AnnaLee said: It took me about 15 picoseconds to figure out that Regis is a silly troll and tries to derail every serious discussion on the forums.

Nein said: In a previous message in this thread, when I mentioned above that an administrator/mod had deleted a comment I had made in response to a lady poster, I was referring to the astute comment about exif data which Anna had made in the Justine thread.

Aaaand I still feel like exif data is a pretty important problem.

Aaaaand since I haven't seen any action on it by admins, I've sometimes taken it upon myself to alert vulnerable posters that their GPS coordinates are visible. In one case, sadly, it led to a user who was being doxxed to take down their (totally awesome) photo album. What a lose-lose situation.


Don't make me choose between you two.

...no wait, Regis never accepted my friend request. So. Yeah! Fuck that guy!

Okay, so how can I protect myself and my intellectual property?

"Anonymize" yourself.

Make a throw-away account. This is just an alternate "risky-business-only" reddit account. Yes, it's okay to do. Make sure the username is completely original and not something that could be tied back to you. Don't have your name or initials in it. Don't have your birth year in it, don't have your pets' names in it. Don't have ANYTHING that someone could google and land on a page 6 degrees from you in it.

Don't include your face in your pictures. Crop your face out with an image editor, keep your face outside the frame in the first place, or obfuscate your face with the camera flash. If you become a regular or have balls/tits of steel, we are not going to kick you out for including your face, but we never actively recommend it. It has to be your decision, and should only happen after you accept that family and friends will recognize you (maybe they won't, but assume the worst).

Just as you've excluded your face, exclude other things that could be used to identify you. You should blur out tattoos or maybe certain birth marks someone could recognize if they've seen you in a low cut or sleeveless shirt. Don't stand next to the wacky lamp that everyone in your dorm knows you for. Don't pose seductively on the hood of a car with your license plate showing. We're not looking for a boring mugshot of you in front of a blank white wall, though. You CAN be creative even under these constraints. Take it up as part of the challenge. Dress up your room a little! Reverse the comforter on your bed. Clear off the bathroom counter. Do anything to make the picture look sexy and fun, but make yourself a little less recognizable--a little harder to place. This is your alter ego!

When you do upload your picture to the internet, use a service that strips EXIF data from your photo. If you don't know what that means, use imgur.com. Quick summary: when you take a photo with your phone or a modern camera, information about your location (and more!) is stored along with the picture. Imgur deletes all this to protect you, but other sites may not.

Consider watermarking your images with your reddit username. People will link to your images, or even download and re-host them. If you overlay your username with an image editor, people will at least know that image came from here. All watermarks can be defeated, but most people simply won't bother. Do not watermark with a different username or a URL, etc, as it would be considered advertising.

If you use a site such as imgur that allows single-use "throw away" posts, consider using an account instead. If you create an account, you will always be able to browse your pictures and remove them later. If you do not create an account, it's a little harder to get your image removed later if you change your mind.

Nein said: ...no wait, Regis never accepted my friend request. So. Yeah! Fuck that guy!

Regis said: Do I have to worry about metadata if I'm not using a camera or smartphone? The only media I ever post here is stuff found on the net, via my PC.

ItsJay said: I honestly think the way to stop people getting harassed or getting messages that creep them out is to let the person behind their profile chose who can message them. I threw together a picture on how I think the message system should work

As for having a female mod, I think we should chose the mod on their skills and not their gender. I know Candy will be a great choice. She has the patience of a queen, very down to Earth, understanding and amazing to talk to. However, get on the wrong side of her, and you are fucking finished. I VOTE FOR CANDY!

AnnaLee said: It took me about 15 picoseconds to figure out that Regis is a silly troll and tries to derail every serious discussion on the forums. And this is why I ignore whatever he writes. I see Bea in the avatar, I skip the post. Easy peasy squeezy cheesy, it's not difficult. I'm interested in the discussion, and not in attempts at humor (if you can call it that 90% of the time). Someone said that there's a fine line between being funny and being a dick, and if you can't figure out where that is, just say nothing. Clearly, that ship has sailed! But again, a middling annoyance, and not a barrier to entry to the UMD.

And since I'm now on a roll to get banned for life from the UMD forums for openly criticizing a local favorite, there's this:

I'm way uncomfortable with the suggestion of Candy as a mod. When I respectfully disagreed with her on the old "Justine" thread in the forums (I even started with "I must very respectfully disagree." and continued to be polite and professional), I got chats from two different people telling me not to disagree with Candy, or to argue; that she was an old-timer with a lot of respect and power here, and that I'd better watch myself. Now of course I wish I'd saved those chats. I recall being told "Don't cross her" and "You could be sorry". Now why would that be? If you're one of the gentlemen who chatted me about that, maybe you can explain what that was about?

She's also made it clear that there's no place for anonymity here. Ok, well, that's fine too, if that's what eventually comes to pass. I'd be sad to leave this kinky messy little corner of the interwebs, but I'd get over it pretty quickly.


**https://umd.net/forums/thoughts-on-justine

ItsJay said: I honestly think the way to stop people getting harassed or getting messages that creep them out is to let the person behind their profile chose who can message them. I threw together a picture on how I think the message system should work

As for having a female mod, I think we should chose the mod on their skills and not their gender. I know Candy will be a great choice. She has the patience of a queen, very down to Earth, understanding and amazing to talk to. However, get on the wrong side of her, and you are fucking finished. I VOTE FOR CANDY!

ItsJay said:
Candy is one of the most down to Earth people I have ever spoken to. Even if she hated your guts, she will treat your fair and just like everyone else. You can talk to her, ask for help and she will bend over backwards to help you.

What I mean is, if she has found proof of harassment, stalking, violence or anything like that, she will not fuck around. She will have you removed from the site.

Years ago, when I was 18, 19, I joined the site, and trolled people and lied about things, just to try and "Fit in" and get attention. I would waste peoples time. Candy was the first person to give me a second chance. So, from first hand experience, I know she is one of the most fair people I have ever spoke to.

AnnaLee said:
God. Damn. Wow. Well, there it is. Thank you, ItsJay, for positively confirming and affirming my experience that she's nothing more than a bully. And for confirming my inferences. You have just solidly and unequivocally confirmed what the two direct chatters said to me. And, so, "the wrong side" is anything she thinks it is? I politely disagree, or refuse to post a pic of myself, and, "I'm fucking finished"?

Bring it on, futhermuckers.

Fuck this bullying nonsense with a barbed-wire corn-cob and fourteen prickly pipe-cleaners.

Fifteen, just for you.

Hey mods, what the flying five-fingered fuck is all of this about?

And I've been misunderstood here - anonymity is absolutely fine. However I believe anonymity can very easily be maintained in full while still posting messy pics and making it clear you are a genuine female.

I believe this is important for regular everyday wammers to know because I have over the years seen many fakers taking some close friends for a complete ride, playing with their emotions and even in some cases booking in fake sessions and meets to the extent that at one point an australian wammer went to the USA to meet the 'female wammer' he'd been talking to and sending money to only to be told by 'her brother' that she'd been in a car crash. Anyone who has seen even half an episode of catfish will recognise that as an absolute lie and a classic kind of thing to happen when a meet doesn't come to pass.

So please feel free to disagree away but I'm fed up of seeing my friends taken for a ride when there's some easy telltale signs I can point out that will stop that happening

AnnaLee said:
Will you enforce this belief (ill-informed belief, I will add, and I do this kind of thing for a living) if you become a mod? Kick people who don't conform to your standard?

CandyCustard said:
Excuse me - I have not bullied anyone. Jay just went on to explain what he meant which was that I reported him for being a TROLL - the only thing that was finished was his trolling people which he fully admits.

I reported him, spoke to him and he was pissed off for a while but he came back and took my advice. I could see he had changed and was happy to tell people so. Where is the bullying here?

Can't help think you have a totally unjustified vendetta against me - you have pounced on selective soundbites out of context because you are only seeing what you want to see here and not what's actually happening at all.

CandyCustard said:
Of course not long as they are doing no harm, which is the general umd ethos.

I also said further upthread I wouldn't be moderator unless another female did it with me (Lisa or Mrs Bee have been mentioned... I'd also back Ariel) this is partly so that I'm not such an easy target but also to ensure fairness. No banning etc unless at least one other mod agrees.

AnnaLee said:
Bullshit, sister. Your comments and statements were in context, and the thread is still there (the context). I took your statements in direct context, Donald Trump. Try again.

Pure anonymity means No Data Whatsoever. That includes pics of any sort. Your ignorance of internet security practice doesn't excuse your opinion - it just makes it an uninformed opinion.

And do not, and I mean DO NOT, gaslight me. Do not tell me what I see, or what I want to see. You know nothing, Jane Snow. And as far as bullying? Well YOU didn't.. but people representing you did. Tackle that, then get back to me, Don Corleone.

How dare you. I'm serious. You have stated, now twice, your believe as to how to remain anonymous. One of your own - IN THIS THREAD - stated not to fuck with you ("fucking finishedf"). Ok, I get it, you didn't say it. You don't have to. Your people do it for you. Clear as day. How. Goddamed. Dare. You.

Funny thing. I don't have people chatting and being the heavy on other folks when they disagree, or "cross". What's that about?

I was born at night. But I was not born last night. I can see this clearly. Say what you will, but your "people" from the prior thread, and now ItsJay, have made it clear.

Something is up here. Whatever it is, it's baloney.

AnnaLee said:
But "doing harm" is not posting a "real" pic, by your standard. Am I wrong?

CandyCustard said:
Yes you are wrong. I have explained my position and why, but I'll do it again

The harm I refer to is those fakers that 'catfish' or troll and arrange meets (like the australian guy I referred to in the earlier post) and/or toy with the emotions of regular wammers here

AnnaLee said:
Good to know.

And behavior makes sense. Because I could come up with a "pic" that everyone would believe is real, and would be untraceable, and none of you would know the difference (assuming none of you have the skills and resources to do this kind of forensics).

But if I catfished someone, and deliberately and meaningfully caused harm, well yeah, that's a community offense. If it isn't, it should be.

In fact, you know what? I go OUT OF MY WAY to indicate that the pics aren't real, and this is an avatar that frees me to express my kink here in a safe-to-me manner. I'm the anti-catfish. So, ya know, I take umbrage to being lumped-in with the Mississippi Mud just because I have a cartoon as a facepic.

I'm still concerned that followers of yours see fit to be your "shock troops" (my word). What the heck is up with that?

I will say that, should THAT happen to me again -- BOOM reported.

HappyCamper said: Can Reege be a mod?

ItsJay said: I honestly think the way to stop people getting harassed or getting messages that creep them out is to let the person behind their profile chose who can message them. I threw together a picture on how I think the message system should work

ItsJay said: Sounds good mate. I do think a "Friends only" option could work, but I just assumed, if you would not want to message them first, then you probably would not want to be their friend. Thats just me.

CandyCustard said:

Of course not long as they are doing no harm, which is the general umd ethos.

I also said further upthread I wouldn't be moderator unless another female did it with me (Lisa or Mrs Bee have been mentioned... I'd also back Ariel) this is partly so that I'm not such an easy target but also to ensure fairness. No banning etc unless at least one other mod agrees.

ItsJay said:
Nope. People just take things the wrong way.

mrsbee said: I'd be happy to volunteer to be a female mod on the US side, depending on the time commitment.

HappyCamper said: I don't know if a girl can be a good mod.