[xyzcf]

I wondered if it is possibly related to this Ezoic issue.

My concern, is it possible that Heros Spouse is showing up on random people's ad's outside of our community...or that Acorn's name or thread is somehow being sent out and is being looked at by people who are not members.

Sorry, but this whole thing is disturbing. I am now getting very inappropriate messages in my email. I did goggle this weekend something from a jewelry company and those ads are now showing up on my HS page for what I was looking at..so in my mind, this Ezoic has access to when I goggle something and is placing an ad here on HS....not happy with that.

Possibly having a poll or two on topic would be a good idea....

I think that enough people have expressed their reasons why this is causing several issues and that the content is triggering some members. So much is just not appropriate for this site.

[Rollercoasterider]

Ezoic experienced a backend issue between Ezoic and Cloudflare that affected a number of sites for approximately 60 & 150 minutes starting at approximately 2:00am Pacific Time. This issue is now resolved for most visitors around the world but could take as long as 12 hours to fully propagate for some users.

I first saw a proble when I checked my email and saw jetpack from the blog had notified me the blog was down early this moring. Then I looked here and read this thread. Then I went to Ezoic--I am going to try and set the forum to no ads by just removing the placements. But first I saw this.
Still want to set it to no ads. Funny thing is I'm hardly ever seeing them anymore--for a few days. I'm still researching adsmanager and the paid upgrade of it as well. Sorry, but the forum income from ads is typically significantly more than the blog and main site and I am really trying to get some projects going.

[Rollercoasterider]

A few days ago Ezoic--at my direction--set placeholder ads the wereonly for the foum and others only for the blog. There were only two for the blog. I just removed them and I think this should mean there are no places listed for ads to go here. It may take awhile for any changes to be detected--or not.

[Acorn]

Thank you, RCR.

What I would like to know is what’s going on with the view numbers on my personal thread. 
According to UM, the view number problem is not present in other threads. 

As XYZ said, it is rather disturbing for me, too. 

[lawprofessor]

I as well find this very disturbing.

While I understand the need to make money, and pay off student loans, I do not see that this has to outweigh the safety and privacy of the members.   

What is worse almost is the lack of information/explanation as to what's going on.  When we signed up for this forum we were not told tracking pixels and the like would be added to our devices.  Now it's a fait accomple with the explanation that one has to make money for other projects.  Great for you, but what about the impact on my privacy?  Where are the assurances that that is protected?

Will ads for HS be included in the pool of ads that is apparently tied to my Google activity and social media for example?  From what I can tell, the answer is yes?

Lp

[Acorn]

but what about the impact on my privacy?  Where are the assurances that that is protected?

This is exactly my concern.

[AlvinTheMaker]

I do not see that this has to outweigh the safety and privacy of the members.   

I think a lot of people are mixing concepts, as well as not understanding how technology behind the whole internet) works ...

Do people notice the address of this forum starts https... It means all connection between your device and forum is heavily encrypted. There is no way advertisers could get any personal details of your activity here any more than your ISP (internet service provider).

Tracking pixels, cookies,  localstorage... Are basically just systems to collect and pass anonymous data on your behaviour with ads. Again, none of these cannot access your private data on HS (or on your device).

The whole web browser security system is based on idea of sandboxes. Every domain lives in separate sandbox. Webpages in different sandbox cannot read sensitive data from/of other sandboxes unless specifically allowed (and it always requires both domains/sandboxes to consent). That is why ads we all see have no clue on any of the sensitive information that HS uses and provides.

And yes, Big Brother (Google, Facebook etc.) watching over everything that happens online...is true to extend. But that process is running on AI (artificial intelligance)-like systems handling totally anonymous data (there is legislation that disallows tech companies from connecting specific types of information unless there is very clear consent from user). So all of it is very different than people might imagine.

What rcr is doing is nothing unusual, it is not risking anyone's security or privacy or safety... This is how all of internet works. 24/7/365...everytime you visit youtube, check your email, look for recipe, shop gifts for family... All of what I wrote above, and much more, happens.

I hope all of the above eases up some of the fears people have....I have been building Internet for profession over 20 years, and if I thought there was anything to be worried, I would have made sure there was hell of a lot more noise.

Alvin

[Acorn]

Please forgive my ignorance, Alvin.

What if there was a data breach?  That happens, does it not?

[lawprofessor]

Thank you Alvin, I still have a couple questions.

It's not really anonymous data they are collecting if it targets ads according to my interests is it?  Otherwise how would they know my interests and where to send my targeted ads?

And in that vein, I have several close friends and colleagues involved with me on social media.  How is it that their interests/recent searches pop up in my ads?  It's my understanding that since we have common interests and are connected a bunch of ways, if one of them searches for something AI thinks these other like people might share that interest so it's offered.  What's to stop HS from popping up there? 

Third, no one has explained why the numbers on Acorn's thread were spinning exponentially but seeming stopped when it was taken off?

Is HS advertising in the same pool of ads that are being drawn from and shown to us?

Were our email addresses sold?  Is that the phishing emails people are getting a result?

Should I be concerned that my violent ex husband who's sister I'm still social media friends with, and he is friends with, will be served an ad to HS?  Since we have common interests and connections. That's what I meant about safety.

Or my boss?  Or co-workers?

OK I guess more than a couple questions!

Frankly from the ridiculous ads I'm getting, the sudden increase in phishing emails, the crashes here with days of outage, the ads stacked one on top of another, the absolutely ridiculous and obvious juicing of views on the site, and the pathetically ridiculous content of the ads, I'm not feeling so trusting, especially when money is the stated goal and a lack of forewarning. 

So please forgive my cranky attitude.

Lp

[AlvinTheMaker]

Please forgive my ignorance, Alvin.

What if there was a data breach?  That happens, does it not?

Yes, data breaches can and do happen.

But there are different levels and types of breaches. Some are mostly harmless, some can be hurricanes. But once again, there is somewhat tight legislation that says end users must be notified immediately (and as soon as possible) on any kind of data breach. The fines for trying to mask a data breach can go 100k and beyond.

Often times the biggest cause for data breach is a personal mistake, such as nobody upgraded the server with latest and most secure programs, password was weak/easy-to-guess, etc... Very rarely none of it has to do with advertising (inless the person was stupid enough to download some malware and not to have any kind of antivirus program turned on).

All in all data breaches are part of internet, the same way as fires or car accidents of real life. They can happen but the odds are small. Each of us likely visits and uses thousands and thousands of websites/domains every year, and still most do not experience a single data breach. That is how uncommon they are.

What matters most, if done properly, systems such as HS don't store any genuinely sensitive information in clear text format. Possibly the biggest confusion lies in what is genuinely sensitive data, and what is not. For example email addresses are often times stored as clear text as they are required for communication and legislation does not consider email as sensitive data. Personal passwords on the other hand are sensitive, and are usually stored as "salted hash" (akind of very secure key-lock system).

 If data breach was to happen on HS, then yes it could introduce shame etc for some folks... Which basically puts the ball back to us, users... If you cannot stand the idea that someday all the stuff you wrote was associated with your name or email, then don't write/share it at all. Not here, not on your email, not on anything... It is VERY unlikely that a databreach would happen, but everything is possible in life... Think of all this like good old fashioned diary.  You have put it well and safe,  but one day burglars rob your house and take it away with other stuff... Do you blame the person who built the house (basically website owner), or yourself for writing down the thoughts in the first place, or the burglars. Or do you just accept life happened.

All in all there are no easy, black/white responses here. More of a "you give some, you get some" kind of system.

Alvin

P.s. I'll reply to lawprofessors questions tomorrow.