Please add your location to your forum profile

[ubu]

Why are so many forum users reluctant to fill in the Location field in their user profile for the GB-PVR forums? As someone who regularly has to deal with support questions for my plugins, I find it really helpful to know where people live.

Knowing their time zone lets me know if I have 12 hours to research the problem (because they are probably asleep) or if they are likely sitting by their computer expectantly looking for a response from me. Knowing which country they live in lets me know what content they might have available to them and what restrictions may apply to that content. And knowing if English is their native language tells me how to phrase my response. I tend to keep my wording simple and avoid vernacular "slang" if I'm responding to someone for whom English is a second language (or lives in New Jersey ).

I can see why people might be shy about revealing their age or occupation but why hide your location?

[David]

Knowing their time zone lets me know if I have 12 hours to research the problem (because they are probably asleep) or if they are likely sitting by their computer expectantly looking for a response from me.

Don't be silly, response time should be 12 minutes or less regardless of the time zone. People desparate for answers sit on the web site clicking "New Posts" every 30 seconds.

[Wakalaka]

Because people have a right to privacy. I'm sure most of us appreciates the hard work, but 12 hours isn't going to make a difference, considering this isn't life and death.

[Smoker]

His concept of 12 hours is like the 70's and your 12 minutes is like the 90's.... get with it..... it's the 21st century... we expect a phone call with the correct answer before we see our question posted :p

[Wakalaka]

Your ISP gives you away anyway so Sub knows who's coming from where in the World.. Just can play hide-n-seek

That data can be faked if someone really wants to. If not, then only sub knows who comes from what ISP. He'd have to post the data for others to know who comes from where. Or someone could hack the server and get the data. The likelihood of either isn't that great.

[flyswatta]

...and list your AIM, ICQ, MySpace Page address, your cell phone, and at least one checking account number

[sub]

Its a pain in the arse for me to check location from ISP data - I wouldnt bother. I do often look at the posts location tag, so it is good when its present, because often the answer differently based on UK/Europe vs US due to differences in the digital systems etc.

[scb147]

I wouldn't think a country listed in your location is going to give away a lot of personal data. But that's just me...

[Wakalaka]

Yes you could mask the IP very easy to do, and bounce the address all over the internet just to stay hidden..

Enable IP Scramble ....

Or another way that won't pinpoint you, but at least get the right city, is to use your laptop and find a unsecure wireless connection.

[martint123]

It used to be a real pain in the **** at times for me when the firewall and only 'legal' route to the internet at one of my employers was in California. Far too many web companies based their shop windows and prices and postage on where they thought you were. At least they had a few fibre links to the internet for there mega thousands of employees.