To avoid spam and harassment, it's best to avoid giving out
your ISP email address to those you meet online. We encourage you to use a
"web-based" email account for your dealings with strangers, including
those at Callahan's. This way if you start getting too much spam - or
harrassment - you can easily abandon the account.
Examples of web-based accounts would be Hotmail, Yahoo, GMail, and mail.com.
These type accounts are not associated with your ISP - Internet Service Provider
- and therefore, should not be directly traceable to you. If the web based
server doesn't have any of your personal information such as name (if you
choose to go under a pseudonym) address or city, so much the better.
Also you should avoid sending out group email messages which will give strangers
each other's email addresses. Sooner or later, a spammer will get hold of those
addresses!
As a general rule, you do not want to ever "send this to every person you
know." You will receive many emails asking you to do just that. Consider
them spam - even if your mother sent them to you - and delete them..:)
Also, deleting is often the preferred way to get relief from spam. Writing to
have your name removed from a list you didn't join in the first place often just
tells a spammer he has a live person, and your spam will quadruple.
Email attachments (and attachements such as images posted on our board at
Callahans) could contain a virus. Never open either
without first purchasing and installing a good anti-virus program. Update it
often.
DelphiForums gives us the ability to send blind email. Therefore, people can
email you from Callahans without knowing your email address. If you respond to
such email, you will reveal your email address.
If you must contact someone, and don't want to post an open
message, you can click on a profile, and send that person a message through the
email link. If you do, the person you're contacting will have your email
address of record (whatever you used to sign up with DelphiForums.)
If you receive unwanted email from anyone, DO NOT respond. To
this point they don't have your email address - but if you respond, you give
it to them. Please report unwanted email to Staff. If you think there is a
violation of
DelphiForum's Terms of Service, please forward any pertinent information
along with posts to "tos@delphiforums.com" To forward a post, click
on Options at the bottom of any message, and select"email this post."
Please do not ask people on the board or in conference at
Callahan's for their email address - or any other personal information.
Please do not encourage folks to contact you privately
concerning any matter.
Please do not respond to such requests, but report them to
Staff.
We try to make Callahan's as friendly and safe a place as possible, but we're
not infallible in our judgments, and we can't be everywhere. If it cannot be
posted publicly on the board, email someone blind through the profile. Don't
make people feel uncomfortable for not wanting to make their email address
public. It is private information, and no one is under any obligation to
reveal it.
If you receive harassing emails, you can take steps to
protect yourself. Let staff here know what's going on if someone is emailing
you from your profile from Callahan's. Contact your ISP, or other email
provider to report the harassment. Contact the other person's email provider to
report the harassment. In most cases, the address will be
abuse@provider.com Some providers are more responsive than
others. If the email violates any laws, report it to your local police. Many
police departments these days are setting up special units to deal with
electronic crime. Don't give up, and don't give in to harassment.
An additional word:
It is tough to ensure that any online communications are private. Powerful
encryption software might help, but they are not foolproof. You will be
putting yourself at some risk if you send sensitive personal information
(passwords, address, phone number, Social Security Number, credit card
numbers, vacation dates) via chat, forum postings, email or post them on your
personal web page.
If you publish information on a personal web page, direct marketers and others
may collect your address, phone number, email address and whatever else you
post that they find useful.
Some users create one or more online personas. Keep in mind that folks may not
really be who they appear to be.
Please use extreme caution about meeting online friends in real
life. Communicating with someone online may create a sense of intimacy and
trust that might not transfer to real life. If you do want to get together, then
it is probably best to meet in groups and in a public place. Using nicknames is
so natural to us that many of us at Callahan's Gatherings never get past calling
each other by our nicknames..:)
Please... take care to be safe.
