Other Are PMs truly private?

[The Fabulous Emerald]

I've always known that when you view the Postings on your own profile page, you can see the messages you've sent in PM - at first, I just assumed it's because you sent them.

However, due to some suspicious goings on from another user, I am now a bit worried - can other users see what messages I post into PMs?

 

[StoneWolf18]

The only people who can see into PMs are staff, yourself, and anyone else added to it. You can see them on your recent posting because you are able to view the PM, same with those added to it.

 

[The Fabulous Emerald]

oh, ok. I was worried because I posted a question in PM to one person, then 20 mins later someone else PMed me in response. bit weird, so I didn't know what to do but ask

 

[Cold Ramen Noodles]

I'm no longer part of this community, but I do role play in PM still. Is there a privacy breach or anything?

 

[Fable]

I'm no longer part of this community, but I do role play in PM still. Is there a privacy breach or anything?

No, there is not.

 

[The Fabulous Emerald]

you can see why I am asking, though, since it is a fairly substantial coincidence otherwise that someone replies to a question they couldn't possibly see?

 

[StoneWolf18]

you can see why I am asking, though, since it is a fairly substantial coincidence otherwise that someone replies to a question they couldn't possibly see?

It is possible that the person who replied has an alternate account or shared the question with someone.

 

[The Fabulous Emerald]

possibly. again, it could just be coincidence but it doesn't hurt to be sure.

 

[Cold Ramen Noodles]

Can't the person just be asked of they were able to see the PM? Using an alternative account or whatever? I'm sure it would put a lot of minds at ease.

 

[The Fabulous Emerald]

if you had some sort of sneaky way to see other people's PMs, would you admit it?

 

[Cold Ramen Noodles]

Probably not. But I'm sure the staff has some way of checking out at least a few things.

 

[Meredith]

People can't see other people's PMs.
Only you, the staff, and the recipient can see your PMs.

It is entirely possible that the person had screenshotted or otherwise told someone about your conversation, though, and that's on them. ^-^

 

[Zeras]

I've always known that when you view the Postings on your own profile page, you can see the messages you've sent in PM - at first, I just assumed it's because you sent them.

However, due to some suspicious goings on from another user, I am now a bit worried - can other users see what messages I post into PMs?

Server owners can read through your messages, and depending on how much access is given to the moderators, so can they. I'm sure they don't go around willy nilly reading conversations, but if they suspect misconduct they have every right to do so

 

[Cold Ramen Noodles]

I'm sure that if it had been a staff member/moderator that had messaged them answering a question that was privately sent to someone else, they would not have been as concerned.

 

[ApfelSeine]

Yeah, there's no staff member connected to this, so the most likely explanation is that the question was shared (either via screenshot or quote) with the person who answered the question. If it concerns you, I'd suggest asking the person whom you originally PMed if they shared the question with anyone else. If that person was the only one in the PM, they would be most likely to know the reason the other person was able to answer the question. (If the question was broad enough, it could also be that they anticipated that you might be wondering about that, though there's really no way of knowing for certain without asking either the person who you originally asked or the person who answered you.)

 

[Cold Ramen Noodles]

As was brought up earlier by the original poster, though, I doubt anyone would admit to having somehow found a way to view other people's messages.

 

[ApfelSeine]

There is no way of doing that, so I wouldn't worry about it. It seems like there are already several probable explanations (namely, that the question itself was shared, or that the accounts are alts and the person forgot which one they were on). Naturally if it were possible no one would admit to being able to do something like that, so I can understand if the idea seems concerning. Fortunately, that has never really been a concern of ours due to how permissions are set up on the site.

PMs really are private, and can only be seen by the people invited or by staff. I'd say that the situation is the result of a more mundane explanation.

 

[Kaerri]

The only people who can see into PMs are staff, yourself, and anyone else added to it. You can see them on your recent posting because you are able to view the PM, same with those added to it.

This.