Wondering about the benefits of 'my activity' on the profile

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   julieannbradyposted 8 years ago

   It was quite recently that I happened to notice the tab on our profiles, 'My Activity,' that shows virtually all of our activity throughout HubPages with the exception of the various ratings we might leave.
   
   Then, when I go to my dashboard statistics, I see another activity tab which shows hubs commented on.
   
   It almost seems like those two activities are switched in that the 'My Activity' on the profile is a lot of info to be made public. It might encourage stalkers or trolls or surely it seems like a GPS.
   
   Just wondering out loud about the benefits of 'my activity' -- is that a newer feature on the profile?

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      Glenn Stokposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Julie,  The "My Activity" on profiles is not new. It's been there as long as I can remember.
      
      I understand what you are saying about how it can be abused by trolls. But I find it very useful. Many times I want to  post a link to a post someone else wrote that might be an answer to someone else's question. I remember reading something and I might remember who wrote it. But how do I find it?  I go to his or her profile and search through their activity.  Then I can post the actual link, giving them credit for their post.
      
      Sometimes, I also need to find old posts or comments I made to use again or to refer to again. So I check my own activity and I find it.
      
      I think the benefits outweigh the negatives.

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      Thomas Swanposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I couldn't agree with you more. I actually had the problem you're talking about. It was several months ago now, but someone was going to all the things I'd commented on and trying to troll. The only way they could have done that is with the "my activity" tab.
      
      The solution is to allow people to have the option of making "my activity" private.

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         Jayne Lancerposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Yes!

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         lisavollrathposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         It seems odd to add a feature to make your activity private, when all your posts on HubPages are public.

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   julieannbradyposted 8 years ago

   Glenn, I surely do hear what you are saying! There are nuggets of information there in 'my activity' for all to see. It's rather like how we perceive that half full glass of water! In hindsight, that sure would have been interesting as lensmasters to have that posted to our Squidoo profiles!!

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   relacheposted 8 years ago

   Looking at someone's recent activity is a great way of shutting down a serial forum spammer, especially the super-proliferating-cut-n-paste flavor. 
   
   It also reveals those last few posts from right before that really active person who was getting heated in the forums disappeared for three days.
   
   Some people complain about the lack of anonymity but I like how people have to own up to their words and actions.

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      Glenn Stokposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I've done that too when I see a spammer, and then I flag all their spam I find from their activity listing.

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   julieannbradyposted 8 years ago

   I don't know who you are referring to -- but hopefully it isn't me.

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   relacheposted 8 years ago

   That was a general statement.  But it is also meant to include people who wish for private messaging. (no one wishes for that moderation nightmare)
   
   There is one thing I will say, and this does refer to you, Julie, and to everyone else who just arrived from Squidoo.
   
   I wish all the people coming over from Squidoo would take five minutes to run a search in the forums for the idea/feature they all are convinced has never been requested before.  A significant amount of the more recent "new feature" requests really are not.

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      Glen Kowalskiposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      At the same time the more a feature is requested the more visible it is to the powers that be.  And oftentimes forum searches bring up 'dead' posts that you can not comment on anyways   Not trying to argue just presenting the other side of the equation.

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   julieannbradyposted 8 years ago

   Gosh, I feel like I am back in school. YES, I search each and every time to try and find what I am questioning. I do believe I mentioned that in one of my last searches, before posting, it was suggested that I start a new thread.
   
   Yikes! That we new HPers keep getting slapped down.

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      Millionaire Tipsposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I personally think there is nothing wrong with asking for site improvements again, even if something has been requested in the past.  The situation may have changed that the answer might be yes this time, because it may be easier to do than it was in the past, or because the new person might be able to convince the management with a better argument.

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         Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         I can see it both ways. 
         
         I think the ideal is to search the "Feature Suggestions" forum first, to see if it's been suggested before - and then see if you can revive the thread instead of posting a new one.   That way, HubPages can't pretend it's a feature no one else wants!   
         
         I know you get a warning that the thread has been dormant for a long time, but it's NOT against HubPAGES policy to revive it, it's just to warn people they're getting into an old debate.

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            Jayne Lancerposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            The last time I revived a thread that had that warning on it, the thread was closed to reply minutes later. It was a thread I'd started myself in February, 2014 (I think, without checking), so it wasn't even that old. Whether that's normal, I don't know.
            
            But I agree, that would be a good way of doing it.

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   rebekahELLEposted 8 years ago

   I use the feature quite often for reasons some have already mentioned.  It comes in handy, but I'm sure some have used it to troll certain hubbers. 
   
   As far as reviving old threads, I think it's better to make a new one.  If one wants to make mention of the old thread, a link can be inserted.  Old threads have outdated information and often someone doesn't even realize they're reading a three year old thread.

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      Jayne Lancerposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, of course.

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   English-lionposted 8 years ago

   So it may seem, reminds me of another forum SSDP
   
   
   
   Only if you let it  .....makes you want to have an ignore button on here<<<<< and no, I didn't go through the gazillion posts to find if that  subject was brought up before, so shot me.
   
   On a positive note, I do feel that this forum has been most welcoming

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   julieannbradyposted 8 years ago

   Thomas, I think, under the circumstances, that I would agree with what you have said, "The solution is to allow people to have the option of making "my activity" private."
   
   Allow us to turn that to private view. I was first thinking allowing only those you are following, but that might be too complex an undertaking.
   
   There are stalkers and trolls who will search you out no matter public or private. But, let's look on the positive side, the positive benefits probably outweigh those with other intents!

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    relacheposted 8 years ago

    Personally I think now is a real bad time to flood the admjn team with lots of old feature requests when it's clear they have a much bigger and important job to do before the holiday traffic kicks up.

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       Glen Kowalskiposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       I can see your point, but it is also the influx of new users that is creating a lot of work.  And if a majority of users, new and old alike, want the same thing maybe huppages can add it to the 'to do list' or at least the 'consider it' list.  Good thing about forums is that unless you have a server crash or malicious attack the forum posts will still be here after the holiday rush so they don't (and I'm sure aren't) have to respond right away. 
       
       It is considered bad etiquette on most forums to 'resurrect' dead posts though.  just my 2c which is more than I have earned for hubpages or myself so far

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       Millionaire Tipsposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       It does seem like bad timing, when they are so busy.  Unfortunately though, that may be why some features just didn't get implemented - because the timing was bad.  The best time to bring up a feature is when you think of it, and that usually happens when someone is new, before they have gotten used to the workarounds and learned to ignore features they did not like.  I think people would understand that something they ask for winds up on a to-do some day later list.
       
       I do agree that it is a good idea to look at old postings, mainly to see what the answer was for the request.  There may have been a reason given about why a certain feature would not be implemented, and that reason may still be relevant.
       
       As to the OP, I would prefer to keep my activity hidden.  I guess it is a good feature for me to reference, but my readers do not need to know my history - it can be used to track my schedule and my whereabouts, and that is never good.

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          Jayne Lancerposted 8 years agoin reply to this

          I think this is a very good point.

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          Lionrhodposted 8 years agoin reply to this

          Definitely a good point.
          
          Also, say a user is searching for sensitive information. Alcoholism, depression, schizophrenia, BDSM (though I doubt that's allowed on HP anyway) etc. Things that they wouldn't necessarily like to share with the world at large. The activity feature pretty much outs them to the world.
          
          Until I read this forum post, I didn't realize that "my activity" even was public and I definitely don't like that idea. Not that I've done anything I might be embarrassed about (so far anyhow *g*) but still it makes me feel like I'm being cyberstalked just for it to exist.
          
          I've been loving the move to HP. This is the first feature that has set up alarm bells and red flags in my mind.
          
          HP please allow us the ability to make "my activity" private.

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             Glenn Stokposted 8 years agoin reply to this

             Lionrhod, This is a useless request. If you have concerns about privacy of anything you do or say online, maybe you should not be doing or saying it.
             
             Everything you say online is public information. As an experiment, do a Google search for "Lionrhod hubpages forum" in quotes. You'll see that everything you have said is indexed by Google for public scrutiny.

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    julieannbradyposted 8 years ago

    Thinking out loud -- perhaps the existing "blacklist" feature could be expanded to block access to "My Activity."

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    Jayne Lancerposted 8 years ago

    As I see it, we can choose whether or not to show only featured hubs on our profiles, whether or not to show earned accolades, and whether or not to show stats about praise we've received for hubs and via fan mail, so why shouldn't we be able to choose whether or not to show activity?
    
    Besides, if I were the sort of person who chooses to hide accolades, I probably wouldn't want the world and his wife to see my newly earned accolade floating down 'my activity'.

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       julieannbradyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       Amen!

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