sort of mind-game, I guess

Imagine this if you will. One day you pop up on the forums, and you notice something slightly different. For some unknown reason, you have the ability to view the Staff Forum, but you're not able to post anything inside the forum. You seem to be the only non-staff member with this on the forums. However, the entire staff are actually aware that you have access, so much that in fact you get a PM from one informing you about this and lets you know that if one of them catches you viewing the Staff Forum, they will immediately ban you. Maybe this is some sort of game they are playing on you...

Remember, you can view the staff forum but can't post, and you'll be banned if you get caught viewing the forum by an online staff member, so there is a risk involved. What would you do?

(If you do happen to be a staff member, pretend that you aren't to play along!)

I would totally do it. What I would do is load a page in one tab, then immediately load another, log out, and then log in again and go onto front page. I think it would come up as you viewing the front page, as opposed to the staff forum. Heehehe.

Do you hear that guys? I'm watching you.

I'd view it and tell them to smurf themselves with a splintery plank wrapped in rusty barbed wire if they can't get their own god damn site working properly that's their problem not mine.

Nothing to see there aside from the volumes of warnings I've accumulated over the past 4.5 years :monster:

Hmmmm a moral conundrum...
Do it I say! I would tell them to protect the innerworkings better if they don't want me reading their blather about which non-staff member they would smurf.

I'd be like "okay whatever" and go about life as usual.

Then Raistlin would log into my account and view the staff forum and I'd get banned. o_o

Yes, I can see this happening.

Post porn obvs :p

^ ah, this gent has the right idea. :beer:

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Originally Posted by Jojee

I'd be like "okay whatever" and go about life as usual.

Then Raistlin would log into my account and view the staff forum and I'd get banned. o_o

Yes, I can see this happening.

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Ahaha, that would be how it happened, too.

The staff wouldn't ban someone for viewing a forum they were given access to. But if you wanted to boil the dilemma down to a pure dichotomy between a choice of "viewing the staff forum and getting banned vs. not being banned," then I'd pick not being banned.

I'd view the forum and sell its secrets to the Chinese.

I would use my superior SQL/vb knowledge to make a second version of the forum that doesn't require any authentication and just read it without having it connected to my account :cool:

Somebody explicitly offered to ban me for doing something I can easily do?

You'd see Pureghetto 'viewing' a thread in that forum while I afk awaiting justice.

staff can see you even if you decide to go invisible?

Krissy has a red chocobo.

I'd make a spam thread in Private Feedback and harp on it until somebody fixed it. :choc2:

I wouldnt view the forum but I would make a thread about how I could see the staff forum in general chat where I would state what I "saw" there including many of the things they say about us in there. If they respond in a manner which implies my guesses were correct (eg delete my thread) then I will have gathered information without breaking the rule.

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Originally Posted by Not At All Reno

staff can see you even if you decide to go invisible?

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Yep.

If I could see the Staff Forum, I'll make sure I stay away from it when I see a staffer online, The best time to take a peek is during the really late hours when a dozen members are online and most staff are asleep. >:3

I'd view the Staff Forum, thereby triggering the various bombs I have planted in the Staffs computers.

I'm in the Netherlands, I can just look when all the staff members are asleep.

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Originally Posted by rubah

Krissy has a red chocobo.

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Wat. Half the point was so you clowns couldn't see me.
:mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2:
:mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2:
:mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2:
:mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2:

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Originally Posted by Aerith's Knight

I can just look when all the staff members are asleep.

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Basically this.

We can view the staff forum?? I didn't know this..I just stayed away because I know I'm no VIP STAFF MEMBER! :p....


So hell yea I'll be a sneak and take a peak and post......But you guys will take me back right....

Post in the "Momiji is a huge failure at life" thread. We all chip in with insults about lil' ol' Justin, so if you somehow find access to the forum, folks, you're more than welcome to join the party.

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Originally Posted by Not At All Reno

staff can see you even if you decide to go invisible?

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Yes, since forever. I remember an entertaining feedback thread about this, too.

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Originally Posted by Raistlin

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Originally Posted by Not At All Reno

staff can see you even if you decide to go invisible?

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Yes, since forever. I remember an entertaining feedback thread about this, too.

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http://screenrant.com/wp-content/upl...isible-man.jpg

"How did they spot me?"

Staff, please don't get offended . . . but . . .

Why? I can't imagine that there's anything all that interesting there. At least nothing I would be all that interested in reading.

I've been staff on a fairly heavily visited forum. The things we'd post in the staff only wasn't all that interesting.

You can't see us when we're invisible though :p
You really think no one is always online when we have so many time zones covered? You think we have real lives? :p

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I've been staff on a fairly heavily visited forum. The things we'd post in the staff only wasn't all that interesting.

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Our staff forum isn't the standard corporation jiber-jabber. All the best threads are in staff.

It's where there hiding the crystal meth, obviously.

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Originally Posted by theundeadhero

All the best threads are in staff.

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I'll believe it when I (never) see it. :P

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Originally Posted by Rye

I would totally do it. What I would do is load a page in one tab, then immediately load another, log out, and then log in again and go onto front page. I think it would come up as you viewing the front page, as opposed to the staff forum. Heehehe.

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You don't even need to do the log out/in step. That's what I would do too, just load something in the Staff Forum, then immediately load something else in another tab.

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Originally Posted by Not At All Reno

staff can see you even if you decide to go invisible?

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You'd be amazed and horrified by all we can see. Muahaha

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Originally Posted by Bastian

Staff, please don't get offended . . . but . . .

Why? I can't imagine that there's anything all that interesting there. At least nothing I would be all that interested in reading.

I've been staff on a fairly heavily visited forum. The things we'd post in the staff only wasn't all that interesting.

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We can be some crazy bitches. During the period where I stepped down from staff, I went half-mad knowing the invisible little Staff Forum was right there with all the good dirt in it, just out of reach.

ETA: I mean, you're right, it's boring. You guys wouldn't be interested in looking in there. It's just BoB posting tables and charts and Leeza posting "o hay bob that is relevant to my interests" and then Psychotic goes "but not mine, stupid bob."

I'd view all the "Let's Post Pics of Ourselves Naked" threads in staff forum and then get banned like that one guy.

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Originally Posted by Psychotic

Post in the "Momiji is a huge failure at life" thread. We all chip in with insults about lil' ol' Justin, so if you somehow find access to the forum, folks, you're more than welcome to join the party.

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I'd even post in it if I could. :shobon:

Well... not counting the time they were doing maintenance and I somehow became BoB's account whenever I tried to post...

I probably wouldn't bother. Considering how little I post in General Chat, or the feedback forums in general I can't see why I would be interested. I might eventually crack and check the super secret porn forum and then have my mind totally shattered by what I see.

To be honest, we probably wouldn't ban you cause just looking at what goes on in there would give you a case of soap opera amnesia.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...lculonNooo.jpg

It would be hard to resist, but I wouldn't look. If the staff know I have access then it is obviously a cheap trick to get rid of me without inciting the rage of all my loyal followers (I'm still working on that one).

For fun, why don't you randomly select one person and give them viewing rights and see what they do? You can even ban them!

Who says we haven't? ;)

I haven't noticed anyone recently banned, so either they're able to outwit Staff, or you're trying to fool me. Can't pull a swifty on me Kanno :p

12:08 GMT+1

For more than 10 minutes, not one staffer online. Infiltration and complete lookthrough using BoB's view of staff forum succeeded.


That's how simple it would be.

Hur hur, again you can't see us when we're invisible.

I was kind of bored with the staff forum after I saw it. =O

I guess I should have done some searching!

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Originally Posted by theundeadhero

Hur hur, again you can't see us when we're invisible.

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Sneaky. :p

I'd do the two tabs thing on opera and set one tab to constantly refresh the index at a speed of 1 refresh a second, that would indefinitely show me as viewing the index whilst I could at my leisure browse the entire forum and even send Psy a message telling him what a naughty boy he is in the staff forums.

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Originally Posted by Aerith's Knight

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Originally Posted by theundeadhero

Hur hur, again you can't see us when we're invisible.

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Sneaky. :p

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I noticed the lack of staff too. Never suspected they were hiding.

Don't "invisible" names stand out, actually? Aren't there asterisks or something next to them? =O

I'm invisible RIGHT NOW. :aimsun:

But if you looked at the forums index, you wouldn't think any of us were online!

What if someone needs to contact a staff member? I always message the ones who are online. HOW AM I MEANT TO DO THAT IF YOU ARE ALL HIDING?

Post in the Private Feedback Forum :monster:

I like to know who I'm talking to, that private feedback forum is empty. It's like talking to the shadows and having them answer back - smurfing creepy :Eek:

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Originally Posted by ShlupQuack

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Originally Posted by Rye

I would totally do it. What I would do is load a page in one tab, then immediately load another, log out, and then log in again and go onto front page. I think it would come up as you viewing the front page, as opposed to the staff forum. Heehehe.

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You don't even need to do the log out/in step. That's what I would do too, just load something in the Staff Forum, then immediately load something else in another tab.

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I seem to remember a counter somewhere that shows how many people are viewing a certain forum at a certain time... but that still wouldn't be able to "catch" someone if they opened another tab for EoFF.

Bah, this whole thread is messed up. It boils down to root cause; if someone has permissions set so they can view the staff forum, then they can't be blamed for peeking. I'm not saying they should peek but if the issue is known, then it needs to be fixed!

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Originally Posted by Marshall Banana

Don't "invisible" names stand out, actually? Aren't there asterisks or something next to them? =O

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I'm pretty sure you're right.

@Jiro: smurfing awesome, more like it. Like your own personal Occuria. :choc2:

oddler, I'm trying to guilt trip them man. Work with me, not against me!

:shifty:

EDIT: If you count the number of logged in users and compare that to the number of members signed in as per the number there, you will find it differs. :o

The forum itself isn't really some top secret FBI archive and, personally speaking, I don't really care if people see what I say in there. It's really just like some top secret clubhouse where we chill and shoot the :bou::bou::bou::bou: and occasionally ban people.

If someone were to peek, then hold their hands up and say they had a glitch where they could view it, fair enough. If someone acted like a douche about it and tried to hide the fact that they could view it, made copies of it, told people the things they saw (members of this forum blab, don't think they won't :p) or, as Faris_the_guy tried to do, attempt to blackmail the staff about it, well, you're going to be banned. You can appeal that in two years if you want, but you won't be getting back in.

I agree, some staffers are meaniebutts and shouldn't use invisible mode, but whatchugonnadoaboutit

[q]as Faris_the_guy tried to do, attempt to blackmail the staff about it, well, you're going to be banned.[/q]

wot

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Originally Posted by Jiro

EDIT: If you count the number of logged in users and compare that to the number of members signed in as per the number there, you will find it differs. :o

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Jiro, by golly, I think the staff should fix this! Someone needs to code it so that only "visible" members are counted in this variable! *gavel*

I learnt this trick when I was stalking Hux and wondering why I could never see him online ;D

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Originally Posted by MB

Don't "invisible" names stand out, actually? Aren't there asterisks or something next to them? =O

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Yeah, people with the relevant permissions see invisible members with an asterisk.

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Originally Posted by Psycho

...as Faris_the_guy tried to do, attempt to blackmail the staff about it...

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Haha, classic.