Don't let users hide

I believe that this board would be much better if the idea of having the option of team #000 was scrapped.

When someone posts information, I’d like to know who they are, what team they’re on, etc.

When they use fake names, like ‘smokescreen’, it’s even worse. In this manner, they can post misinformation, and reap the benefits of legitimate posts, without letting anyone know their background.

The idea of this board is to share informationl, not hide it. They have nothing to fear, unless they were hiding something…

I think first and last names, along with legitimate team #, should be a requirment for anyone wishing to post on this site.

Anyone feel the same way, how about the webmasters of chiefdelphi?

–Ben Mitchell
Team 303

While I agree that names like smokescreen are unecessary I do see the need for team #000

I hope to be involved with a first team for many years to come. But in the event that for a year or more I am teamless I would still like to be able to post and share my information while at the same time not representing a team that I am not officially on. This is why I think the team #000 is justified.

Team 000 was originally for ‘FIRST’ staff members that posted (Lori, etc)

Then, there were people who were teamless … so Team 000 got to be the ‘not on a team’ team.

If someone were to post something ‘bad’, there are ways of finding the general vicinity of where they are, and where the post came from.

*Originally posted by Ben Mitchell *
**I believe that this board would be much better if the idea of having the option of team #000 was scrapped.

When someone posts information, I’d like to know who they are, what team they’re on, etc.

When they use fake names, like ‘smokescreen’, it’s even worse. In this manner, they can post misinformation, and reap the benefits of legitimate posts, without letting anyone know their background.

The idea of this board is to share informationl, not hide it. They have nothing to fear, unless they were hiding something…

I think first and last names, along with legitimate team #, should be a requirment for anyone wishing to post on this site.

Anyone feel the same way, how about the webmasters of chiefdelphi?

–Ben Mitchell
Team 303 **

Hi, I’m Brian Gattman, a student from team 365. I don’t see a need at all for anyone to reveal their name on the boards. I did it there to show that I am infact not the malicious people that you seem to think ‘hide’ behind online aliases. ‘Gniticxe’ is my online name for nearly everything, so it was natural to use it for here. However, my team number has been right over there under it since I joined. Further, perhaps some people don’t want their personal information out on the internet. For example, after a quick search at www.whitepages.com I now know 7 possible addresses and phone numbers for you, Ben. If I knew your dad’s name, I would be certain. I don’t mean to come across mean or stalker-ish, just showing you the potential of the internet.
And as for people posting misinformation and reaping the benfites of actual posts, yeah - it could happen. Although simply signing on as a guest would get you to all the posts - even though you cannot post yourself. No one is saying this is the definative source for all truth about FIRST, just a great place to exchange ideas and get to know other FIRSTers.

Jordan explained it perfectly.

While I may be a #237 alum, and I am going to #237 meetings until ::sniffle:: friday…I am not an official member of #237…and since I wont be around them on a constant basis (such as are some of the college alum who still are close to Watertown and can commute)…it just doesn’t feel right to post on behalf of the team.

But I still want to post information, ask questions, and post silly pictures of Anton that he denies were ever taken. :stuck_out_tongue:

So that is why I joined the ranks of team 000: the team with the HQ on the internet, and will probably never have a team meeting.

Whoa, that was stalker-ish.

If I’m going to share ideas, I’d liket to know where they’re coming from, that’s all. Someone could be out there spreading misinformation. Thats my problem.

–Ben Mitchell

It is obvious that some of these people ARE on teams, as, why would they be asking such questions if they were’nt.

Why would they not want to share their team numbers??

Hmm…they don’t want to tip their hand…

or give away ingenius strategic secrets…

or is it that they’re paranoid?

Just a thought, This board is’nt hostile, and I see no reason to shield oneself with deceptions and illusions. After a while, the whole hacker CHIRADE becomes annoying, and against the spirit of the sharing of information on these boards.

Hiding the sources of information destroys any credibility that the information may have.

Maybe I’m too trusting, but psuedonyms are for criminals, not citizens.

Correct my if I’m not logical in my arguments.

–Ben Mitchell

Well, let’s just assume there are “hackers” spreading disinformation around here… What’s going to stop them from registering as one of the teams who don’t have any members in this forum? They can easily sign up as one of those teams, make up a random name, and start posting anything. So, scrapping team #000 isn’t the most effective way to solve them… Are you saying now we will need full security check on people’s identity that trace all the way back to their internet service provider, to make sure no one will be spreading disinformation? Isn’t that a little extreme?

Well, I am not saying that will never happen… After all, it’s a free web, and there are all sorts of people out there, but there is more effective way of stopping disinformation from coming in than having people give up their privacy…

If you find out some of the posts are really disinformation, then report it to moderators, and we will have Brandon log their IP and make sure they don’t return, or ban their account.

This is the internet, and you always have to watch out for weird people, because you are not seeing them face to face. Even on different chatting programs like AOL or ICQ, there can be someone pretending to be someone else and play “games” with you… Are you going to stop chatting on those programs?

So people don’t want to share their team numbers… Chances are, you will never ever see those people in your life anyway. They could’ve stayed silent and not post anything at all, and remain as a guest, but no, they are posting and sharing whatever thoughts they have.

So that person is another random person within FIRST. I get instant messages and e-mails from random person within FIRST all the time. I learn to share my thoughts with whoever I come across, and don’t worry too much whether they are going to deceive me or not.

They are not trying to deceive you (at least I don’t think) by using team 000… Maybe he/she just want to make sure whatever they post in here doesn’t represent the opinions of their team. They take full responsibility for whatever they say in here, and people can tell if they are messing around with us or not.

There are so many non-team participants in FIRST who are the ones keeping this program going¡K FIRST wouldn¡¦t be what it is today if not for them, and I welcome them to come in and share their ideas. Keeping team 000 is just a way to let us see, how many non-team persons out there are working hard within FIRST. FIRST isn¡¦t just all the teams out there anymore. And, for any reason people don¡¦t want to be associated with their team number, they can just become 000 and keep posting as themselves.

A lot of people don¡¦t think the internet is personal enough¡K And they don¡¦t want to use internet to replace normal daily face-to-face conversation, or phone, or mails¡K Or they don¡¦t want people sneaking around finding out information about them or their team¡K Then let them keep their privacy. Like I said, they could¡¦ve remained as a guest.

So, what I am saying is that IF they are hackers, they could so much worst than just sign up as 000 and start messing around… Are we going to spend all our time playing around in their games instead of keep sharing and taking advantage of this board to communicate with random FIRST people out there?

But I do thank you for bringing up these points¡K Let us know if there are people around posting false information, and we will work together to get rid of those people (they have too much time, in my opinion).

Whoa! I was’nt expecting this sort of response! I’m not attacking people, merely asking the question. (Also, I don’t represent my team, but still include by team #)

–Ben Mitchell:
–amazed the response an innocent little post has generated

Wait - -side note:

I don’t use any on-line chat programs. If I need to speak to someone, I’d call them up or speak with them face to face. I find that much more enjoyable.