when that content is loaded.
Takes one scroll mate
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/wiki/help:privacy_policyYou agreed to this when you made OzB account. Don't agree? Leave.
Viewable by the Public:
gender (e.g. male)
Gender:
The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Which is it?
Good catch. The field was only viewable to the user, not even the moderators. The field has been removed entirely and privacy policy updated.
There was something else I noticed where a mod could see who was asking a question based just on their IP address or whatever. I guess with OZB allowing users to make multiple accounts, like if you want to post an associated deal from work under a non personal account, that letting the mods see these details about users makes sense.
I guess with OZB allowing users to make multiple accounts
For clarity, OzBargain does not permit multiple accounts. We ask upon signup if you have already signed up for an account.
There is a store account where one or more users can post using a store account however this needs set up by the moderation staff.
The entire point of the association system is that you are associated, and you get flagged so that your content gets considered in light of that association.
Having a "work" account for associated deals and a "personal" account makes no sense in that context, and as neil pointed out is against OzBargain's terms.
If you want to post a deal but not as your "personal" account, get a "store account" as neil suggested. You should still be flagged as associated with the store, however; regardless of whether you have a "store account" or not.
Why should you be flagged publicly still? If the Microsoft Twitter account put out a post on the latest enterprise server updates, would you expect to be able to click through to the personal account of the person posting it and seeing what porn Twitters they follow or replies they make to their wife's account? Mods seeing personal accounts on store account posts makes sense, but the public being able to see it doesn't make sense. Imagine if a corporate account was posting deals here and we could all see it was actually JV that worked for the corporation and was making the deal posts for them, it would devalue the company by millions.
Why should you be flagged publicly still?
You answered your own question:
Imagine if a corporate account was posting deals here and we could all see it was actually JV that worked for the corporation and was making the deal posts for them
You wouldn't see that it was JV posting the deals (assuming they were posted using the "store account"), but if/when JV commented on their deals you would see that they are "associated' with the store.
Imagine if users were not required to flag that they were associated with a store. Would you like to find out that the commenters whose information you used in your decision to take-up from a deal actually worked for the company?
Knowing a user is associated with a store may or may not change your actions, but provides context to their comments which might otherwise go unnoticed.
How would you feel to discover that JV's blushing comments on every Harvey Norman deal was actually because he is Gerry Harvey? (JV is not Gerry Harvey, AFAIK; nor do I know if JV does (or does not) leave "blushing comments" on any Harvey Norman deals)
it would devalue the company by millions.
(I don't speak for OzBargain, but in my opinion:) Not OzBargains concern. If stores wish to be dishonest on the platform, they're welcome to find another platform that allows shills. And a company being devalued by millions solely due to exposed shilling is both hilarious and deserved.
@Chandler: I would have assumed that yes it would show up as associated if JV comments on a Harvey Norman deal, but that if JV didn't want to be identified by his personal account that he wouldn't comment on Harvey Norman deals.
@AustriaBargain: Perhaps we're talking about two different things?
As far as I can tell, associations aren't listed on your user profile, so the only way a user would know you were associated with a store was if you posted/commented on a deal for said store and ticked the associated box. This is what I was referring to.
In light of this latest comment, it seems to me like you want to post deals for a store you're associated with but don't want your personal account flagged as associated?
From my understanding, if you're posting under a store account and abstaining from posting/commenting yourself on any deals/posts about the store, your association would never be exposed publicly? And we're both happy - you're not making any deals/comments without your association being made known, and you aren't getting your association exposed.
@Chandler: Though I guess this means I couldn't answer questions about a deal I post. Suppose I can organise a deal for a free hotdog for the first fifty customers to ask for the "obargain deal" at a hot dog stand, I wouldn't be able to answer any questions anyone had without exposing my personal account as being an employee of the chain of hotdog stands. Unless I could answer those questions from a secondary associated account or a shared "store" account. The hot dog business might not want my personal posts associated with their business, maybe five years ago I made a comment about hotdogs being unhealthy to eat and they don't want someone digging up that comment, it would make them seem like they have hired someone to help sell hotdogs who doesn't believe hotdogs are worth buying.
Though I guess this means I couldn't answer questions about a deal I post.
You couldn't on your personal account - could via the shared store account (assuming they can comment).
I wouldn't be able to answer any questions anyone had without exposing my personal account as being an employee of the chain of hotdog stands.
No. That's the point. Anything you say in relation to the hot dog stand is potentially tainted by the fact you are associated, and the association system exposes this for other users to allow them to view your comments in that context.
I understand your point, but the loss of a users ability to comment in relation to a store without exposing that they are associated far outweighs (in my opinion) the gain of preventing shilling and other shenanigans that the system is intended to prevent.
Naturally there's nothing stopping people who are associated from hiding that fact (and I'm sure there are those that do), which you also have the option of doing. But that would also be breaching the ToS and you/they are then at risk of losing their account.
@Chandler: I wouldn't want to comment on a deal I made with my personal account, I'd only want to comment with the "official" store associated account.
what else can they see?
I heard they watch you through your phone’s camera if you browse the site while eating bacon.
Only bacon.
You can protect yourself with a real life version of a firewall, called sunscreen. Apparently light will bounce off your skin and turn you into a blinding white blob on camera , and the bacon if it's greasy enough. Who said sunscreen was a scam??!
You got it all wrong - the sunscreen isn't what's making the light bounce - it's how white your skin is. The sunscreen is to protect your whiteness from the sun so you can keep your blinding white blob sheen.
Only need to worry about sunscreen if you plan on going outside but. However, Colesworth and UberLog both deliver Doritos™ and Mountain Dew™, so probably won't need the sunscreen.
Can they still watch if it's plant-based bacon, or does it have to be real bacon?
Isn't that invasion of privacy?
You've had some quality posts in the past, but do you actually know what 'privacy' is?
You're on the public internet.You think your IP address is private info?
Or your browser info is private?
And the irony here is that people are worried about their privacy and then post about it from their mobile phone where they are basically giving all their details over to companies like Google, Apple, Fartbook, etc or will sign up to some cash back operator for a $3 gift card when that operator has a history of being hacked and leaking users data.
If you are worried about your privacy, there are bigger places to worry about then the mods on OzBargain.
giving all their details over to companies like Google, Apple, Fartbook
Never knew that OzBargain had such a big name that you can compare them to these companies.
has a history of being hacked
Hacked once and so it has a history?
If you are worried about your privacy, there are bigger places to worry about then the mods on OzBargain.
So where should someone start then?
I had a Peeping Tom looking through my windows last night. Was that an OzBargain mod not respecting my privacy?
Were there sparkles in the air before/after you saw them? Coulda been scotty…
Will he respect me in the morning though?
Elon Musk should buy OzBargain.
ozbargaincoin confirmed
YOLO life savings into #OZBN stocks and coins.
Paging @rekttrading for his hot take on the matter too
Needs more tin foil.
mAH fREEdOMz, says the Facebook radicalised Trump supporter.
For someone on the side of supposed "tolerance" and "respect", you seem to like branding people. You know that's the communist playbook? So who's the bigot now?
Biggest online education/recruitment program is the Facebook radicalisation program. Trump campaign used Facebook (no privacy) to ensures directly targeted program for those easily manipulated by using their information against them.
First was used to turn people into ISIS supporters, now used by Trump to turn the weak minded in Trump supporters. Government coups are certainly part of the communist playbook, like the Jan 6 bum rush. Shame those participants are doing 20 years prison rather than actually doing something useful with their lives.
This exploitation was used by the Trump campaign, definatly communist playbook ie radicalisation. This is far far worse than bigotry.
As your post, not concerned about this website privacy but am concerned with social media. Enough so that I've deleted all my media accounts.
Ref:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook%E2%80%93Cambridge_A…
Don't forget that EVERYTHING posted in comments or the forums is Google-accessible.
Here's an example for the OP…
I can piece together a pretty clear picture of someone's likes and dislikes, preferences, and start to build a picture of where they might live and work based on this info etc. Individually any one comment is pseudonymous, but in concert they can paint a scarily accurate picture of your life.
So people will actually know that I live in a mansion surrounded by hot chicks and drive fast cars??? Time to change my username!!!
You use the internet yet you wonder how people know shit about you?
In regards to protecting the users privacy, which no one has responded to, are all the users information protected? Say if Ozbargain servers got hacked, are the referral codes, email addresses, login passwords, IP locations as you guys mentioned, etc. safe? That no user can be "unmasked"?
More than happy for my referral codes to hit the black market. I'll never pay an internet or mobile phone bill ever again.
Ozbargain now uses 2FA.
For IP address concerns use a VPN and don't visit dodgy websites or links randomly.
Our privacy policy has already been linked in the footer of this website. As of your question,
are all the users information protected?
It is protected from other users and public. However OzBargain mods have access to your IP addresses and email address.
if Ozbargain servers got hacked, are the referral codes, email addresses, login passwords, IP locations as you guys mentioned, etc. safe
If someone has access to our servers, then it can access everything this website has access to, including looking at your referral code and IP addresses. Password is stored in hash so it would be almost impossible to revert back to your password.
That no user can be "unmasked"?
I don't think any website can claim "never" here.
Hacks OzBargain to get freebies before it gets brodened
Mods can see your IP.
Plus they have enough experience to spot a sockpuppet a mile away.