TW and privacy

[Ephemeral]

I hope I have the correct forum for this question, please forgive me if it’s not.

My question is regarding privacy and the TW chats channels.

Exactly what are the privacy rules regarding public chat, squad chat, and private chats? Does the server keep logs of each type? If so, for how long? Who exactly has access to these logs?
So, for examples….
- If someone is chatting privately to someone else is there any chance that a malicious person might be able to get access to the log and publish it?
- If the logs are kept on the US servers, can law enforcement agencies subpoena the company hosting TW and get access?

Given the current US stance regarding terrorism, I would think that if someone makes terrorist threats or a direct threats against a US president, some law enforcement agency would step in. Has this ever happened? (No names, but I have seen this occur from a outspoken anti-Bush person). Given the potential to disrupt the game (law enforcement agencies shutting things down to investigate), should there be rules against doing this kind of thing?
Shouldn’t there be a published privacy policy for TW?

[Lofty]

Speaking of privacy, what's with the banner bots going around taking everyone's banners and making them accessible on a website

[Cig Smoke]

Doesnt matter bc ppl can screenshot ur banner and steal it anyway. Its more annoying tho when the bot pms u or spams u, much like horror is saying.

[Twerp]

I've never seen the banner bots before

[Dameon Angell]

Banner Boy/Girl scares me. I'm gonna just keep changing my banners til it breaks.

[Send]

Speaking of privacy, what's with the banner bots going around taking everyone's banners and making them accessible on a website

what website

[2dragons]

what website

The banner family is a set of bots designed to archive banners. It tracks all banners it sees, the date it found it, who it took it from and who it has seen wear the banner. The site is currently unavailable to public, but will be shortly as it is finalized!!!

As someone else pointed out, anyone can take any banner they see with a little work (Screenshot, cut it, save it) so the goal is to allow anyone to get any banner they want as easily as possible.

It is important to keep in mind the vast # of banners already saved and the # of players playing. Basically your chances of seeing your 'favorite' banner on some other person is fairly small.

[ZeUs!!]

TW related, we don't have the juristiction (sp) to moderate the red ?chats as its an interzone thing, and we can't really tell someone off for something that isn't illegal in a zone someone else might be viewing the chat from. However if the chat is mainly a tw one (like a tw friends or a squad chat) then action is usually taken. It all depends on the moderator.

For your first point: Yes, but its almost exclusively used for the monitoring of staff or possible hacking/DDOS threats
For your second point: Dock would probably brick himself if the CIA knocked on his door and hand them all over, especially if they got all matrixy on him

[Ilya]

so that cyber rape can't be used against me

[Ephemeral]

Eek!!!
So if I understand, all chat log files are reviewed for possible hacking issues. This means that no chats are really private. If the log files are stored on USA servers they are also subject to subpoena and legal action (there isn't anything that Dock could do about that).
Given this, I would say that if someone wanted to bring TW down, all they would have to do is start making terrorist or other legal threats. At some point, the others would become become involved, subpoena log files, shut servers down. Since this stuff isn't listed or enforced as unacceptable or 'bannable' behavior, there might also be some liability on the part of the company being kind enough to host the servers and any TW administrators.

Additionally, there is legal exposure without having a privacy statement published. If I have assumed that a private chat was just that, private. If a person said something in a private chat, there is an implied responsibility to keep it private. I happen to have a co-worker who plays. We have, in the past, discussed business matters that are strictly private. For purposes of an example, these discussions might have included intellectual properties that could be patentable. If someone one else then shows up with these ideas, it would be possible to bring legal action. Although no one (TW admins and hosting company) might be found culpable, this would definitely cause an interruption to TW as servers are 'frozen' and log files retrieved.

Seems to me that all of this could be easily avoided with a Privacy statement and adding a few rules regarding making threats in the game. It's the right thing to do, to inform people that private chats aren't really private and that anything that is said could be read/published by others. It's also the right thing to do in terms of protecting the hosting company, admins, and the game itself.
If you guys want some help in writing this up, let me know. (I am not a lawyer, but I have access to some renowned corporate lawyers. I am willing to help at no cost to anyone, just in the interest of protecting everyone and keeping the game/community up and running).

[Hero*]

Wow, so if i said im goin to DDOS TW, hack microsoft, etc...for a long time...id be arrested? cool.

[ZeUs!!]

I seriously doubt this game is monitored that cloesly and I think you're being a little over-excitable there

[Ephemeral]

Ok, I'll go away. Sorry for the interuption, it was well intended. Go ahead and close this thread.

[Ewan]

http://www.2d.twzone.net/bannermania

[Lofty]

Instead of scheming with these banner fetishes, you should start up TWEL Season 3