Images in signatures

[PhilK]

When reading through the new forum rules I ran across a section about images in post signatures. I hadn't really thought about this before in the forum context.

But just wanted to mention that this is a form of privacy-invasion of participants since any user who is placing external content links in their signature is able to track every reader of any thread they post into. (The same way spammers track when you open their spam emails)

Just sayin'.

A per-user option to not load external content in post signatures would solve it for those of us who are persnickety about such things.

[Moonchild]

Fora by design allow external content to be included in posts (e.g. using [img]) and signatures alike.
If you don't want this to happen, then you can leverage it at the browser level by selecting under Options -> Content, Load images "from originating server only".
If you need more granularity, there are extensions that allow you to be as persnickety as you feel you have to be

I'm also not assuming trackers/spammers will go out of their way to make many meaningful posts on fora just so they can track visitors. Even if so, what would be the value of the tracked data on an external site?

[PhilK]

Fora by design allow external content to be included in posts (e.g. using [img]) and signatures alike.
If you don't want this to happen, then you can leverage it at the browser level by selecting under Options -> Content, Load images "from originating server only".
If you need more granularity, there are extensions that allow you to be as persnickety as you feel you have to be

I'm also not assuming trackers/spammers will go out of their way to make many meaningful posts on fora just so they can track visitors. Even if so, what would be the value of the tracked data on an external site?

I was just about to edit my OP to add this thought, but may as well just follow-up and add it.

Another way to address it - that I've seen other fora use* - is just require that such images are uploaded to a local forum data store so it loads from there rather than externally. Solves the https problem, keeps the content neater (eg all originating in the same place) etc.

Re: the value of such tracking - I've been to various fora where certain troublemakers have used visitor data to either "dox" or stalk people they want to harass, or just monitor their activity so they can hound them in discussions and so on. There are some IP's I post from for example which can lead people directly to my RL identity. (Tho I'm not as worried about that in a place like this as I might be somewhere where the arguments are bitter and personal, and the activity in general is not well moderated.)


*(I oftentimes visit forum sites where I am not registered and find that I cannot see post images there without registering and logging-in.)

[Moonchild]

Requiring users to register just to see complete posts on fora defeats the purpose of fora as a source of information. I personally can't stand it when fora do this

Also, if it becomes clear that registered users of this forum are abusing their membership for unsavory purposes, they will be banned, and as part of that process, in general, also their forum signature will be removed.
Personal "value" of such things for stalking/doxing isn't really considered a major issue. People with enough knowledge to set something like that up generally have enough knowledge and resources to do so anyway. If you are a victim of such, then, once again, you can prevent it in the browser. This shouldn't be our task.

[PhilK]

Requiring users to register just to see complete posts on fora defeats the purpose of fora as a source of information. I personally can't stand it when fora do this

I sympathize with your position on that, but then again not all fora allow images in regular user's signatures, either.

Personal "value" of such things for stalking/doxing isn't really considered a major issue. People with enough knowledge to set something like that up generally have enough knowledge and resources to do so anyway. If you are a victim of such, then, once again, you can prevent it in the browser. This shouldn't be our task.

I suppose I'd differ with the idea of it not being a major issue simply because I've seen people exploit this before and I don't see any similiarly straightforward way for them to gather information on fellow posters unless they are literally hacking the site in some way or some router that handles its traffic.

Also, I note that this forum is already doing a form of this: user's custom avatars are apparently hosted and served locally. Seems to me that user signatures are a fairly similar form of content to avatars, no?

All that said, I recognize that if your forum platform doesn't offer such an option, then the issue is kind of academic.

[PhilK]

Just discovered a workaround to this.

There is an option in the user control panel (User Control Panel/Board Preferences/Edit Display Options/Display Signatures) that would neutralize this issue as long as you don't mind not seeing signatures at all.

Seems like a not completely unreasonable tradeoff for those who are concerned about such things.