How safe is this forum?

[Mimie]

How safe is this forum? After this multiple post entitled I own this forum etc, I think we need some answers?? Anyone has an opinion?? Can admin help give their point of view??

Thank you.

[RedApple Administrator]

Mimie, This forum is as safe as it's ever been. It has NOT BEEN HACKED.

The forum has been subjected to nasty troll attacks during yesterday evening and early hours of this morning.

All relevant posts and comments have already been removed by admins, and the member names concerned are restricted from posting.

Remember, your digest and/or email alerts tell you what WAS posted, and is not necessarily up to date with the current state of affairs

[Clutter]

Mimie,

Why do you think the forum may be unsafe? It wasn't hacked. All that happened is a disaffected member posted abusive comments and replies. The member has been restricted and his posts and replies deleted.

[Hidden in reply to Clutter]

But he was signing as El Chapo, was he really member of this forum, this person is famous Mexican drug baron!?

[Clutter in reply to Hidden]

Moggy35,

Only members of the forum can post. Tomorrow El Chapo will be an ex-member. Are you a 35-year-old cat?

[Hidden in reply to Clutter]

I was 35 when I joined and Moggy is my nickname, made from my first name and surname, no connection with cats. In US it doesn't have any particular meaning.

[helvella Administrator]

You would notice, if you have not already looked, that all of these trolling posts/responses have been removed. As they ALWAYS are if the admins are aware.

If you would rather each and every post/response you make gets delayed while it goes through moderation, many posts would never appear - the sheer effort required makes that non-viable.

So what do you suggest we, the admins, can or should do that we do not already do?

If you wish to contact HU, details of how to do so are readily available in several places.

[Barrister]

Well, what did I miss????

[humanbean in reply to Barrister]

A troll who made an abusive post then copied it multiple times.

[Barrister in reply to humanbean]

What an eejit! It's really sad that people seem to get such a thrill out of being so stupid.

[CarolineC57]

I must have missed the troll. It never fails to amaze me that a helpful forum like this gets idiots trolling it.

Mimie - I'm absolutely certain this forum is as safe as it possibly can be.

[Mimie]

Thank you Caroline. Want sure as I can't say I'm very computer savvy!

[CarolineC57 in reply to Mimie]

I think the important thing to remember is not to click on any links in posts which you think might be a bit "dodgy". But opening a post here is fine - even if it's a spam post. It's the same thing with emails - if you get a spammy email, don't click on any links in it.

[helvella Administrator in reply to CarolineC57]

It isn't quite the same with emails. There certainly have been emails which infect without following any links in them. It depends on lots of things including how the mail is affected and the software on the computer being used.

But, absolutely, NEVER click on an unknown link, anywhere, even in non-spammy emails from people you know.

[Angel_of_the_North]

Any internet forum is safer than your email as regards viruses (as long as you don't click any links that take you outside the site).

The forum wan't hacked as far as I could tell - some nasty person decided to make him/herself known by posting rubbish - anyone can do that as posts aren't moderated before being shown - that would take far more time than volunteer moderators could give.

You might get a virus by opening an infected email if your PC isn't set up correctly and very likely will get one from opening an unexpected attachment - aways save and scan for viruses before opening - never allow Word macros unless you wrote it yourself. You won't get a virus from reading a forum post - although your intellect and emotions might be affected.

[Mimie]

Thank you all. I use my iPad so email is alway open and hu notifications come though it. I hope no one minded my questions. It's the only way to learn... I know someone posted something a while ago about the site not being safe so theses posts got me worried. It's such a complicated topic!

Anyway, yes, the hu is a brilliant site that helps lots and lots of people. Won't open links though!

[helvella Administrator]

Well said - I am a Facebook refusenik.

[Gambit62]

Hi mimie - there has been a lot of trolling activity going on on various HU forum in the last few months.

As others have said, this is an open space so people that just want to cause trouble rather than support others and be helped do occasionally join. If you see a post or a reply that you think falls into this category then the thing to do is to report it immediately - that little down arrow.

And if you think a link may be dodgy then don't use it. Remember - you can always check the profile of any poster by clicking on their icon and decide from there if you feel that you can trust them. Trolls generally come out as trolls quite quickly - their responses are unhelpful and can seem to be inflammatory.

Key thing is to report not to respond - that just lets them know that they are having the effect that they want.

[serenfach]

Just a quick thank you for the admin side of the site. I did not bother to open what I could see as trolling messages, as the key is not to feed the troll.

I know it is work you could well do without, so thanks for keeping this forum safe and so, so useful.

[Mimie]

Thank you all for your opinion, advice and knowledge. I'm sorry if my lack of knowledge has appeared not to make sense to some.