Tormentfan: Monkeyboy
First of all.. who authorised you to do this?
Second.. isn't this just rerouting information from one website through another?
Third.. if the second condition applies then I'm certainly not sure you aren't routing other information too.
And finally.... til you get a GOG title by your name, I wouldn't trust you as far as I could throw you.
...
Some random bloke comes on to a web site that we all have a vested financial interest in and say 'come route all your private messages through my computer'.... and no one has the least bit of sense to even be cautious about it?
I'd rather be unfriendly, than just plain dumb.
While I think it's right to always be a bit skeptical about such things, it seems to me that some bits of information in your brain are not shaking hands with other bits of information in your brain.
--As made clear in BM's initial posting regarding the establishment of GOGPM, he was not authorized by anyone to set this up. It was done with the full knowledge of GOG staff, but they are/were not involved in it in any way. The service exists only for so long as GOG staff accept its existence. At such a time as GOG.com sets up its own PM system, BM's work will become obsolete.
--No, there is no re-routing of information going on, here. The verification process relies upon a textual check wherein the GOGPM user must make sure the code GOGPM gives them appears in a particular posting. If the user does not have access to that particular posting (due to not being a specific user), then the process returns a FAILED result. You would know this if you read BM's previous postings.
--As also noted previously by BM, GOGPM information is stored distinctly from other GOGPM users. This means no one can access your GOGPM data except you and the admin, BM. Even so, you should never trust another person with sensitive information. even if he or she has a "GOG" title on the end of his or her name. This is why BM
included the warning in his initial post and GOGPM signup webpage. As a general rule,
you should never include sensitive information in your PM's, regardless of who you are communicating with and who is running the PM system. If you need a secure method of communication, use a phone call.
If you are truly a "cautious" person, you would not be sending sensitive information through any form of PM service (as noted, above). I understand that you're a new user, so I can see why this all might seem a bit "off" to you.
For starters, Barefoot Monkey is not "some random bloke." Check his profile and you may notice that he is a well-known member of the GOG community. Those of us who have been around since the beginning know him and his reputation as a trustworthy contributor to the site.
Second, any person with a minimal amount of common sense will not be sending sensitive information through ANY PM service, whether it's run by BM or the United Nations. If you want secure communications, use a telephone. Tapping a phone requires some effort and, in many cases, judicial permission. For everything else, watch what you say.
Third, unless you throw caution right out the window, there is no connection between GOG.com and GOGPM. They do not share information, nor is your "financial interest" at risk unless you make it so. Unless you decide to PM someone your account information, which is a major no-no and violation of various codes of conduct, nothing you include in a PM would have any relevance to your GOG account.
Sorry for repeating myself so many times, but it is important everyone understands the need to
not include sensitive information in a PM. If people followed that advice, there would be a lot fewer accounts hijacked through the various PM/IM systems.
Being cautious is good, but being informed is also extremely important.
-Khalaq
