Hi I have a couple of questions

[Max Maxwell]

Hi

First, sorry if this in the wrong section but it appears this is the only place where I have posting permission.

I'm a super moderator on a forum that uses version 4.1.8. There appears to have been a change to the forum rules regarding private messages. It reads like this:

We reserve the right to keep all your submitted content including, forum posts and threads, private messages and blog posts active, including your user account, even if you decide to leave our forum or have your account banned, suspended or deleted.

This has caused a big stir among the membership as a lot of people now believe the admins can access members private messages which has raised all sorts of privacy concerns. I recently downloaded the trial version of the admin panel to see if this was possible & found no such feature. Can someone tell me if this can be done? Perhaps through the server? I understand law enforcement can access emails etc in cases of national security so I guess it makes sense it's possible for forum private messages too?

The other question is in relation to the use of photos posted by members being used by the site owners on other sites they own. The forum I moderate is just 1 of maybe 20 sites that are run by the same owners. Recently, photos have been popping up on the main parent site which has upset a lot of the members who believed their photos could not be used elsewhere without their permission.This has included signature pics & avatars. This has raised privacy & copyright concerns. The rule reads like this:

By displaying or posting content on ________ you hereby grant us a nonexclusive global license to publish the content submitted by you to _______. You also grant us global nonexclusive adaptation and resale rights over any content and material submitted to _________. These nonexclusive publishing license and resale/adaptation rights extend to any materials submitted "for publication" within _______, including both message board postings and content submitted for uploading and subsequent publishing within non-message board portions of ________. Neither we nor our staff will be responsible for any misleading, false or otherwise injurious information and advice communicated on ________ or for any results obtained from the use of such information or advice. We will not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by a user through the user's reliance on information and advice gained on_________.

I have deleted the domain name out of respect for the members privacy which has already taken a beating over this. A poll that is currently running on the site shows over 95% disapproval regarding the use of photos.

Can anyone tell me if this breaches any copyright or privacy laws? I just want to get some independent advice on this before I take these concerns to the site admins.

TIA.

[Trevor Hannant]

There is no function for this in the default vBulletin software however there is an add-on that allows this plus anyone who has access to the database can read the PMs also. As far as I'm aware, they're not covered by privacy laws.

If you want full advice on this, you'll need to speak to a lawyer