ello, privacy! Options

[micron]

i just want to clear something up since this came up twice already when i was talking to cb members on aim.

admins cannot view members' pms. this is just not possible, as there isnt a software interface for this kind of transaction in the admincp. it has been this way since the beginning, contrary to what you might have heard from one specific previous admin. why she said this i have no idea (i was only told this by a member and did not talk to her directly), but i can assure you she is lying (or not remembering correctly). you can ask all other previous admins if you do not believe me.

the only way to access pms is by logging in as that member, in which case youll need to know their passwords beforehand, or by directly accessing the DB server. passwords are stored in the DB in a one way encryption hash (for the tech savy: md5 x md5 x random salt) so admins (or even i) cannot view them plaintext. only i have direct access to the DB server so if i wanted to, i can view other people's pms. thats something ive never done before and never plan to do, as i consider it to be very unethical. also, i value privacy very highly, not having much privacy growing up with two other siblings. but if my word is not enough, simply dont store anything important in your pm box, thats all.

i think its very unfair that in the past, admins (or rather, an admin) was accused of reading other people's pms, when this is just not possible. if youve ever made such accusations before, i think you owe that person an apology, especially if you helped spread this ridiculous rumour.