And what about privacy?

[tuctuc29]

Hi all,
first of all, I would like to say that I'm really impressed by all the work that ITST team produced... I know that everyone in ITST team have other activities so it's really amazing to see how good is this site.

However, perfection is not in our world so I have one thing that I really find poor on ITST, it's the fact that admin could read PMs.
Did you know that PHPBB rules (and more generally Internet privacy rules) do not allow to read Private Messaging?

I know that you could do it with simple Database queries or PHPBB add-ons and you could say that everything in the site belong to you but privacy rules said that you cannot do that. It's like opening personal mail for me.

You are doing that only to resolve problems for match arrangement (I hope) so maybe a good idea will be to stop to read PM and to use an other system?

For example, we could imagine having a public subforum for each tournament which can only contain message about match arrangement?
Every player that must meet will create a message. We could also set naming rules for subject. For example:
Subject: Round XX: Gamertag1 Vs Gamertag2

And this message should only be written in english to help admin if problems? I dont think that it will ask too much work (just creating a subforum at the beginning of the tournament and deleting it after).

What do you think?

Regards,
tuctuc29

PS: I'm quite new to ITST so maybe it has been done for past TS versions but don't forget that privacy is not a joke on the Internet. Even if we are on a tennis website, I should be able to say anything about everyone in private messaging..

[Moralspain]

see your point, but if we have a sub-forum like you say then everyone will have an opinion about the matches, and we already have problems and lot of criticism about our match decisions, when those decisions are actually only a hosts/managers business, it would be a completely mess.

That being said......i see your point mate.


PS: I only check PMs to solve problems between you guys, not interested at all in your private life, just to let you know.

[tuctuc29]

Don't worry MoralSpain, I trust Admin but for me, just philosophically speaking, it can not be done and I don't speak about the legacy which said that It must not be done!

You have more experience about the problem you have in case of match arrangement problem but for me, the fact that the decision could be public (thanks to subforum) should bring more transparency. But it was not my point when I raised the problem!

[PerfectAce]

I don´t want to sound rude, but it you want to have some private issues with another member of the site, use your e-mail or another tool.

I believe PM is a very good tool for the hosts to be aware of what´s going on in tournaments, to make descisions about some problems. You just have to be aware how to use it.

I really don´t see any problem in this matter.

[djarvik]

PMs are meant to arrange the match and convey the problems to hosts. Nothing else. Use email for any other interactions you do not want hosts to be able to read.

Sorry, but PM system at ITST exists for THAT reason first and foremost. You are welcome to use it for anything else, but it will likely be read if you are participating in a tournament.

BTW - this is all disclosed in our rules section, something one should read when joining any organization. Not a reflection on you by any means, but we have got a large number of members signing up lately and then trying to prove us that what we do is wrong and tell us how it should be done and how we should operate.

Also, not trying to be rude - but this is how it is and will be.

[Tamthewasp]

Pms are for matchmaking and really part of the reason I joined was because its like minded people who want fair play, so I think an open book policy so that the admin cant see evrything. I would not say something too some1 privatelly that I would nt say publically and I would hope that would be evry1 else philosophy on ITST aswell.

[tuctuc29]

Also, not trying to be rude - but this is how it is and will be.

Not trying to be rude but Ok case closed because it's forbidden to discuss...
So I will have a discussion with my ITST friends about this topic thanks to private messaging .

Anyway, you should force every member to display their email address onto the profile. Otherwise, it's impossible to have private discussion.

Just a last question, if the idea to insult admins (I don't want to do that, I'm not like that, I adore every admins), I can do that in PM, we agree? You will not have the right to ban me because you only read PMS concerning match arrangement?

[djarvik]

You can discuss all you want. I just pointed out to you that it will not change and that this information was disclosed to you at the time of sign up. That's all.

We don't our force members into doing anything they don't want, that includes providing a public email address.

Any and all insults against admins will be dealt with. You don't need to insult to disagree BTW. There if a huge difference.

[C4iLL]

"Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights

1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.

2. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

So on a strictly juridic point of view Tuctuc is right, that's not normal that somebody could read our private messages.

Now on a pratical view, it's sure that it's efficient for the ITST organization to manage the tournaments with that ability.

But there's surely a better way - and legal - to do that.
On the TS1 tour for instance (sorry, I always talk about the TS1 tour ^^) a sub forum by tournament were created, and it worked well.
It also created a great ambiance during each tournaments ; now it's a little bit dead I think, everybody plays their games in their side, and that's all...

[djarvik]

"Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights

1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.

2. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

So on a strictly juridic point of view Tuctuc is right, that's not normal that somebody could read our private messages.

Now on a pratical view, it's sure that it's efficient for the ITST organization to manage the tournaments with that ability.

But there's surely a better way - and legal - to do that.
On the TS1 tour for instance (sorry, I always talk about the TS1 tour ^^) a sub forum by tournament were created, and it worked well.
It also created a great ambiance during each tournaments ; now it's a little bit dead I think, everybody plays their games in their side, and that's all...

Read what I marked. This is actually perfect, thanks!

Remember, they are still private messages. Public doesn't see them, only select hosts do and only when they are hosting that tournament.

[PerfectAce]

Part II: General ITST Rules

2.) The draw for a tournament is normally made on Sunday evening, or maybe earlier when the tournament has been filled completely. When you know who to play against please send a Private Message to your opponent as soon as possible to arrange a time and date for your match to be played . If the ITST site Private Messaging system is offline for any reason, you may send your opponent an email instead but you must send a copy of that email to the Tournament Host also, so he knows you've been in touch with your opponent. When you send a Private Message this is not necessary (and not even possible) since the Tournament Host has access to the Private Messages sent.
If your opponent doesn't respond to the messages you sent, send another one. If he still doesn't respond, please notify the Tournament Host of the situation. The ITST Hosts cannot check messages sent through Playstation Network, Xbox Live, or msn, so you are urged to only use the ITST Private Messaging system, so all contact between you and your opponent can be properly monitored. If you do contact your opponent through other means, ensure that a Private Message has also been sent through the ITST site.

I read this before a joined the site. So I don´t have any problem at all with it. Again, this is a game forum and PM, IMO, is an administration tool. As far as I know, this was not created to be an e-mail account...

[Garghamell]

i'm all for unnecessarily wasting time, but this is masochistic even by my own self-flagellating standards.

listen, instead of pointlessly pretending to be concerned with privacy on a site that requires little to none of it, i suggest trying to figure out how to master self-fellatio. you'll be wasting your time the same, but not that of others.

[C4iLL]

Okay then i'll file a suit against ITST tommorow ! Hope that story will make me a rich guy

[tuctuc29]

i'm all for unnecessarily wasting time, but this is masochistic even by my own self-flagellating standards.

listen, instead of pointlessly pretending to be concerned with privacy on a site that requires little to none of it, i suggest trying to figure out how to master self-fellatio. you'll be wasting your time the same, but not that of others.

It's not because you don't care or dont understand a topic that you must insult me... Yes, I assume pretending that I will lose my time trying self-fellatio means that you pretend that I'm short-dicked . Moreover, sexuality is forbidden on ITST, don't forget it mate...

More seriously, It's not because you wrote in your rules that you are going to read PM's that it's allowed. By the way, nobody here seems to be shocked by such behaviors so I give up. I don't want to have an endless thread with pro and cons which will never change their minds.

Thanks to listen my point.

[Indiantonike]

i'm all for unnecessarily wasting time, but this is masochistic even by my own self-flagellating standards.

listen, instead of pointlessly pretending to be concerned with privacy on a site that requires little to none of it, i suggest trying to figure out how to master self-fellatio. you'll be wasting your time the same, but not that of others.

Yeah you're right, so you should try to master it too instead of wasting your time writing stupid messages.