Website monitoring your username

I was recently reading over a thread where some members had been labeled as paid disinfo agents. So I thought I would do some searching of my own and for not being a member of ATS for long I was able to find every post and every thread I have been a part of. Then I stumbled across this website which seems to be monitoring every type of blog I mean there are pages upon pages of sites to choose from which can be broken down to show top forums, threads, contributors and what has been posted. Then you can fine tune the search to show content provided and a statistical graph showing your usage on the website. Finally if you search your user name it will pull a lot of the post you have made as well anybody using the same name. Your able to make various graphs going back 6 months.

So my point is you should watch what you say and how you say it. Simply because it will be floating out there for anybody to misinterpret or take out of context. This website is lurking out there data mining your post and threads collecting information about the user name you have chosen. Why?

For instance boardreader.com... This is what it shows about ATS you can see the top authors of the week. Going further you are able to see the top user in each forum for instance The political madness forum boardreader.com... etc. You can search your user name and see where you post and how many each day here boardreader.com... Once you find your user name underneath the line graph click more graphs on( ) make a bar graph or pie chart.

reply to post by QuestionTheGovernment


So the wise thing to do would be to change user-names once a month or so ?

It wouldn't worry me to do so, although I guess having worked so hard for 'points', 'Flags' and blue-bar, not to mention those elbaorate avatars .. most would be very reluctant to part with them

and on that topic, Star and Flag for you with thanks for an interesting thread and post

That's part of the internet life. Unless you are posting something on a private secure server that is not available to any search engines etc, it's basically available for everyone to see, and data mining.

reply to post by Dock9


If you change your username they will monitor the new one. The biggest thing you can change is what you put out there for people to read.

Originally posted by QuestionTheGovernment
reply to post by Dock9

 

If you change your username they will monitor the new one. The biggest thing you can change is what you put out there for people to read.

Yes, that's true of course. I was just playing really.


By changing the user-name regularly though, it would scatter a person's posts and that might appeal to some

Of course, the downside for those who care about such things would be the regular loss of 'points' accumulated under various user-names

I'm a fan of the 'moving target' philosophy to the point I've forgotten some of my ex-user-names. A few months ago, on ATS, I read an old thread someone had resurrected. I read it because it was a topic which interested me. I came across a post and thought, 'Wow .. good post '. Only then did I notice I'd posted it myself under a former user-name several months earlier when the thread was fresh

Cool Thread - Thanks for posting the links - I lost a post, maybe I can find it there.

As for being 'monitored' - well, they're welcome to monitor me all they want.
And if you're wouldn't say face to face what you type here on ATS you're a paranoid anyway...and even paranoids have enemies...so they're gonna get'cha watch out! hehehe

Me, well, I'm the same here as I am face to face, so, what you read is what you get.

Oh and grats to Lucidity for this weeks number one slot!

peace

A little fun with this one:

"Then you should say what you mean," the March Hare went on.
"I do," Alice hastily replied; "at least--at least I mean what I say--that's the same thing, you know."
"Not the same thing a bit!" said the Hatter. "You might just as well say that 'I see what I eat' is the same thing as 'I eat what I see'!"

(Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 7)

Good reminder.
Interesting site information!

reply to post by silo13


I agree ^^

If you Google any of our user names you will get the same information. I don't tend to have extreme or dangerous views, so I don't feel under threat in any way in terms of observation. But it is still weird that another website is interested in what we do here.

Anyone know anything about the site's creators?

Cool find. Some people were asking for stats like this just a week or two ago. Interesting how Political Madness is running way above all others. That's got to be saying...something....

reply to post by silo13

Haha...thanks...I have no life? Actually that must have been last week...haven't been around much this week.

[edit on 8/14/2010 by ~Lucidity]

reply to post by Big Raging Loner


This is under the about us tab boardreader.com...
Here's a snippet

Our technology is based on innovative, scaleable software created to quickly and accurately search information contained on message boards. Message boards are part of the Internet known as the 'Invisible Web' and pose many problems to traditional search engine spiders. The dynamic content is usually very deep and hard to search. In addition, many of these sites change their locations, servers, or url's almost daily presenting special searching challenges. Special retrieval and indexing algorithms as well as unique topic relevance ordering rules are but a few parts of what is needed to allow you to view what we affectionately call the 'human experience'. We sincerely appreciate your comments and hope you enjoy our service.

[edit on 14-8-2010 by QuestionTheGovernment]

microsoft windows logs ever site you visit ever key stroke and takes pictures of your screen. you can get good spy wear programs to see it, and some of them are called Hooks ? you will have to take out the pre’set list from the programs. so you dont stand a chance! Linux is the best to use when you use the internet. but try to get some good spy and fire wall programs. I am still looking. it is best to use a IP program And a IP site.
two IP sites.
they give there IP address to any one looking for you.
www.startpage.com...
anonymouse.org...

Originally posted by buddha
microsoft windows logs ever site you visit ever key stroke and takes pictures of your screen. you can get good spy wear programs to see it, and some of them are called Hooks ?

Not wanting to get into a PC vs Unix debate here, but I am a professional software developer, so I can honestly say that this is not quite the truth.

One way to put this into average user terms is that Windows has mechamisms built into it that allow programs to communicate with each other and perform functions such as keylogging, pulling browser history, and grabbing screen shots. This is done so that people like myself can write software that people like to use without having to constantly reinvent the wheel. The term "hook" simply means a piece of code that we can "hook on to" to perform said functionality.

Interestingly enough, Lunix also has this form of built in API in the kernal.

In my experience with all three major platform flavors, none of them are the best in show. They all have great strengths and huge weaknesses. Windows is probably one of the strongest in balance between security and usability, however, this is not apparent because it is the most poopular and everyone is constantly looking for the next hole.

I wonder when the last time a concerted effort was made by 1000s of hackers and script kiddies to break security on Linux...

Hmm this is not good! Does anyone else have a strange fantasy of becoming a great leader, adored by billions of loyal subjects and responsible for single-handedly thrusting humanity in to a new age...a galactic age!! Only for it all to come tumbling down around you because of a drunken, juvenile and rude post that your political opponent found on ATS and used against you? Maybe im looking too much in to it....Anyway! that's a great site, it's very strange how many sites there are that i have never heard of before, yet they have extraordinary amounts of info about people who use the net.

Thank you very much for posting this... S & F...

Sometimes its hard to forget whow easily it is to track someone, and his content.

If you wanna now why they do this just go to that websites link (scroll completely down) "About us" and read the text.

BoardReader was developed to address the shortcomings of current search engine technology to accurately find and display information contained on the Web's forums and message boards. Founded in May 2000 by engineers and students from the University of Michigan, Boardreader uses proprietary software that allows users to search multiple message boards simultaneously, allowing users to share information in a truly global sense.

Link to "About Us" from that site

i Just see "QuestionTheGovernment" still did show this link (sorry!, my fault)



[edit on 15-8-2010 by D0MiNAT0R 1OOO]

This is why i use a different email address and username for every forum i visit. It's only sensible.

Should be easy enough to design a handy utility if the ATS IP stat tables are public.
Who needs a summer house?

Well i typed in my name+hit search-no results found for my username-and ive posted on this site alone for over a year-so,idk what that means?