How Personal Are My Messages In The Personal Messenger?

[Maestro]

...I did PM Lopburi3 regarding this and received PMs from both Lopburi3 and Mario in return. Doesn't say a lot for the "Personal" in the PM system.

The above quote is from a post in the forum "Thai visas, residency and work permits". As it is off topic there but because I consider it of general interest to our members I am starting a new topic about it here.

With the latest upgrade of the forum software we now have to click on our member name near the top right of the screen to access the "Personal Messenger", but this is not what this topic is about.

Until the software upgrade before the last one, a personal message (PM) I sent to another member was personal and private in the strictest sense. Quoting text from a PM in an open forum was not tolerated and continues to be not tolerated. With that upgrade, ie the one before the last upgrade, a PM I send to another member now starts what the software calls a "conversation". Any participant in the conversation can invite up to 20 other members to it. So let's say I send a PM to Tom, this makes two participants to the conversation. Tom invites Dick and Harry, which makes a total of four. On the left of the screen, I can see the names of all participants.

What is the purpose of this feature of adding more members to a conversation? I guess it is not often that either the sender or the recipient of a PM finds it useful to add other members to the conversation but let's say that I that Tom is very dissatisfied with the service he got from the shop where he bought his laptop. As we are not allowed to "name and shame" on the forum I ask him with a PM if knows others who had a similarly bad experience with the same shop. In his reply he says that Dick and Harry did and he adds them to the conversation so that they may reply with information about their experiences with that shop.

Another example: Tom pointed out an apparent discrepancy in a post of mine in a topic. I do not want to start a bickering session in the topic and therefore PM him to state my point. Dick and Harry had voiced similar opinions about my post and when replying to my PM with his clarification he invites them to the conversation for their information and to give them the opportunity to reply also, giving their points of view if they wish to do so.

The way I view this new PM system I guess the opportunity or need to invite other members to a conversation will occur rarely, but when it does it is very useful to have this possibility.

[endure]

It was very useful to arrange a meet when I was in CM recently. Everyone got a chance to comment on arrangements.

[Lite Beer]

Very handy when someone sends you a message asking a question you are not sure of the answer to.

But you know a man who is .

[Tywais]

Very handy when someone sends you a message asking a question you are not sure of the answer to.

But you know a man who is .

Also to prevent confusion as per the quoted member in the OP, I would suggest when adding someone to the conversation it should be mentioned in the conversation who they are adding and a reason why.

[wayned]

Maestro,

The way I understand what you wrote is that if I send a personal message to Maestro, initally, the only person that can bring someone into that conversation is Maestro. After that, anybody that is brought into the conversation can invite others. Each person that has been added to the conversation can invite up to a maximum of 20 participants. Is that correct?

If I send a personal message to Maestro, does anybody read or moderate that message before it is sent or does it go as if it were a direct e-mail to Maestro?

Once a conversation is started, is it moderated by TV personnel?

I can see how the conversation aspect can be a useful tool, I just want to understand exactly how it works.

[Tywais]

If I send a personal message to Maestro, does anybody read or moderate that message before it is sent or does it go as if it were a direct e-mail to Maestro?

No. Only the member(s) invited can see the conversation.

Once a conversation is started, is it moderated by TV personnel?

Also no for the same reason. Moderators/admins do not have access to the PM system database.

[Crossy]

Wayned. I believe that either participant can add people to the initial conversation but the conversation remains private between those participants.

No moderation of PMs is performed other than by the automatic naughty-word filter, except by invitation via the Report button.

[Mario2008]

Moderators don't have access to PM's. We can only see a PM when a member reports a PM by clicking on the report button under the PM, on the left.

Normally that is the case when a member uses the PM function to spam other members or to stalk, insult or threath another member. Unless we are part of the PM converation, that is the only circumstances under which we can access a PM.

I believe that when a PM is reported, we can only see the reported PM and not the rest of the conversation.

[Lite Beer]

There is an option to block any of the Participants if you wish.

[wayned]

I was just surprised that I received an answer from someone that I did not PM and wanted to understand how it works. Crossy, your statement about any party can add people to the initial conversation only will work after the receipient of the initial PM responds, correct. The original sender of the PM cannot send it to more than one person, but can add when he gets a response.

[lopburi3]

You may add up to 25 other recipients

When you compose PM the above option is listed below the field you are sending the PM so you could send to 26 people as original PM.

[wayned]

I just found the message that you posted above. In order to get it you must click on Use Full Editor. However the message that appears on my screen says that I can add 10 recipients, not 25. Use must have the platnium package, I only have tyhe gold, or am I confused with true visions?

Edited December 29, 2011 by wayned

[Lite Beer]

Members can add 10 recipients. Moderators get a higher number .

[wayned]

Members can add 10 recipients. Moderators get a higher number .

Told you he had the platnium package. Does he pay more?

[Maestro]

Yoohoo, I just found out that I've got a perk Not that I believe I shall ever have occasion to make use of it.

[Maestro]

The possibility for any member to click on the report button below a personal message he considers inappropriate has been mentioned.

Nobody has tested it yet to this extreme and I doubt whether this would really work. For example, theoretically Tom (fictitious name) could start a conversation with a message to 10 members, say with an innocuous post saying that 2+2=4, and asking the recipients each to invite another 10 members, asking them also each to invite another 10, and so forth, the way a chain-mail letter works, and before the sun sets today all ThaiVisa members would be party to the conversation. Theoretically. In actual practice, before long one of the members being invited would report the conversation for being silly nonsense and Tom and perhaps also some others in the chain would get their knuckles rapped by a moderator for abuse of the personal messaging system.

It is good to have this reporting feature. It subdues the temptation of spammers to abuse the messaging system for their nefarious purposes.

[wayned]

The possibility for any member to click on the report button below a personal message he considers inappropriate has been mentioned.

Nobody has tested it yet to this extreme and I doubt whether this would really work. For example, theoretically Tom (fictitious name) could start a conversation with a message to 10 members, say with an innocuous post saying that 2+2=4, and asking the recipients each to invite another 10 members, asking them also each to invite another 10, and so forth, the way a chain-mail letter works, and before the sun sets today all ThaiVisa members would be party to the conversation. Theoretically. In actual practice, before long one of the members being invited would report the conversation for being silly nonsense and Tom and perhaps also some others in the chain would get their knuckles rapped by a moderator for abuse of the personal messaging system.

It is good to have this reporting feature. It subdues the temptation of spammers to abuse the messaging system for their nefarious purposes.

Just think that if you started this conversation with other moderators, you each could invite "25" people to join because of your added "perks" , it would snowball even faster and there would be no moderator to rap your nuckles. Maybe there's a requirement for a moderator's moderator! Iy's too early for this.

For your information, 2+2=11! In addition, 11 is an even number, not odd. Why? Because it's divisible by 2!

Edited December 29, 2011 by wayned

[Tatsujin]

Let me jump in here . . . if I PM someone privately, that person can invite others to participate in this PM WITHOUT me approving it?

[smokie36]

Let me jump in here . . . if I PM someone privately, that person can invite others to participate in this PM WITHOUT me approving it?

Yeah. If you want to have a real private discussion pick a lonely spot at the top of a hill.

[wayned]

In the beginning I was pissed off, but actually it's not different than sending him a message via his e-mail address. If he wants everybody to see it all he has to do is forward it to his "global address book". The only difference is that when he answers, you will know who he "invited" to join the conversation. With an e-mail you'd never know who he sent it to unless he told you or they e-mailed you direct.

Edited December 30, 2011 by wayned

[Tatsujin]

Mmmmm . . . so Personal Messages (PM) are no longer personal on here then. Interesting to know.

[Jdietz]

Of course they never really were. Moderators, site admin, database admins, system admins and programmers, as well as any ISP or router between you and the site can freely browse private messages.

[Tywais]

Of course they never really were. Moderators, site admin, database admins, system admins and programmers, as well as any ISP or router between you and the site can freely browse private messages.

1st, moderators and Admin of Thaivisa do not have access to PMs unless explicitly invited through the invitation function by a member. 2nd, only Root Admin on TV has access to the databases. Lastly, site admins, are required to follow a code of conduct and ethically and legally bound not to access e-mails/PMs without explicit permission from the user.

I am admin on a couple of large sites and do have access to all e-mails (not on Thaivisa) but only if a user has a good reason for me to access their e-mail, such as lost on his client or missing attachments, will I access them to recover them.

[Lite Beer]

Of course they never really were. Moderators, site admin, database admins, system admins and programmers, as well as any ISP or router between you and the site can freely browse private messages.

Absolute rubbish. We never could and cannot now.