When posting on message boards/forums..........

self

[hsmomx3]

This is not about Free Republic.

Is it possible that board moderators can trace/track your every move? Are they able to find out who you are? If they ban you from posting on a forum/board, can they make it so that you are unable to read the web pages associated with that web site?

Also, if a public school teacher is posting at a message board from school for a few hours each day, and she posts pictures of herself with the students, is that illegal?

I am just curious because there is a homeschool message board that is banning people for their conservative viewpoints. This board is supposed to be a "homeschool issues" board but it is anything but these days.

[hsmomx3]

Thanks for your opinions/comments on this.

[sarasota]

Mind telling us how to visit this site?

[Boundless]

> Is it possible that board moderators can trace/track
> your every move?

Only if you are logged in with cookies enabled, or if
they are going to a great deal of trouble to track and
ban by IP address (which I doubt).

> Are they able to find out who you are?

One word: Buckhead
If you enroll using a different throw-away email address
each time, and avoid a specific style, and don't give
away personal info, they can't really tell much.

> If they ban you from posting on a forum/board, can
> they make it so that you are unable to read the web
> pages associated with that web site?

Only if you keep cookies enabled after being banned.

> I am just curious because there is a homeschool
> message board that is banning people for their
> conservative viewpoints. This board is supposed
> to be a "homeschool issues" board but it is
> anything but these days.

So find a HS site that really is for HS'ers.

[jwalburg]

Yes. They track your every move through stuned beebers implanted on your hard drive.

[freedumb2003]

and she posts pictures of herself with the students, is that illegal?

Not per se, but it is a very very very bad idea.

[hsmomx3]

http://www.vegsource.com/homeschool/issues/index.html

[hsmomx3]

"So find a HS site that really is for HS'ers."

Already have but many people have had problems recently.

[Rightwingmom]

I just wanted to share that I was banned from this site for simply having conservative views. I used this site for years (like 8yrs) to buy and sell used homeschool books. This past summer I stumbled upon the Homeschool Issues Board and felt like the board needed some balance. I guess they didn't appreciate my "balance". You are not allowed to discuss same sex marriage, abortion, meat, or guns. The conservatives I know that have been banned all stayed away from the "forbidden" topics and still were banned. This wouldn't be a big deal if we all had not used this board for business purposes. I am convinced the liberals who disagreed with our views are also the ones responsible for banning visitor's ISPs.

[paulklenk]

I used this site for years (like 8yrs) to buy and sell used homeschool books.

This site...?!

[Rightwingmom]

Well, not "this" site as in FR, but the site being discussed in this post.

[theFIRMbss]

>Is it possible that board moderators can trace/track your every move? Are they able to find out who you are? If they ban you from posting on a forum/board, can they make it so that you are unable to read the web pages associated with that web site?

It only gets bad if you go too far. Then they send Rover for you . . .

[paulklenk]

Exactly what I meant. (Wasn't this obvious?)

[Rightwingmom]

Sorry, my old English classes still haunt me every now and then and I realized I hadn't actually named a subject in my paragraph. I wanted to make sure I didn't confuse you. But yes, I used VS for around 8yrs, but only visited the homeschool issues board for a couple months or so before I was banned.

[hsmomx3]

FYI.

[hsmomx3]

I forgot to tell you that the board owner is an heir to the Armour (as in hot dogs/bacon, etc) family and a huge animal rights/vegetarian activist.

[elmore]

Only if you are logged in with cookies enabled, or if they are going to a great deal of trouble to track and ban by IP address (which I doubt).

That's not correct. I run a vbulletin site and host several other forums, invision, phpbb, yabbse etc. Everyone of them tracks IP's which btw is how banning works on most modern boards and I can also view thread/post history, poll voting history, viewing history and what you're doing on the site every moment you're on. In general however I only do this for suspicious/disruptive people. The technology is there though and on by default these days.

One word: Buckhead If you enroll using a different throw-away email address each time, and avoid a specific style, and don't give away personal info, they can't really tell much.

This really depends on the site. For instance on several sites I run I require some specific information. Yeah we may turn away a lot of potential members that way but I hate trolls and implementing this policy I've been able to avoid them.

Only if you keep cookies enabled after being banned.

If banning is done by IP or worse IP block and the owner has influence over other boards then yes this could affect your membership on other sites though this is most unlikely.

Just my .02 as a board owner and webmaster myself.

[Boundless]

> Everyone of them tracks IP's which btw is how banning
> works on most modern boards ...

Surprising. How does it handle dynamic IP addresses,
since the average user gets a new one on each dial-up,
and perhaps daily on DSL/Cable, from a large number pool?
Just blow off innocent bystanders who happen to get the
same banned IP or subnet?

Also, what about coming in thru a redirector?
Routinely ban known sites?

[elmore]

yeah IP banning is far from perfect, trolls do use anonymous proxies etc. and dynamic configs are a problem however if you look into how dhcp works on your provider you probably get the same IP more than you realize. I know Vbulletin keeps a log of every IP you've ever posted from and when banning you have the option to ban all those IP's.

On my own sites I typically do not allow users that use anonymous proxies to connect much less sign up and post, people who use anonymous proxies have something to hide and I just don't deal with it. I've only banned a few people and in those rare instances I have banned entire IP blocks from even connecting to the site. It's a harsh approach but I have small dedicated communities that deal with some of my specific interests generally computer related. Nothing on the level of this site.

Hope that helps! :)

[sarasota]

Isn't that a bit of a conflict? Armour (hotdogs, etc) and being a vegetarian/animal rights activist?

[hsmomx3]

You would think so. If you do a search on the internet for "Jeff and Sabrina Armour" then you will see how left-coast they are.