Be careful what you divulge

[Music in My Heart]

I was chatting with a coworker who looked at me and said, "Are you on AllNurses.com?"

I replied, somewhat noncommittally, "Yeah, why do you ask?"

She said, "Are you ♪♫ in my ♥ ?"

I smiled and said, "Yep."

This is someone with whom I get on very well and with whom there's respect and camaraderie in both directions - and I don't think I've posted anything which I'd prefer not to be ascribed to me but it does drive home the point:

Be mindful of what you post... you may end up owning it and the internet is forever and ever.

I'm pretty sure that anybody who's read a lot of my posts and who works with me could ID me without too much trouble - and I'm mostly OK with that but in >4,000 posts over the last 6 years, I've probably said some things that I wouldn't necessarily say for attribution...

[sneeds]

Not null and void so much because there are lots of great ideas here other than just honest opinions about various areas of nursing. I'll always come here for that! I'm just concerned with bias forming.

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

Any website, online message board, email service or ISP can be compelled to provide registration information to law enforcement officials or the court by court order or subpoena. This is usually only done in certain situations (online threats, stalking) and legal matters ( malpractice lawsuit where someone decides to post all details including incriminating ones or inference of guilt on the internet; possible HIPAA violations (specific patient details or even photos as has happened on Facebook in recent times). Court orders compelling release of information are used in civil and criminal cases.

Site administrators have a responsibility to monitor private messages in certain situations. On a different message board (non-nursing but a site with international activity) an individual created an account with the intent to target and harass a member. They sent awful & threatening messages via the PM system and some nasty messages on the public board. This miscreant mistakenly thought it was anonymous and private messages were private. The affected member reported the abuse. When the case proceeded in the courts, the site admin provided a log of the accused's posts, activity & private messages to the court upon request. The accused was easily identified by IP address as they accessed the site from their home & work computer. This is a rare and extreme example and ultimately a criminal case.

I've seen more than one member post frighteningly specific details of mistakes and pending litigation on this site. Details that anyone with any familiarity of the situation would be able to identify. Patients/family coming to the site to post very detailed complaints about facilities or staff that are libelous.

Venting with generals or even indicating which part of the country you live in is expected and can be therapeutic. Posting specific details about a workplace situation not always the brightest choice especially if a very unique situation. It's a small world and information online is impossible to fully delete. If you are considering venting about something in anger, frustration or overwhelming emotion that you might later regret perhaps type in a word document, save and revisit before hitting the send button.

There was also a situation where students were given an assignment to do independent research and interview nurses in person. Apparently the responses turned in were extremely similar. When the instructor googled it seemed half the class posted their assignment on allnurses instead of following the instructors direction and doing in person research. Several members suspected this was the case as the influx of new members posting very similar questions in a relatively short period of time.

[edmia, BSN, RN]

Good post OP.

I am nobody on this site. I have written things that are not reflective of my true identity just to make sure no one figures me out ;-)

I love the anonymity. It provides a safe space to vent and kvetch.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

[sneeds]

Awesome, these kind of specifics are what posters need to know about. I totally agree... Thank you for the clarification on these posts. This goes for any site.

Isn't this creating an environment of fear?

I don't think so... caution, perhaps, but not fear. And the caution is simply not to believe that your posts will never be attributable to you.

But fear of AN being hacked and your opionions being held against you pretty much tells anyone that you can't really vent...

Of course you can vent... you just have no expectation of absolute anonymity. Would someone invest the energy to hack the site? I don't see why... but there are plenty of black-market tools out there which make cracking sites within the reach of most who'd have the desire (and the willingness to face prosecution if caught).

I'm disappointed with this threatening discussion

I'm not sure who you consider to be initiating threats... I'm the OP and the most active participant in the thread and I don't think I'm threatening anybody... just issuing cautions to people who might not think about such things...

I don't write here with the thoughts that my opinions would be in the newspaper.

That may be but you're not writing in your diary locked away in your safe, either...

I wouldn't expect the site to be broken into in order to trace a writer illegally.

Neither would I but neither would I be shocked if it were.

If that is the case, then this site will become null and void in my opinion.

I doubt it. It would lose some posters but I think most are already at peace with the idea that our anonymity is not absolute.

It can be taken further to create a fearful environment.

This applies to the entire net... any machine that connects to the web is at risk for being hacked and/or having malware on it and/or connecting to compromised sites. You either need to come to terms with that and act accordingly or else unplug your router and go dark.

What is AN doing to make sure that our content is safe?

I have no clue but I'll guarantee you that the TOS includes a hold-harmless clause... Even if the present terms promise confidentiality, there's nothing to guarantee that this would never change... though I'd see no reason that it would.

Aren't there internet laws that protect the right to free speech

Free speech? Sure... anonymous speech... nope.

I didn't have my lawyer read the TOS.

I don't have a lawyer... and hopefully never will.

Is there something in there that states AN can divulge info?

I doubt it... but see my preceding comments... AN cannot guarantee that they won't ever be hacked... nor can you be sure that you won't accidentally stay logged in to a public computer (I've even seen it at work...) Nor are the TOS written in stone...

I'm really concerned about this.

I think you're over-reacting a bit... just be mindful that what you post isn't *necessarily* anonymous for all eternity... be careful, you may one day want to run for president and you can be nearly certain that everything you've ever written anywhere will end up published somewhere...

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Aren't there internet laws that protect the right to free speech especially when a poster is being responsible with posts and relationships outside of posts?

The first amendment guaranteeing free speech doesn't guarantee that things said will be without consequence.

[sneeds]

Well then, um, sing song in my heart because I don't know how the *&^@ to make those characters here... there in lies the reasons why one should not vent here .... If I were to post in a newspaper my name would be attached unless it was Dear Abby..... I'm not overreacting. You should post these statements in an obvious place on the site. Terms of Service is rarely read on any site... and thanks Sweet wild rose ... for the consequences... ok.. thanks... I'm so feeling good about my previous posts on AN r/t your present comment. Remind me why I joined AN? oh yea, the consequences. thank you...

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

Isn't this creating an environment of fear? I agree that you need to protect your ID by not connecting to your social sites and stating names of places & situations at work. You can make it general enough.

But fear of AN being hacked and your opionions being held against you pretty much tells anyone that you can't really vent...especially when those vents are expressing the reality on the most part of what's going on. I can't tell anyone how to protect your vents because obviously you may or may not be able to according to these posts.

I'm disappointed with this threatening discussion because it really shows how much our field and fields of other workers are being suppressed. There are not many posts here that don't resonate with multitudes of nurses... I don't write here with the thoughts that my opinions would be in the newspaper.

I wouldn't expect the site to be broken into in order to trace a writer illegally. If that is the case, then this site will become null and void in my opinion. I would not be able to post anything here anymore... well unless it is stating how wonderful everything is being managed and I just love how much exercise I get along with.... you get what I'm saying.

I like that this post warns some to protect their statements. It can be taken further to create a fearful environment. What is AN doing to make sure that our content is safe? Aren't there internet laws that protect the right to free speech especially when a poster is being responsible with posts and relationships outside of posts? I didn't have my lawyer read the TOS.

Is there something in there that states AN can divulge info? I'm really concerned about this.

You do realize that while allnurses is an anonymous site it is public and can be seen by the general public. There is NO HACKING involved. Anyone from the general public can read any post here anytime. The Terms of Service states

Social Media Sharing

ALLNURSES.COM is a public site and is indexed by Google and other Search Engines on a daily basis. If there is something you are concerned about being public knowledge, you should not be posting it on ALLNURSES.COM or anywhere online.

Allnurses is indexed with Google and will show up on Google searches. Your personal registration is not public and allnurses doesn't share/sell that information.

We have many members who post their FB pages on their profile pages. Put their home phones in posts as well as e-mail addresses. They pace their actual pictures for their avatars. They name teachers by name..... It never ceases to amaze me. We moderate for posts that contain too much private information and will PM members to consider what they are posting.

It is not hard to "recognize" someone by their posts. Anyone who KNOWS me...will know it's me by my posts and my beloved dog. However, I am very careful what I put out there.

You (the collective you not you you) are responsible for what you put out there and yes the public can read the dirt and ugly in the profession in real time. If you are slamming your place of work....someone may recognize you or the situation. We have over 700,000 members from all areas of nursing...all over the world, including places like the Joint commission, instructors from school and the BON.

Should you (again not you you the collective you) stop posting on AN? No....but I think that people need to be cognizant in this instant media world and the generation that grew up with this technology who feels obligated to share their most intimate details with complete strangers on a regular basis need to remember that it is indeed a dangerous world out there.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

You do realize that while allnurses is an anonymous site it is public and can be seen by the general public. There is NO HACKING involved. Anyone from the general public can read any post here anytime. The Terms of Service statesAllnurses is indexed with Google and will show up on Google searches. Your personal registration is not public and allnurses doesn't share/sell that information

I'm going to guess by "hacking" that the member meant that the forum database itself could be hacked, and registration information such as e-mail addresses, names, birthdates, etc. that is private could be made public.

Of course, nothing is 100% safe on the internet: ask any government website that's ever been hacked. But rest assured that AN is going to damn well do its best to protect members' data.

[sneeds]

Thank you ESME12, that's what I wanted to hear. You see, I understand any word I type here can be picked up by the search engines. I don't include words like where I work, what kind of work I do and who I know here that can lead to any one specific piece of information. I vent here but I never include info on anyplace, time or person. I would like to continue in my most controversial/entertaining vents/posts and read from others as well. I so love the humorous passionate/controversial posts!!! But if I ever got the feeling I couldn't, I will have to not continue. And by that I would be soooo sad. I'm sure I'd be missed. LOL

[sneeds]

Well, that's comforting.

[sneeds]

I'm just trying to get to the bottom of what might scare members like myself or not like myself. :|