So what do you do?

[MUFFYCAT]

Seriously guys, the Dis wasn't hacked. This is all office politics and cover-ups

Which gets worse everyday.

 

[dumboiu]

I was going to post this on the roll call thread but it was locked while I was in the process of writing it. I wanted to post it here because the idea that a lot of posters seem to believe that one, or a group, of the banned people were involved in hacking the DIS bugs me. I was just trying to share my experience.




What makes people think that there was any hacking? I seriously do not think there was any hacking happening. I think there was a programming error made by one of the DIS tech people or WMs. They caught it and fixed it, but then they started erasing any mention of it on the boards which didn't help the situation. It's not like people are going to forget it happened!

This is what I experienced that night:

I was reading on both this site and the Voldemort site (site-which-can-not-be-named). While on the other site any link to the DIS stopped actually taking you to the DIS post, it took you back to the referring site and a particular post there. People there were actually laughing at it, in part because of the thread they chose to direct you to. THe site owner there changed the text of the first post of that thread and the DIS WMs or whoever changed the redirect to a different part of the boards there (the redirect happened when you clicked on a link there and it brought you back, nothing happening on the DIS yet). Shortly after that change the mass redirect happened. I clicked on a link on the DIS and instead of a DIS thread, I got a Voldemort site thread. At first I thought it was my computer because I had both sites open in different windows. I closed them both and reopened the DIS and the same thing happened. I cleared my cookies and my cache and it happened again. I started thinking this was the new way of being told you were banned from the DIS! A minute later the DIS was working fine again, no mention of what happened. All in all, maybe 3 or 4 minutes of being unable to access this site.

Because the redirecting started only on the Voldemort site and then spread to this site, I think it was a programming error. They were tinkering and they tinkered with the wrong setting accidentally. When they realized the goof up, they corrected it. Of course after that it was being discussed and laughed about on the Voldemort site and people started being banned. The big problem then became that rather than posting something that said sorry for the error, won't happen again, TPTB here decided to poof any mention of the redirect. people were worried they had picked up a virus, people were worried about their passwords and account security. No comments came though and people got the message, this is now a Voldemort topic.

I don't think it was hacking for several reasons:

1. there was obviously tinkering being done on DIS settings to redirect any link with that as the referring site and this was happening immediately before the redirect from here
2. if someone was going to hack to direct people to the Voldemort site, don't you think they'd redirect you to the board with all the action rather than the main page that listed boards that hadn't been used there for years (but are now in use as the banned posters are chatting and trip planning there)?
3. there is still redirecting happening on links posted on that site to the DIS only now you are taken to the Teletubbies site, a site which is run by PBS. PBS depends on public funding and through donations from viewers. Their web site, like any site, has a bandwidth limit and I would hate to think that these redirects are adding to their bandwith and increasing costs for PBS. If it was a hacker from there, they'd have left those links alone.
4. If it was a hacker, the problem wouldn't have been fixed so quickly.
5. the chances of someone hacking and doing the exact same thing that they were doing on the other site at the exact same time they were doing it, so essentially WMs from here AND the hacker both logged in to the admin panel for the boards at the same time and making changes are beyond slim.
6. why would TPTB here not say "we were hacked but are safe now, no need to fear for viruses or security." Saying that wouldn't cause a legal problem. Saying we were hacked and we think it was by these people and we're going after them guns blazing would, but not just saying it happened and we've restored order and see no indication or problems wouldn't. Nor would saying we were hacked and we suggest changing your passwords ASAP.
7. if there really was going to be a legal battle over hacking and redirecting, wouldn't they want to leave those threads in place as evidence of the DISers affected by it? At the very least just lock the threads but not poof them.

That's just my take. I could be wrong, but given the circumstances with changes happening to links from there first, I feel pretty darn confident in saying there was no hacking. I just hate to see implications that one or more of the banned posters were involved in some sinister plot to hack the DIS. I think that is so far off base it is laughable but it seems that there are posters who do believe that.

you sound like the voice of reason. makes sense to me. thanks for taking the time to post this.

 

[HelenePA]

Does everyone use the same username on both boards? Did people admit who they were? How else would they know who to ban? Or did they just ban the people who used the same username on both, or who admitted their DIS username?

does everyone use the same name? Nope
Did people admit to who they were? some not all
they banned alot more than that.I'm guessing IP addresses and PM's came into play with some of the bannings

 

[mudnuri]

Actually, the problem is not what happened, it's how it was corrected and then the results of that.

People who were not even at home - they were at WDW no less - were banned with no answers to the emails they sent. nothing other than a log in to find out they had been banned, for "no reason"..

it doesnt matter who hacked, who mislinked, who tinkered and got tanked. What matters is that there are upwards of 90 people who were banned from this site- for the simple fact that they post on another message board, that does not have the same TOS as this one.

Once this started happening, the flood gates opened, and the WMS from here, went there- and saw the same usernames, then the same IP's, well then it was pretty simple to say if ABC is here, and ABC is there, lets ban said ABC...cause that site is making fun of our site, and slamming us as webmasters for our poor judgement.

to then come on and say "our lawyers are looking into it", makes me laugh. not a single person who was banned did anything illegal, however, threatening legal action - telling us that they are confiring with lawyers - leaving it open to us- so that at this point, we would think the banned users were 'bad bad awful people who ruined the dis illegally', that to me is sorta slanderish?

More than likely I will get banned for this- however, according to the TOS I agreed to, I should only receive a warning and points, since I have none as of yet. We will see exactly what the outcome is.

FYI- if you google, you can find the other board and the friends that you lost I'm sure will be happy to see you!

Brandy

 

[rkwells]

Are you sure? Because I heard Southern4Sure was ready to make a full confession!

 

[MUFFYCAT]

you sound like the voice of reason. makes sense to me. thanks for taking the time to post this.

Unfortunetly many people with voice of reason got banned.

 

[JennyMominRI]

does everyone use the same name? Nope
Did people admit to who they were? some not all
they banned alot more than that.I'm guessing IP addresses and PM's came into play with some of the bannings

I used the same name in both places..

 

[Kath2003]

does everyone use the same name? Nope
Did people admit to who they were? some not all
they banned alot more than that.I'm guessing IP addresses and PM's came into play with some of the bannings

How can the mods of this board possibly know the IP addresses of the posters on the other board, without hacking it?

Jenny - not that it isn't lovely to see you and all but how are you still here if that's the case?

 

[rkwells]

The second "batch" of banees went down for doing what everyone else on this thread is doing...this is the first day we have been able to post openly about this subject without getting points or worse.

 

[HelenePA]

I used the same name in both places..

Me too, but I only joined after this whole fiasco started.

 

[HelenePA]

How can the mods of this board possibly know the IP addresses of the posters on the other board, without hacking it?

Jenny - not that it isn't lovely to see you and all but how are you still here if that's the case?

Sorry I am not that technically inclined

 

[darlak]

Are you sure? Because I heard Southern4Sure was ready to make a full confession!

Southern is a perfect example of who I meant when I said that other, much nicer people than me have been banned. Along with dozens of others.

 

[Kath2003]

Sorry I am not that technically inclined

No but I run a message board and there's no WAY anyone should be able to see the IP addresses of my posters, so why would this board be any different?

 

[JennyMominRI]

How can the mods of this board possibly know the IP addresses of the posters on the other board, without hacking it?

Jenny - not that it isn't lovely to see you and all but how are you still here if that's the case?

And that's a VERY good question... I said it elsewhere. The banning is not done in a fair way..I have done no more and no less that other and they are banned. I actually violated TOS a couple days ago..No points, not banned...Others have done less(southern4sure) and are gone..