# Who's Online = big brother



## housecameron

After more than 3000 posts  I’ve just discovered Who's Online area.

So, in this moment
Member A is Replying to Thread X
Member B is Viewing Forum X
Member C is Viewing Thread X
Member D is Modifying Options
Member E is Private Messaging
Member F is Modifying Password 
and so on...
Member H (me) is Creating Thread

What’s the purpose of this tool: fun, curiosity, morbidity?
Is it REALLY necessary to know what people are exactly doing on WR? 
To me it's pretty unhealthy, sorry.


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## kenny4528

To me, there's nothing unhealthy about wanting to know what others doing at that moment; on the other hand, I myself don't mind being seen what I was doing online.


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## cherine

And for those who don't want to be "seen", they are welcome to choose the invisible mode (from their User control Panel).


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## kenny4528

cherine said:


> And for those who don't want to be "seen", they are welcome to choose the invisible mode (from their User control Panel).


 
Of course


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## housecameron

cherine said:


> And for those who don't want to be "seen", they are welcome to choose the invisible mode (from their User control Panel).


 
Thanks cherine, I know that 
I have no problem to show my online status, I just refer to what WR forer@s _are doing._

Kenny, I'm very glad for you


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## avok

Cherine I know that if I choose the invisible mode my green light won't be shown but will I be seen in Who's Online area?


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## Jana337

avok said:


> Cherine I know that if I choose the invisible mode my green light won't be shown but will I be seen in Who's Online area?


Only by moderators.


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## danielfranco

It seems to me as if the only "big brother" aspect of these forums is the necessary supervisory tools the moderators can access.

But since we all agreed to be moderated, I have no problem with that aspect. 

Also, the "who's online" is a rather helpful tool if you're feeling anxious about a specific thread started by you and you wish to see which and how many forum members are actually viewing it, without having to just wait for the answers.  

Also, for all of those who just love rubberneckin' and youtube, this is the closest to it in the WRF's.  

D


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## housecameron

danielfranco said:


> It seems to me as if the only "big brother" aspect of these forums is the necessary supervisory tools the moderators can access.
> But since we all agreed to be moderated, I have no problem with that aspect.


 
Thank you, Daniel, but come on....you know what I mean, I do not refer to administrators and mods 



danielfranco said:


> Also, the "who's online" is a rather helpful tool if you're feeling anxious about a specific thread started by you and you wish to see which and how many forum members are actually viewing it, without having to just wait for the answers.


 
So if you "feel anxious" you keep on scrolling down the page looking for who's viewing? 
To me this is sort of bizarre. Will answer(s) come earlier? You can't change things nor push, unless you send a PM to those who are viewing your thread.. 



danielfranco said:


> Also, for all of those who just love rubberneckin' and youtube, this is the closest to it in the WRF's.


 
Youtube is another story, besides the fact that the "active sharing" is optional.
I don't know anything about rubberneckin' (??)

WR is an academic forum, isn't it?


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## danielfranco

Ah, housecameron, thanks for the perspective: it's refreshing to ascertain that psycho, trembling, little human chihuahuas like me are few in this temple of learning...

What I meant about the rubberneckin' reference is that sometimes there are certain elements in this forum that behave rather peculiar, and it's fun to follow their adventures in the "who's online" as they bounce off the walls and chew on the scenery, until -sooner rather than later- some mod lands on them with both feet. And about thread-anxiety, whatever helps soothe it, man...

[I'm kidding, alright? But I do have fun watching people on the "who's online"]

Dan "I see you!" F.


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## gotitadeleche

Where do you find the Who's Online? I was unaware of it, and I don't know where to find it.


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## TrentinaNE

At the main forum page, scroll down to *Currently Active Users* and click on the link. 

Elisabetta


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## gotitadeleche

TrentinaNE said:


> At the main forum page, scroll down to *Currently Active Users* and click on the link.
> 
> Elisabetta




Got it! 

Thank you!


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## Jaén

En serio existe eso? Yo había visto "Usuarios en línea" subrayado pero jamás se me ocurrió pensar que eso podría ser un enlace!

Siempre que se me ocurre ver esa áre, es sólo para constatar que siempre aparezco en primero en el grupo de usuarios 

Por otro lado no me importa que vean dónde estoy. Al fin y al cabo que siempre tengo 3 ó 4 ventanas abiertas con diferentes páginas del site, así que quién sabe qué es lo que aparece.

Además, algunos amigos buscan los hilos en los que estoy participando, pero nunca se me ocurrió preguntarles cómo me localizan, o sea, si es a través de esa lista.


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## romarsan

Jaén said:


> Por otro lado no me importa que vean dónde estoy. Al fin y al cabo que siempre tengo 3 ó 4 ventanas abiertas con diferentes páginas del site, así que quién sabe qué es lo que aparece.


 

Ahora ya sabes como te localizo... y yo sé como me mareas...
A mi me parece que la herramienta es muy útil. Me gusta participar en los hilos de algunos foreros con los que, por razones de horario, no coincido y busco qué hilos han abierto o qué posts han escrito.
Cierto que la información es muy completa, puedes llegar a saber, no solo si la persona está viendo un hilo, sino, incluso si está respondiendo.
A mi no me importa que sepan dónde estoy, es más, lo prefiero, por otra parte, esto se hace solo con los amigos o los foreros que, por una razón u otra, tienen un especial interés para tí.
Entiendo que haya quien prefiera que no le vean y respeto esa actitud tanto como la mia, pero, puesto que tienes la opción en tu pérfil de elegir no estar visible, creo que esto respeta la intimidad de aquéllos que prefieran que no les sigan la pista.
Saludos


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## Etcetera

housecameron said:


> What’s the purpose of this tool: fun, curiosity, morbidity?
> Is it REALLY necessary to know what people are exactly doing on WR?
> To me it's pretty unhealthy, sorry.


I've just discovered this feature, too. Thank you.

I don't think there's anything "unhealthy" with this feature. There are simply too many of us here! (202,749, according to WRF main page.) I doubt if anyone would have free time enough to spare it on looking at this page every minute and checking what exactly is this or that member of the community doing at the moment. 

As for the green lights and list of members who are online, I find it really useful: if you want to ask someone a question, you can see if the member is online and if you can expect a prompt reply.


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## housecameron

Dear friends 

thank you all for your comments, but I'd like to point out (again) that I'm not talking about "the green light".

By the way, since nobody has time to check what the others are doing, I think it's definitely an useless feature. 
A list of the online members is quite enough, in my opinion.
Moreover, it's sooo easy to keep in touch with your dearest friends.... just click on their names 

Saluti


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## niko

Hello foreros,

I come to bring some support to housecameron 
I actually don't like the idea anyone* might track what I'm doing. That's why I do use the "stealth mode", but unluckily then, no one knows wether I am online or not, and therefore can't "expect a prompt reply", as Etcetera rightly pointed out. There's either too much or too few information, in my opinion 

* the mods excepted, such tool is probably useful for them


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## Cristina.

Bueno, evidentemente, habiendo tan pocos mods, es imposible seguir los movimientos de todos los forer@s, pero siempre hay algunos "casos particulares" que son seguidos más de cerca y con más frecuencia.
Y con respecto a Member C is Viewing Forum or Member D is Viewing Thread, sin especificar el mismo, me he dado cuenta de que solo lo pueden hacer los mods, o eso creo.


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## Etcetera

housecameron said:


> By the way, since nobody has time to check what the others are doing, I think it's definitely an useless feature.


I suspect the feature is built-in, and therefore it cannot be disabled. 

And, since we agreed that in any case, no one has the reason to use it, it can stay where it is. By the way, this is the first thread about this feature I can remember for about 18 months.


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## Namarne

I'd like to bring support to romarsan and Etcetera (and others). I don't really mind if anybody knows that I'm posting in a thread, or using the private messaging, or anything else. I think it's useful if you're looking for somebody with whom you like to discuss.


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## housecameron

Etcetera said:


> By the way, this is the first thread about this feature I can remember for about 18 months.


 
I'm actually so pleased I didn't bore you with a trite topic.


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## Crescent

Namarne said:


> I'd like to bring support to romarsan and Etcetera (and others). I don't really mind if anybody knows that I'm posting in a thread, or using the private messaging, or anything else. I think it's useful if you're looking for somebody with whom you like to discuss.



And I would like to fortify the support brought to Etcetera and others! 

I must admit that I'm not a particular fan of ''special effects'' or ''unnecessary luxuries'' as I like to call them. In other words: if we're talking about a forum, all that is necessary, in my opinion, are the ability to create threads, posts, a certain degree of freedom and rights for the foreros, such as to edit and delete them. And not forgetting, of course - the indispensable and immortal facility of private messaging. (for what would we do without it..? )

However, this feature may not be as entirely futile as it appears at first! Think of this situation: what if someone needs to ask a question (which, say, relates to a particular country's culture or _usages_) which they feel wouldn't necessarily comply with the set (and oh-so-strict ) rules of our dearly beloved forums. And they need to find a forero who is:
1. Online, so that (as Etcetera and others have pointed out) one may receive a prompt reponse.
2. Relates, somehow, to that country or is a native speaker of the language..

And imagine having to plough (for lack of a better verb ) through the n thousand foreros which are online and have their green lights on, trying to guess by their name which nationality they are, or if they are a native speaker...Oo

A pretty tough job, isn't it? And wouldn't it be much easier to select them basing your judgement on the thread or forum that they are currently looking at/posting in? 
Of course, there is still a possibilty of an error: you could easily mistake a foreigner asking a question in the X forum for a native-speaker, but it certainly does cut down your chances, doesn't it?

I can hardly imagine a native German speaker who has never heard a word in Russian ploughing through the Slavic forums, can you? 

Anyway, all this rambling to say that - hurray for the defenders of human rights! The Big Brother (although I personally hate the program >.<) feature is not entirely futile!..

Or...something like this. 

P.S. I must admit that I never knew about this feature until I stumbled across this thread, and...it didn't trouble my sleep for a single second! =)


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## Cristina.

niko said:


> I actually don't like the idea anyone* might track what I'm doing. That's why I do use the "stealth mode", but unluckily then, no one knows wether I am online or not, and therefore can't "expect a prompt reply".


 
Puedes dejar el modo "visible" (con la luz verde) (mucha gente está todo el tiempo con el Viewing Index WR Forums o User Control Panel , sin moverse) y abrir otra página sin log-in y moverte para ver los distintos threads, así todo el mundo sabrá que estás online pero no sabrán qué estás mirando.


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## alexacohen

> Originally Posted by *niko*
> I actually don't like the idea anyone* might track what I'm doing. That's why I do use the "stealth mode", but unluckily then, no one knows wether I am online or not, and therefore can't "expect a prompt reply".


I'm sorry, but I don't understand your objections. No one is really tracking what you're doing.
My computer might show "alexacohen is watching, oh, I don't know, Calamity Jane's profile" while I am really walking the dogs.
I think Crescent has explained really well why this is a useful feature, so there's no need for me to dwell on it.


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## dn88

Etcetera said:


> I suspect the feature is built-in, and therefore it cannot be disabled.
> 
> And, since we agreed that in any case, no one has the reason to use it, it can stay where it is. By the way, this is the first thread about this feature I can remember for about 18 months.



I would agree with this. Not that I am too familair with vBulletin, but I wouldn't say disabling/enabling "Who's Online" is one of its basic settings.

I checked other two forums using the same engine, they also have this feature (it's hidden for people who are not logged in though).


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## Flaminius

alexacohen said:


> I'm sorry, but I don't understand your objections. No one is really tracking what you're doing.
> My computer might show "alexacohen is watching, oh, I don't know, Calamity Jane's profile" while I am really walking the dogs.
> I think Crescent has explained really well why this is a useful feature, so there's no need for me to dwell on it.


Hello *alexacohen*,
But I am not going to realise if someone is looking at my profile.  All you see in the Who's Online list is:
SomeoneSomewhere  Viewing User Profile

It is just the same thing I might see in this user's profile.


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## Etcetera

Flaminius said:


> It is just the same thing I might see in this user's profile.


By the way, it's a good observation. Everyone can open anyone's profile and see what this person is doing at the moment. Unless the person uses invisible mode, of course. 

So, what would be the reason to switch off the Who's Online feature?


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## alexacohen

Flaminius said:


> Hello *alexacohen*,
> But I am not going to realise if someone is looking at my profile. All you see in the Who's Online list is:
> SomeoneSomewhere Viewing User Profile
> 
> It is just the same thing I might see in this user's profile.


 
I'm sorry, Flaminius, it was a silly example. What I meant is no one is really spying on you, and no one can know what you're actually doing. "Who's Online" cannot be compared to Big Brother at all!


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## Moritzchen

Now really! It´s not as if they follow you to the bathroom! So someone finds out in which thread I´m in, OK, big deal.


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## niko

alexacohen said:


> I'm sorry, but I don't understand your objections. No one is really tracking what you're doing.
> My computer might show "alexacohen is watching, oh, I don't know, Calamity Jane's profile" while I am really walking the dogs.
> I think Crescent has explained really well why this is a useful feature, so there's no need for me to dwell on it.




I don't pretend anyone does track, I just don't like the idea that someone _might _do so  Just a matter of principle. And actually, it's not the  _who's online_ feature, but simply the fact that the engine displays what others do, wherever it is (profile included).
Nevertheless I understand many of the foreros find it useful ; I'm probably a bit paranoid !.. Actually I haven't paid any attention to it for two years, until an anecdote from a friend of mine made me change my mind and switch to invisible mode. Anyway, it seems it doesn't bother most of us, so I suppose it's fine !

@Cristina : gracias por tu sugerencia


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## danielfranco

Just imagine the outcry from all of us who are a bit paranoid if the forum software could keep track in a database of how many times each one of us connects to the site, which threads we viewed (never mind actually answered), or if it could tell which one is the Internet Service Provider and the Internet address for each one of us and our computers, and from what geographical location we connect...

I tremble at the thought! 

No, just kidding. I'm still fine with the concept of "Who's Online", even if just for entertainment purposes.
D


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## anthodocheio

Well, you know what would be like useful? To be able to see “everyone that is viewing this specific thread” or “everyone that is viewing the Greek forum”.
To try to find out by searching like desperate in the “Who is online” doesn’t seem to help me at all..


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## mkellogg

Hi everybody,

I have to admit that I don't much like that feature either.  It is a little too much information, and it wastes significant server resources.  (To make this feature work, it has to update the database with your current whereabouts with every single page that you visit!  Incredible.)

I've been searching around and I can't find a way to turn off that column easily, so we will have to live with it, I guess.

Mike


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## housecameron

Hi Mike,

many thanks for your attention, anyway


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## Jaén

mkellogg said:


> I've been searching around and I can't find a way to turn off that column easily, so we will have to live with it, I guess.
> 
> Mike



The matter's settled!


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## TrentinaNE

And remember that if you don't want your own whereabouts revealed to others, you can opt for "invisible mode."  Just remember that other forer@s also won't be able to tell whether you are logged on at all.  

Elisabetta


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## Piotr_WRF

Are we really sure that with invisible mode switched on you can't see what a particular user is doing?

When you're invisible your name isn't displayed on the front page but still anyone can type http://forum.wordreference.com/member.php?u=<your WRF user ID> in their browser and see your profile. At least I can see on my profile what I'm doing, I don't know what others are seeing in this case.


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## Jaén

Piotr_WRF said:


> Are we really sure that with invisible mode switched on you can't see what a particular user is doing?
> 
> When you're invisible your name isn't displayed on the front page but still anyone can type http://forum.wordreference.com/member.php?u=<your WRF user ID> in their browser and see your profile. At least I can see on my profile what I'm doing, I don't know what others are seeing in this case.


User ID?? What is it??  

I guess that is more difficult that simply given up if I see someone is shown as "offline".

My interest is not that morbid 

Saludos!


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## Piotr_WRF

You can see the URL in your browser when you click on a user's name anywhere in WRF, for example in a post the user has made.


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## anthodocheio

Piotr_WRF said:


> Are we really sure that with invisible mode switched on you can't see what a particular user is doing?
> 
> When you're invisible your name isn't displayed on the front page but still anyone can type http://forum.wordreference.com/member.php?u=<your WRF user ID> in their browser and see your profile. At least I can see on my profile what I'm doing, I don't know what others are seeing in this case.


 
For your information, in your profile I can see that you have the invisible mode as not only I can't see if you are on-line and, if you are, what exactly you are doing, but also it doesn't show when you last visited the forums.


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## Flaminius

Piotr_WRF said:


> Are we really sure that with invisible mode switched on you can't see what a particular user is doing?
> Yes, we are.
> 
> When you're invisible your name isn't displayed on the front page but still anyone can type http://forum.wordreference.com/member.php?u=<your WRF user ID> in their browser and see your profile. At least I can see on my profile what I'm doing (perhaps there is no point in barring you from viewing your own activities  ), I don't know what others are seeing in this case.  Others cannot see anything at all in the area of the profile that usually displays your activities.


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## TrentinaNE

Given Mike's response in Post #34 and the assurances that invisible means invisible, this thread appears to have run its course and it now devolving into unrelated chat.  Therefore, it is being closed.

Thanks to the participants for opinions and suggestions.  

Elisabetta


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