Update Name?

These are some very valid concerns, and I will try to answer your questions based on what I understand about the new site.

First it is my understanding that the new owner of RVPR really wanted to upgrade this site and make it more comparable to other review sites. If you look at any of those sites you will see that they usually display a username with the review.

It is also my understanding that on the new site you will have one username that will be displayed with both your forum posts and reviews. This will eliminate some administrative security problems that occur with the old system and make the user interface simpler. No personal information will be tied to the username unless the member lists it themselves, for example in a signature line or a profile.

I do not know at this point what will happen to signature lines and profiles on the new site, but those that are used now are already visible and tied to the display name, so some members have already given up some anonymity. I cannot speak for the programmers working on this, but I would assume that any information in your signature line or profile will be transferred to the new site. Therefore, if your signature line or profile contain personal information that you do not want tied to your posts or reviews, you should revise it now. Regardless of what you choose to put in your signature or profile, it will not be linked to your real name or email address (unless, of course, you use your real name for your username which we do not recommend.)

Unfortunately, there is still the problem of any personal information you may have put in your reviews (knowing at the time that they would be anonymous) now being tied to your username. All your reviews will now contain your username (new or old—whatever you choose), so if your reviews are tied to your username and your username is tied to a signature line or profile that contains personal information, it may be possible for someone to figure out who (real name) wrote a review, and I can see how this would be a concern. All I have to offer at this time is that I will make the staff working on the update aware of this and ask them to try to come up with a solution.

In the meantime, if you are concerned about this, I personally think you should not announce your new username on the forum. For example, if I had written reviews that I did not want to be linked to Texasrvers, I could change my name to ABC, and all my previous reviews would then be linked to ABC not Texasrvers, and no one would know who ABC was so the reviews would still be anonymous. But if I announce on the forum that Texasrvers is now ABC, then, of course, someone will be able to link the ABC reviews to Texasrvers and then possibly to my real name if I had included it in my signature line or profile. Just something to think about.

The new site will allow park owners to reply to reviews for their park. While it will allow them to dispute bad reviews, it will also allow them to thank reviewers for good comments. They absolutely will not have access to your email address. Replying to reviews will be handled through the website, and there is no reason you should be bombarded with emails and spam. And unless you sign in at the campground with your RVPR username, there is no way a park owner will know what reviews you wrote.

I have tried to answer your concerns to the best of my knowledge, but if some of my fellow admins have more in depth information, please correct or add to my comments, and I am sure that as we move closer to the updated website release date, more information will be made available.

 

Going back to post #13 of this thread. When I got the e-mail and looked at the link, I was under the impression that you HAD to change your name. Nothing in either document indicated that you could keep your old name. When I tried to update the name to the same name (Jerry S,), it was rejected. I then removed the period (.) after the S and it was accepted.

I can certainly understand why folks you have their actual names and websites, etc. listed in the forum would be concerned with park owners knowing who gave them bad reviews.

I won't even get into the problems I've had with rejections/changes/censorship of some of my reviews since the change in ownership.

 

QUOTE(Texasrvers @ Aug 31 2014, 04:25 PM) [snapback]38050[/snapback]

These are some very valid concerns, and I will try to answer your questions based on what I understand about the new site.

First it is my understanding that the new owner of RVPR really wanted to upgrade this site and make it more comparable to other review sites. If you look at any of those sites you will see that they usually display a username with the review.

It is also my understanding that on the new site you will have one username that will be displayed with both your forum posts and reviews. This will eliminate some administrative security problems that occur with the old system and make the user interface simpler. No personal information will be tied to the username unless the member lists it themselves, for example in a signature line or a profile.

I do not know at this point what will happen to signature lines and profiles on the new site, but those that are used now are already visible and tied to the display name, so some members have already given up some anonymity. I cannot speak for the programmers working on this, but I would assume that any information in your signature line or profile will be transferred to the new site. Therefore, if your signature line or profile contain personal information that you do not want tied to your posts or reviews, you should revise it now. Regardless of what you choose to put in your signature or profile, it will not be linked to your real name or email address (unless, of course, you use your real name for your username which we do not recommend.)

Unfortunately, there is still the problem of any personal information you may have put in your reviews (knowing at the time that they would be anonymous) now being tied to your username. All your reviews will now contain your username (new or old—whatever you choose), so if your reviews are tied to your username and your username is tied to a signature line or profile that contains personal information, it may be possible for someone to figure out who (real name) wrote a review, and I can see how this would be a concern. All I have to offer at this time is that I will make the staff working on the update aware of this and ask them to try to come up with a solution.

In the meantime, if you are concerned about this, I personally think you should not announce your new username on the forum. For example, if I had written reviews that I did not want to be linked to Texasrvers, I could change my name to ABC, and all my previous reviews would then be linked to ABC not Texasrvers, and no one would know who ABC was so the reviews would still be anonymous. But if I announce on the forum that Texasrvers is now ABC, then, of course, someone will be able to link the ABC reviews to Texasrvers and then possibly to my real name if I had included it in my signature line or profile. Just something to think about.

The new site will allow park owners to reply to reviews for their park. While it will allow them to dispute bad reviews, it will also allow them to thank reviewers for good comments. They absolutely will not have access to your email address. Replying to reviews will be handled through the website, and there is no reason you should be bombarded with emails and spam. And unless you sign in at the campground with your RVPR username, there is no way a park owner will know what reviews you wrote.

I have tried to answer your concerns to the best of my knowledge, but if some of my fellow admins have more in depth information, please correct or add to my comments, and I am sure that as we move closer to the updated website release date, more information will be made available.




Posting user names to all reviews and allowing park owners to respond is IMO a security issue. In order for someone to post a reply they must be a " member " and therefore will have access to every members e-mail address and personal info.

I have a few questions at this time....

1) Will the user names be posted to all previous review posts ??

2) Is it possible to deactivate your account with RVPR ??

3) How do you deactivate your account ??

Thank You....

 

I guess a simple, but annoying solution would be to have two logins to RVPR. One for forum submissions, and one for park reviews.

 

I feel that, by people having their names beside their reviews, it is going to make some people back away from reviewing at all. I think I would hesitate to be totally honest with my comments if I was wanting to post about a problem/employee. Some of the descriptions in the reviews would let the owners/managers know who posted them. I am sure that with small parks, like ours, it will be very obvious who the camper was. I have had 3 for our park that I know who posted simply by their comments.

 

QUOTE(Tiffinman @ Aug 31 2014, 07:04 PM) [snapback]38054[/snapback]

Posting user names to all reviews and allowing park owners to respond is IMO a security issue. In order for someone to post a reply they must be a " member " and therefore will have access to every members e-mail address and personal info.


This is not necessarily true. I don't know all the details how the park owners' replies will be set up, but it may be that they can reply to the review, but not to the reviewer. I have some other assumptions about this feature, but as I said I do not have all the details and I do not want to give out misinformation. And even if park owners are members they will not have access to email addresses. Do you have access to other members' email addresses now?


QUOTE
I have a few questions at this time....

1) Will the user names be posted to all previous review posts ??


I believe Janet H has said that is true. See post #8

QUOTE
2) Is it possible to deactivate your account with RVPR ??


Yes, if by deactivate you mean cancel.

QUOTE
3) How do you deactivate your account ??


By letting the webmaster or help desk know. But I highly encourage you and everyone else to at least wait until you have a chance to see how the new site works. Right now you are reacting based on spotty information, and I think that the new site will work out all the problems which have been voiced and will have a great deal more to offer than the current one. You should not make a decision until you at least give it a chance.

 

QUOTE(dalsgal @ Aug 31 2014, 08:22 PM) [snapback]38058[/snapback]

I feel that, by people having their names beside their reviews, it is going to make some people back away from reviewing at all. I think I would hesitate to be totally honest with my comments if I was wanting to post about a problem/employee. Some of the descriptions in the reviews would let the owners/managers know who posted them. I am sure that with small parks, like ours, it will be very obvious who the camper was. I have had 3 for our park that I know who posted simply by their comments.



I'm confused as to why having a user name associated with a review is any worse than having the review posted without a name. If, for example, "dalsgal" posts a review of a park she was at is it any more likely that the park owner will know who posted it than they would without any identifier. About all they've learned is that the poster is likely to be a woman. No one is forcing anyone to have their real name associated with their reviews.

As for linkage between forum posts and park reviews, I agree that some of us use forum signatures that would permit a park owner to figure out who we are by going to our blogs or Facebook pages. I guess I don't see why this is really such a big deal. If I write a really negative review about a park the chances are that I'll try very hard to avoid ever going back, so having the park owner know who I am doesn't bother me. I try to write fair, objective reviews; I'm not afraid of anyone knowing who wrote them.

 

QUOTE(Florida Native @ Aug 27 2014, 03:04 PM) [snapback]37967[/snapback]

I just got mine and updated it, but wondered if it applied to previous reviews. Does it? I have been Lindsay Richards on the forum for many years. I have done several bad reviews which I thought were justified, but do not want my name associated with them. So please make this clear if it starts on new reviews or with all existing reviews.


And I can just click on your new user name, Florida Native and see your name, your home web address, and a wealth of other information I am 100% sure you didn't want to have associated with reviews you have posted anonymously in the past. Big changes like this usually take an opt in. What's next? What if they decide to post your contact e-mail? Nothing stopping them, even if they say they won't now, what about in the future. Sure is going to make me thing three or four times before posting any review. Don't want to be hazed by someone if I give a bad review, don't want to be inundated by people saying my review wasn't accurate (friends of park owners would now have easy access to send PMs through this forum) and sure don't want to be solicited by some parks because I gave them a good review. I can see the change going forward, but to apply it to all past reviews is a very bad decision in my opinion.

 

Joel, just from your forum signature, if I were a vindictive park owner that was really upset by your negative review of my facility, I could easily find exactly where to have the papers served for a libel lawsuit. Even if you're on solid legal ground, you'll still have the costs and nuisance of having the suit dismissed. Do we really want to make it that easy to track us down?

 

QUOTE(NYDutch @ Aug 31 2014, 09:42 PM) [snapback]38066[/snapback]

Joel, just from your forum signature, if I were a vindictive park owner that was really upset by your negative review of my facility, I could easily find exactly where to have the papers served for a libel lawsuit. Even if you're on solid legal ground, you'll still have the costs and nuisance of having the suit dismissed. Do we really want to make it that easy to track us down?





+1

ALSO.... most reservations are made with a c/c # ... personal info....and your E-MAIL address. Not hard for a pissed off park owner to retaliate !

It's a sue happy society with a lot of hungry lawyers......

The more I think about these changes ...... the more I want to cancel / deactivate my account.

How do I contact the HELP DESK ?

Is it possible to remove all previously posted reviews. ?


Thanks

 

QUOTE(NYDutch @ Aug 31 2014, 10:42 PM) [snapback]38066[/snapback]

Joel, just from your forum signature, if I were a vindictive park owner that was really upset by your negative review of my facility, I could easily find exactly where to have the papers served for a libel lawsuit. Even if you're on solid legal ground, you'll still have the costs and nuisance of having the suit dismissed. Do we really want to make it that easy to track us down?



I have a similar profile on TripAdvisor and have left ~300 reviews on that site; some of them have been pretty negative. I've had a couple of owners respond to my posts (which they can do on TA and may be able to do on the new RVPR website) but that's the extent of the negativism I've received.

I think this matter is being blown entirely out of proportion. I honestly have little concern about a park owner taking the time and money to draft a libel suit about a fact-based review since he would have little chance of success. If my review stated that the pool was closed and the restroom was dirty it would be difficult to construe that to be libel. If, on the other hand, I called the owner a racist SOB that might be a different story. However, don't write reviews like that and, if I did, that's why we read every review before posting it on this website.

As for a park misusing credit card information, that would imply that the park was keeping information after it had posted transactions which is a violation of basic credit card processing procedure. Anyone who has ever had a merchant account knows that the only thing you can do with cc information once a transaction has cleared is process a refund against that transaction. There is no way to process another charge unless you are keeping records of people's charges in which case you are already violating your credit card processor's policies and probably State and federal laws, as well.

 

QUOTE(Tiffinman @ Sep 1 2014, 02:21 AM) [snapback]38069[/snapback]



The more I think about these changes ...... the more I want to cancel / deactivate my account.

How do I contact the HELP DESK ?

Is it possible to remove all previously posted reviews. ?
Thanks



Please use the Contact Us form available through the FAQ page.

 

As for a park misusing credit card information, that would imply that the park was keeping information after it had posted transactions which is a violation of basic credit card processing procedure. Anyone who has ever had a merchant account knows that the only thing you can do with cc information once a transaction has cleared is process a refund against that transaction. There is no way to process another charge unless you are keeping records of people's charges in which case you are already violating your credit card processor's policies and probably State and federal laws, as well.

**********************************************

Yes.... I have had c/c merchant accounts for my business in the past....and I understand the mechanics. Your statement is an accurate one .....as long as EVERYONE follows the " credit card " laws. Unfortunately not everyone does.
A few years ago I went out to dinner in Florida with some friends.....I paid the bill using my Visa card .....the next morning I had a fraudulent charge on that same card that originated in California. My bank was kind enough to credit back that charge.
So if you believe ... " the only thing you can do with cc information once a transaction has cleared is process a refund against that transaction." ....you are sadly mistaken. There is a huge black market for stolen c/c #'s and information far beyond what you can imagine. Today its as easy as going on You tube

http://www.computerworld.com/article/24908...group-says.html

 

QUOTE(docj @ Sep 1 2014, 06:51 AM) [snapback]38071[/snapback]

Please use the Contact Us form available through the FAQ page.





Ok.....from the homepage.....help folder......FAQ page......NO contact us form .

 

At this point, I am quite willing to see how the new site format plays out, but I have taken steps to minimize the personal information in my profile and signature.

 

QUOTE(Tiffinman @ Aug 31 2014, 11:40 AM) [snapback]38045[/snapback]

ANOTHER concern is .....will they have access to our e-mail address ?? Will we get threatened / harassed or even black balled from campgrounds that we review as unfavorable or maybe flooded with e-mail advertisements ??? If that's the case....I'll be done submitting reviews.




Member e-mail addresses are NOT available to park owners, other RVPR members or the general public unless you have your e-mail address in a post or some public part of your profile. We consider Member registration information private and do not share, sell, rent or print it.

Moving forward your account profile will have more features, including image albums, a place for a personal biography if you like etc. It will also have substantial privacy controls and you can figure them as you desire. You can choose to be completely anonymous and this is the reason we have contacted all members - the choice should be each members.

If you are concerned about leaving negative reviews, know that you can't be contacted via e-mail by a park via this website. If your display name has no personally identifying information you will continue to remain anonymous.

 

QUOTE(Tiffinman @ Sep 1 2014, 02:21 AM) [snapback]38069[/snapback]


How do I contact the HELP DESK ?

Is it possible to remove all previously posted reviews. ?
Thanks



The Contact Us form is at the bottom right of each page/screen. You can also contact the Webmaster by clicking on the Members tab and looking up the name Webmaster. Then there will be a button to email him.

I do not know if previously posted reviews can be removed.

 

QUOTE(Janet H @ Sep 1 2014, 10:13 AM) [snapback]38076[/snapback]

Member e-mail addresses are NOT available to park owners, other RVPR members or the general public unless you have your e-mail address in a post or some public part of your profile. We consider Member registration information private and do not share, sell, rent or print it.

Moving forward your account profile will have more features, including image albums, a place for a personal biography if you like etc. It will also have substantial privacy controls and you can figure them as you desire. You can choose to be completely anonymous and this is the reason we have contacted all members - the choice should be each members.

If you are concerned about leaving negative reviews, know that you can't be contacted via e-mail by a park via this website. If your display name has no personally identifying information you will continue to remain anonymous.


The concern people have is our usernames were not available to park owners, other RVPR members or the general public from a review until the administration of this site made the decision to make it available. Since a valid email address is required when you register to this site, that information is apparently retained by the administration. What is to say the administration will not change their minds in the future and post that information along with usernames? Reviews used to be completely anonymous and everyone knew it. Now they will not be, and worse, the decision is retroactive. Any review I post may not have my personal email address attached today, but apparently that can change in the future. Maybe the next buyers of this site may feel differently about selling or posting names, addresses and personal information. As the saying goes "get fooled once, shame on you, get fooled twice, shame on me."

 

The new site will allow park owners to reply to reviews for their park. While it will allow them to dispute bad reviews, it will also allow them to thank reviewers for good comments.

******************************


So .....the only thing I see coming from that decision is a battle ground between members and park owners...... getting into a pissing match or ass kissing match. Not something I would be interested in wasting my time reading in the review section of a park I'm interested in visiting. That belongs in the discussion forum. Plus who cares what the park owner has to say about HIS park.....do you think it's going to be honest ?? The only HONEST review that will be made is by an anonymous poster. IMO this site will eventually be just a watered down version of TRUTHFUL c/g reviews. Sad it's headed in that direction.