What I don't understand is the option that asks if you want to 'hide e-mail from public'.....since when is our e-mail open to the public?
Oh, aren't you aware that every day either Midnite, dom, or I upload all the IMs to a special Usenet newsgroup just so everyone in the world can read them?
Just kidding, of course. That setting in your profile is to keep your e-mail
address hidden from public view.
And while I'm at it (issues of privacy being of particular interest to me)....why would members need to know what time other members logged on, or exactly what they are reading at any given moment? Unlike knowing who's online at any time, which is always interesting, this seems like useless information and I'm wondering why it's being shared.
Simply because we can.
However, anyone who would prefer that their movement about the forum be kept from the other members need only set the hidden feature in their profiles. Though, if one is merely going about the usual business of reading posts/IMs and responding to them, I can't see why they might be reluctant for others to know that. In fact, if someone happens to notice that a friend might be reading a topic that they particularly enjoyed/disliked/whatever, it could actually stimulate a discussion that might otherwise not take place...
And FYI, there's a setting in this mod that shows exactly which posts someone is reading in a topic. I didn't set it - but it was only because I didn't like the idea of bright red displays all over the place.