This topic is locked
Hi everyone,
I would like to clear up some misconceptions about our Personal Messaging (PM) system, since there has been some discussion recently about its purpose and to what degree of privacy it guarantees the sender and receiver.
Purpose, and who can access them:
The purpose of the PM system is to provide a way for users to directly message one another without having to make forum posts. The rules of the forum also apply to personal messages and are therefore enforced by the staff. Because of this, the PM system is not intended to be a secure private messaging medium between the sender and the recipient. IPS, the company behind our forum software, deliberately avoids the language "private message" because your messages can still be read by staff who can access them through the forum control panel and through the database.
Why staff can access PMs:
PM content enforcement is very important for online communities, and especially for ours when incidents of scamming are discovered or investigated. Often in rule violation reports dealing with harassment or spamming, a personal message is referenced in the report. Inevitably, personal messages that are not malicious could be read by someone in staff. There is no way for us to restrict access to only the malicious messages. The rule of thumb to follow is that a PM should be treated as if it is a forum-quality post, but directed at a specific user. Harassment, scamming, pornography, etc. will not be tolerated in PMs, much like how they are not tolerated on the forum. It boils down to the liability we have over user-generated content.
How really sensitive information (complaints about staff, personal matters) should be sent:
We understand that there are some messages (such as complaints about staff, very personal matters, etc.) that should be handled in a more discreet way or that you wish not be read by any staff. The personal messaging system is inappropriate for this purpose, and a medium like e-mail, support tickets or IRC private messages should be used instead. Administrators can always be contacted at [email protected] or through the support ticket system in IP.Nexus (only readable by admins). Otherwise, we cannot guarantee that your personal message will not be read by another member of staff. That level of restriction in the system just doesn't exist without completely blocking staff's access to PMs, and it's technically impossible to block administrators from accessing them.
What protects you from misuse of personal content:
Luckily, we have a hard rule in place (in most cases, enforceable by law) that prohibits staff members from mishandling your personal information if it does appear in a personal message. Our privacy policy prohibits us from divulging any sensitive personal information that we collect, other than to law enforcement if they request it via. a subpoena. This means that although your messages can technically be accessed by staff, this information is not to leave the level of staff (ie. be sold to third parties, be divulged to someone not staff, etc.).
Hopefully this has answered some questions. I'll leave the topic open to some discussions. 
