Admin Access To PMs

[Guest]

Even though I don't want the feature myself, it's clear to see a lot of people do as I'd say it's been one of the most requested features over the last 4 years, and as such it probably should be added.

the best argument to add it. :)

[ZuCruTrooper2]

I'll be rather pissed if this isn't a standard feature in 2.2... We're going to be paying a hefty premium, we should get at least something more than a myspace profile page.

[Guest]

Well, I'd begin preparing to be pissed off then. As I don't see it and IPB 2.2 is feature complete. :P

[Cooltad]

I don't like the idea of this. If there is an incident serious enough to warrant spying you can check the sql tables, query it etc.

If this feature is included as default many forumers may be more reluctant to register on a forum using IPB.

[ZuCruTrooper2]

Well, I'd begin preparing to be pissed off then. As I don't see it and IPB 2.2 is feature complete. :P

I guess I'm kind of used to it though...

[shot_at]

What if there were a way to flag a member and and alow access to their place in the bd. What would be needed there is an encrypted db that has user end functionality. Meaning only when there is an admin called upon need can anything whatsoever be be decrypted to the point of use.
Then it would only decode what is needed and leave the rest unreadable.
This would make braud scale private message reading much harder to accomplish for the benifit of the collective paranoia of the masses and yet still give root admin the right to view the offending persons pm's.

It is simply a thought. There are pitfalls with the logistics of it and the ultimate need. Yet it could be a good idea...

[forums.bd]

I just don't understand why there is EMAIL logs and not PM logs?

[Antony]

I'd predict this would be added in 3.0 as an overhaul of the PM system has been hinted at. :)

[MindTooth]

I don't like this at all. Why do you really think its called "Personal Message"?

Birger :)

[Brandon C]

Again, what difference is it from an email message which is just as personal?

I would love to see this in IPB 3.0, as well as a complete PM system overhaul.

[MindTooth]

Who said anothing about a difference? They both are private, in mathers where other have no rights to read.

Birger :)

[TCWT]

Who said anothing about a difference? They both are private, in mathers where other have no rights to read.

Birger :)

Well, then why does IPB have Email log reader and not one for PMs?

[MindTooth]

Don't ask me :P Not my idea..

Birger :)

[Serrellious]

It really would be useful to have PM moderation built into the board.

As far as privacy goes, though, does it really matter? The fact is that, while IPB doesn't "actively" let admins view PMs by providing an ACP panel for it, the PMs are still stored on the database and thus viewable by admins with database access. In other words, there isn't such a thing as keeping a PM private from a determined admin--so there shouldn't be any debate on privacy to begin with.

[Dlf]

Again, what difference is it from an email message which is just as personal?

I would love to see this in IPB 3.0, as well as a complete PM system overhaul.

E-mails leave the server/forum though do they not? PM'S don't. The SQL database shows all that happens on the forum, does it not? Including PM'S though not the entier thing. To narrow

[ellawella]

It really would be useful to have PM moderation built into the board.

As far as privacy goes, though, does it really matter? The fact is that, while IPB doesn't "actively" let admins view PMs by providing an ACP panel for it, the PMs are still stored on the database and thus viewable by admins with database access. In other words, there isn't such a thing as keeping a PM private from a determined admin--so there shouldn't be any debate on privacy to begin with.

You need to consider that offering the PMs on a plate by providing a standard feature for looking at them is different to requiring the admin to delve into phpMyAdmin, match up IDs between the message_topics/message_text tables and read the raw, unformatted text straight from the source.

As far as I am aware, no other message board system offers PM logs by default. If IPB were to be the first, it might gain a reputation for it. Members of IPBs might make their protestations heard. You never know.

In other words, phpMyAdmin != IPB :)

[McQ]

As I suggested previously in this thread (which has apparently been overlooked/ignored) there are other forums that have a solution to this problem that addresses privacy concerns. If ANY person receiving a PM has the ability to "report this PM" to the admin then the problem is solved. Any member has the right to report a violation of the terms of service. This would give PMs effectively the same privacy as any email message (which can be forwarded).

This admin access to PMs was a common concern with users of the software that I used prior to IBP (Groupee). That complaint disappeared once the above solution was implemented.

One additional note: While I love the IPB software, in general its handling of PMs is clumsy. Private threads (versus stand-alone PMs) make for much easier reading for users and are MUCH less of a headache for administration, since users don't have to worry about managing their PMs.

So I hope that somewhere down the line IPB considers changing their PMs into private threaded messages. The advantage of this type of PM becomes apparent with long conversations and/or PMs involving many parties.

[StephanieD85]

That would be a great feature to have. Just in case there are young members that Admins and Mods need to look after.

[Guest]

it's not only young members that are potential trouble makers :)

[CallumM]

it's not only young members that are potential trouble makers :)

I think she's talking about paedophile activities :)

[StephanieD85]

I think she's talking about paedophile activities :)

That's exactly what I mean.

[W13]

I hate to dig this up, but I think it's totally worth it. :-)

I've seen a "Member Snoop" modification before, but this will be handy to all admins of public forums:

- Allow admins to see what a user sees (i.e. login as the user). This will ease troubleshooting and things like complicated permission masks + skins, PMs, etc.
..and/or..
- Allow admins to see a "PM log", but of course, much easier to use (build it into the profile-editing as a tab)


(what triggered me today: a member told me that somebody sent them like a thousand PMs, seemed like some bug/error as they were all duplicates)

[TrixieTang]

I'm pretty against this, snooping through PMs is in bad taste and should only be done when there's been a report or there's a good reason to suspect PM abuse in my opinion.

A report PMs feature would be far more professional and far less of a privacy concern.

[peter_anderson]

I think a 'Report This Message To Moderator' like the post option would do good.

Then, the PM is treated like a reported post, and dealt with whatever way you do on your board.

[The DaRk MaN]

A log of sent messages by user per day, to control spam is needed. I don't like to read every message read and I have no time to do it.