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"Strangers" In The Forum


MikeMikeMike
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Yesterday, in one of my posts the issue came up of being a "stranger" in the forum. Larry, quite rightly, said to me that he doesn't know anything about me and referred to me as a "stranger". Really, none of us know anything about each other.

 

However, it doesn't have to remain that way, and I think that people here don't want it to remain that way. Let me explain.

 

It so happens that I just learned about a service that GoDaddy offers. They allow you to check whether anyone has been doing WhoIs searches on your domain names. For example, i can find out how many WhoIs searches (which reveal all my personal information) were done on my domain names ordered by date-- Yesterday, Last Week, Last Month, Today, this week, This Month.

 

As I just found out about this service, I have been using it everyday. It so happens that yesterday there were 2 WhoIs searches done on a domain name that I posted in this forum.

 

Now, the domain name is so weird (www.TitanicRaisins.com) that it's unlikely that random people interested in the domain were checking who owns it. After all, before I bought the domain, there were no Google search results for it. Also, in the last 2 months, there were ZERO whois checks done on the domain. No one cared about it, or who owned it, until yesterday.

 

However, I did post the domain name on Larry's site last week, as I asked for help with the code, and in the last 48 hours, the issue of my identity on this forum was raised and some mildly testy exchanges took place between users on this forum (with me even being called a "stranger"), so I find it funny that I got 2 WhoIs checks on this domain, when for the last 2 months there were 0 checks. It could be a total coincidence but to be honest I seriously doubt it. After all, I was called a "stranger" and the WhoIs reveals a lot of information for the curious.

 

Why the sudden interest in the personal information of the owner of this domain, unless it came from people on this site!

 

Of course, there's nothing at all wrong with doing WhoIs checks on someone. I just find it funny. People want to know information about me and they want to get it by snooping, rather than asking explicitly. Maybe Larry should change the policy for his forum regarding the kind of information we are required to provide....

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It`s fairly obvious to me who was likely snooping for my private information, but there`s no point naming names because they`d just deny it.

 

It`s obvious to me because the person must have read the post I did last week about SSL, where I posted the link to the site, and then, this week, they remembered that I had posted the link there once they became curious about me following the mildly testy exchanges in the threads this week where Larry claimed Matt had posted the correct answer, and I refused to acknowledge it. My Godaddy records show that my WhoIs info was checked on this week on the day of the testy exchanges.

 

There`s probably a very small circle of people who read both posts, and were engaged enough with both posts to (a) remember I had posted the link and (B] to want to find out more information about this obnoxious "stranger" (i.e. me) on the forum.

 

I have to say, though, that I`m pretty disappointed this behavior would take place.

 

One of the reasons I come to this forum is to make my questions more reusable. I could just as easily post questions about these books on other forums, where there`s actually more people who are available to answer.

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Well I understand why you may feel like that. I quite enjoy this forum because it's smaller and we all have a common factor. I.e - larry's books. I also understand why you could be thinking negatively about the whois records check. But there's nothing they can actually do with the info, I'd just put it down to curiosity.

 

Bottom line is for me, it's a nice forum, people happy to help each other out and we've all got the reading topic in common.

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  • 1 month later...

You and I both have a low amount of post here. But as it's quite a small forum, I see the same users contributing over and over again. All of them seem to be nice people - that is - if you are polite, follow the rules, etc. I believe, as Jonathon, that no-one here is checking your domain for the wrong reason.

 

I like this forum at lot. Small number of members, a very active group of users that talk a bit personal. Might be exactly nerdy enough to fit this forum but;

 

"Part of the ship, part of the crew..." :P

 

You tend to stay here after some post because of the nice and very throughly help!

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  • 2 years later...

Just having a snoop through the forum and came across this. I can’t for the life in me understand why Mike thinks someone would want to pry into his personal information for ilisset reasons. We all have access to the internet and if someone wanted to know something about anyone it’s not difficult to find. This forum is brilliant I’ve had a lot of constructive help from Jonathon and Antonio. I’ve put some pretty stupid questions on and Jonathon has not been shy at telling me.

I knew nothing before I started here and even now I’m far far far from being an expert but I do have half an idea of what I’m doing and if I get stuck I ask here, well that’s what it’s for. There is always someone willing to help and I’m not worrying if they’re after my personal information but if I’m asked I would tell them. (As long as they don’t ask for my bank account and pin number)

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  • 6 months later...
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Things like this are why I always get private registration for my domains and why I try really hard not to post my domain in a public forum. Mostly though what I'm trying to avoid is getting stalked. Granted, I've never had anything happen, but there can always be a first time, you know?

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