Gordon Maney
06-28-2003, 09:34 AM
There have been a few of you indicate in a post that someone could PM (private message) you for some information.
The private message mechanism is not enabled on the forums, so you cannot use it. The reason, at this point in time, is to avoid the bandwidth usage of that service. Perhaps at some later date the system will be enabled.
It is just as effective, however, to use the e-mail function.
There is an important point to be made about the e-mail function. Some people, when setting up their profile, answer yes to this following question:
Hide Email Address?
Clicking YES hides your email address in your public profile, so that it is not accessible by other users.
I believe they think that if they say NO, that anyone can have an actual look at their e-mail address, or click an e-mail link and their e-mail application will open up with the other user?s address already in place. That is absolutely not the case.
The forum program implements your request to e-mail by offering you a form into which you type your message, and then e-mails it to the other person. The sender never gets to know the recipient?s e-mail address. So.... It is entirely safe and secure.
I would urge you to say NO to that question above, and then people can use the forum to send you an e-mail, and your address will still be confidential. Another user will only be able to know your address if you choose to give it to them within an e-mail that you send them.
When the recipient receives the e-mail, the e-mail of the sender is revealed in the e-mail received. So, if you are a sender, and for whatever reason you don?t want the receiver to know how to contact you (pretty sinister, don't you think???), then you had better not send the e-mail.
In summary, I think the forum's e-mail function offers no risk to the receiver of the mail, and does reveal the address of the sender, but, apparently there is a wish to communicate, so there is no problem in that.
To send an e-mail, click on the profile button for the person you want, and you will see a link for sending an e-mail. You can also use the members list to locate users.
The private message mechanism is not enabled on the forums, so you cannot use it. The reason, at this point in time, is to avoid the bandwidth usage of that service. Perhaps at some later date the system will be enabled.
It is just as effective, however, to use the e-mail function.
There is an important point to be made about the e-mail function. Some people, when setting up their profile, answer yes to this following question:
Hide Email Address?
Clicking YES hides your email address in your public profile, so that it is not accessible by other users.
I believe they think that if they say NO, that anyone can have an actual look at their e-mail address, or click an e-mail link and their e-mail application will open up with the other user?s address already in place. That is absolutely not the case.
The forum program implements your request to e-mail by offering you a form into which you type your message, and then e-mails it to the other person. The sender never gets to know the recipient?s e-mail address. So.... It is entirely safe and secure.
I would urge you to say NO to that question above, and then people can use the forum to send you an e-mail, and your address will still be confidential. Another user will only be able to know your address if you choose to give it to them within an e-mail that you send them.
When the recipient receives the e-mail, the e-mail of the sender is revealed in the e-mail received. So, if you are a sender, and for whatever reason you don?t want the receiver to know how to contact you (pretty sinister, don't you think???), then you had better not send the e-mail.
In summary, I think the forum's e-mail function offers no risk to the receiver of the mail, and does reveal the address of the sender, but, apparently there is a wish to communicate, so there is no problem in that.
To send an e-mail, click on the profile button for the person you want, and you will see a link for sending an e-mail. You can also use the members list to locate users.