SUGGESTION: CONTROL upon WHO can view our hubtivity [PART 2]

1. 64

   ashish04joshiposted 11 years ago

   I had no choice but to start a new thread about the same suggestion as the previous thread was closed for anymore comments before I could post my feedback upon the latest profile layout.
   
   It appears nice and quite user-friendly overall, but I must admit I won't be satisfied if my suggestion on the previous thread is labeled as 'implemented' for that's not at all the suggestion was about. Yes, the new profile doesn't make it so obvious but still, the suggestion was to have a control upon who all it's visible to.
   
   All it needs is adding an extra setting under 'Activity' in 'My Account' page.

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   1. 85

      Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You'll note that was explained and you were requested to start a new thread so the topic could get back on track - so no problem. 
      
      Could you explain why you don't want people seeing your Hubtivity?  I can't see what you would do on HubPages that you might be ashamed of?

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      1. 64

         ashish04joshiposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Dear Marisa...as I had already posted, the reason is a personal one but control upon privacy has nothing to do with something one might be ashamed of.
         I simply want to have control upon my hubtivity visible to people not on Hubpages or not my followers. And I believe it could be a useful feature to many once implemented.
         I don't mind this suggestion being trashed being trashed if I"m the only one who wishes so.
         Thanks for your reply. I guess I'm clearer now.

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   2. 0

      Chris Hughposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Sometimes when I'm reading and commenting on a bunch of hubs one right after another, I'd like to be able to hide it so I don't fill up my followers' feeds. I think your suggestion is a good one. I can understand why some people could disagree with your suggestion. I don't understand why anyone would get their feathers ruffled over it.

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      1. 64

         ashish04joshiposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Yeah, very right...that too was one of my concerns that I had pointed out in the original post.

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2. 73

   MickiSposted 11 years ago

   ashish04joshi, since HubPages is an open and transparent Community, it is unlikely that we will give the option to hide Hubtivity. The point of is is that you can see what other users are doing and use it as a means to discover new people to connect with and new content to engage with.

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   1. 64

      ashish04joshiposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Of course everyone is not going to use this option even if it's there in place. But shouldn't one have this option? People can still be discovered and connected with. If I'm active on Hubpages, commenting upon others' hubs, posting questions, giving answers and all...doesn't it make me visible to people who matter, as in Hubbers?
      And even then, what's the harm in just giving an option to limit your hubtivity that's visible to everyone?

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      1. 85

         Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         ...Because creating any feature takes programming effort, and if it's a feature that doesn't do anything useful, it's a waste of that effort.
         
         Plus, you're adding another option to HubPages.  Every time another option is added, it's one more thing for Hubbers to have to think about and learn about.  So we shouldn't be adding any options that don't add value, because it just makes things more complicated for no reason.
         
         Why are you concerned about people knowing what you're doing on HubPages?   I still don't get it.

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         1. 73

            MickiSposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            I have to agree with Marisa. One more cusotmization, one more layer of complexity for you as users and HubPages to maintain the code.
            
            Knowing that other users hide some or all of their Hubtivity feels subversive. You can never be sure that you entirely trust a user because you don't know what they are hiding.
            
            Goes against the grain of HubPages Community.

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            1. 64

               ashish04joshiposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               One smells something fishy in that and the other calls it 'subversive'...this is ludicrous!!!
               
               Is there anything else one can do here than what we do right now, that is writing hubs and participating in the community? If so, I really am clueless about it.
               
               Firstly, HubPages being such an open and clean place, I don't think there's anything one 'can' hide here. But just to clear my stand, I need to tell now that the reason I wish there was such a feature is because I'm being stalked by someone...and every account of my hubtivity (esp. for non-hubbers) is a bit too much 'on your face'. And that's why I had even suggested the related options to hide one's activity from outsiders. Of course they'll still be able to find you here but only the relevant information.
               
               And please, the process being complex is an another thing but you shouldn't be bringing trust issue in all this. Facebook is no idiot to provide us with super-protection of privacy. Even you must be using Facebook. Is every bit of your information there public?
               
               I'm sorry if I seem to be going overboard...but I meant sense with the suggestion.
               Thanks.
               
               You can close the thread now!!!

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               1. 85

                  Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  Thank you for providing the explanation and I'm so sorry that has happened to you.  Online stalkers are very sick and twisted people. 
                  
                  Before that explanation, I couldn't think of a situation where visible Hubtivity would be an issue.  Now, I can understand.  Perhaps it is not such a silly idea, because sadly, stalkers are not uncommon.   
                  
                  Maybe Hubtivity could be visible by default, but there could be an option to hide it?

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                  1. 85

                     Express10posted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     Online stalking may actually be more frequent than in-person stalking or bullying due to the possibility of anonymity from the aggressor and ease of communications today from a variety of devices 24/7. Most of the people on HP are very smart individuals that can learn new things as the site changes and nothing is constant except change. This site has changed recently and will continue to do so to remain useful and up-to-date. Anything that allows users more control such as your suggestion and that in the original forum question would likely be very well appreciated by those who want to retain a bit of privacy and freedom from those that are negative or even criminal-minded.

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3. 95

   SmartAndFunposted 11 years ago

   I don't see why this is such a crazy suggestion. The hubtivity feature reveals quite a bit. Stalking is easier on HP than any other site I've used. At least it does not show which hubs we've read and whose profiles we've visited. I also like that HP does not show whether or not we're online, like some sites do. I've never had an online stalker, but if I had one on HP I'd probably quit using the site, which would be a shame.
   
   If HP chooses not to implement the change, that's fine and not the end of the world, but I think quite a few hubbers would find the feature useful from time to time.
   
   Maybe I'm naive and there's a way people could use a higher level of privacy to stalk or harrass others?

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   1. 85

      Express10posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Great point, this is why I also use an alias.

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   2. 0

      EmpressFelicityposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I agree - I've never been stalked but I did once have a conversation with an online client who said something like "oh, I was reading your hubtivity and I noticed you'd mentioned x/y/z on the forum the other day." (I had used my hubs as an online portfolio to get work, which was how he knew I was a member of HP.) It was no big deal, but it did bring me up short and it made me realise just what a stalkers' paradise HP could potentially be.
      
      I also have major misgivings about what I call "the cult of openness" - this idea, fostered by online social networking - that you should automatically make all your activity public, because if you don't, it means you've "got something to hide". I have a horrible feeling that pretty soon it will become the norm in real life too - you will be "expected" to lay open every aspect of your life to all and sundry in conversation, and woe betide you socially and professionally if you don't.
      
      BTW, I know of other sites that let you hide your activity feed - Etsy being one example. I am sure it wouldn't be *that* hard for the IT people here to do.

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4. 85

   Express10posted 11 years ago

   I think this is a perfectly reasonable suggestion for those who don't use an alias. I prefer not to use my true identity for a variety of reasons but it is important in the information age to control certain information or facets about ourselves.
   
   Many things can be found with a quick search! For instance, if you are an employee and your boss sees you discussed having a horrific job or working conditions, how would you feel? The repercussions could be catastrophic and the boss might not even explain let alone be required to.
   
   There are many reasons why people should control what is known about them and their opinions because they can be used against you, even without you ever knowing or knowing why. Also, there are people who stalk, bully and otherwise mistreat people and this could be a safety issue at any age.
   
   Offline, we shouldn't get all touchy-feeling with our co-workers and we shouldn't be overly business-like with our best friends. There are parts of us that we consciously choose to share and with hold for a variety of reasons. These efforts should extend online as well, but that's just my two cents on the matter.

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5. 71

   relacheposted 11 years ago

   If someone is being stalked online it would be much more productive to take immediate steps that are under your own control (close a profile, use aliases, file legal complaints, etc) rather than badger a site which has clearly stated that activity transparency is part of their culture into changing how they operate.

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   1. 95

      SmartAndFunposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I don't know that I would classify the OP starting a thread to suggest a change as badgering. However, I didn't see the first thread, so what do I know.  
      
      What I have seen on occasion is hubbers badgering fellow hubbers by obviously following them from thread to thread and hub to hub, making contrary and inflamatory remarks just to get a rise out of them. It might be nice for a hubber with a hubber-stalker to be able to hide his/her activity without having to change or remove their account. Another benefit is that it would perhaps lessen the amount of stalking on HP, and keep these types out of HP admin's hair. The moderators would have less bickering, childish behavior and tattling to sort through and deal with.

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6. 71

   relacheposted 11 years ago

   If you set all your comment capsules to only accept comments from registered users, and someone does harass you, it's then very easy to 1) block them and 2) report them for being abusive to admin, who will then deal with the situation as the TOS does include provisions for this.
   
   But if the person doing the harassing isn't a registered member of the site, then it's up to the person being stalked to take any defensive actions.

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   1. 95

      SmartAndFunposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      What I'm referring to is a hubber who goes to another's hubber's profile with the sole purpose of checking their hubtivity to see which forum threads and hubs that person has been commenting on, then going straight to those threads and hubs to add inflamatory comments directed at that hubber. A hubber with a stalker of that sort might like to hide their hubtivity and fly a bit more under the radar while things die down. Changing the settings on their comments won't help if the stalker is following them to other people's hubs.
      
      I know of a couple of cases where admin was called to step in, and the outcome was not satisfactory for either hubber. It just seems to me like it would be preferable to nip this sort of thing in the bud and let it die down than to get some poor mod involved to referee a silly catfight. The outcome might be that both hubbers are allowed to keep their accounts, and no HP staff has to waste their time sorting out petty bickering.
      
      Like I said earlier, if HP chooses not to offer this setting, that's fine; it's their prerogative and not the end of the world. I just don't see why people are dead-set against it and see no value in it. I think it could benefit HP users and employees from time to time.

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      1. 85

         Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         That's what I took the OP to mean, and I can see why, in that situation, they'd want their hubtivity to be hidden for a while.

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      2. 79

         Healthy Pursuitsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I was stalked by a hubber for a bit, and I knew he was watching my hubtivity. He was following my comments on other people's hubs with ugly comments of his own. I told him I was reporting him and he stopped. However, someone who isn't signed in is a different matter.
         
         Why would someone who isn't a member of HP need to see a hubber's hubtivity?
         
         Couldn't the hubtivity show only for signed in HP members? Then the members wouldn't need to learn a new feature.
         
         As for the programming, the problem could most likely be taken care of with a few conditional programming changes (to the programmers - that was a joke .)

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         1. 85

            Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Good idea.

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7. 64

   ashish04joshiposted 11 years ago

   I really appreciate the support of all who can understand what state I'm in.
   And thanks to this feature, the one I was talking about now knows all about this suggestion too.

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