Email Addresses gone for good?
 

Does anybody have any info regarding the deletion of email addresses from posts? Is this a new Fodor's policy or just some sort of bug? <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR>[email protected]

In the US forum is a note from the editors that they are now encrypting the addresses because people were complaining about being spammed. But I don't understand... I still see yours? Is it perhaps you can't read it because you are not in the US and the browser can't decrypt it?

Strange ... All I see are the blank parenthesis after the author's name in the Author line! Yours looks as Beth (). <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR>

We can still read them in Atlanta.

I can still read the addresses, but this is going to make it hard to keep the Pams, Cheryls, and Richards straight!

Well ... it may be my browser (I'm still using the Netscape 3:01 version). Will have to do some homework to figure things out. <BR>Paulo <BR> <BR>

I can still read everything but I can't remember who or where I am.

hmmm.... all of a sudden I'm seeing lots of java errors, and all your addresses have disappeared. They must be working out the kinks. <BR> <BR>--beth

I copied this explanation from the US forum: <BR> <BR>Author: Kanika P. Chopra ([email protected]) <BR>Date: 6/24/1999, 3:22 pm ET <BR> <BR>Message: Encoding converts all messages posted to the forum into javascript segments rather than the "plain text" Bob mentioned. So every character in the e-mail address is converted to it's ASCII number, and then the HTML entity value for that number. <BR> <BR>However the point of the encoding is not so the human eye can't see the email address, but so e-mail collectors/spammers cannot automatically retrieve the addresses from the code. Encoding makes it harder for such spammers to collect your personal data. They can still manually collect it but with much greater effort on their part. And this type of encoding still affords you, our forum users, the ability to contact each other when necessary. <BR> <BR>By the way, the reason both Paulo and Al can't see the e-mail addresses anymore is because they more likely have javascript turned off on their browsers. <BR> <BR>I hope this clarifies what we've done on our end, and results in a lot less e-mail spam from unwanted vendors! <BR>

Dudes & Dudesses, I'm reading this from a Lynx (text-only) browser, it's too low-tech for Java, but it works great. Everybody's e-mail address is there as before. (OK, so it's kind of a dog when I'm posting these messages, but it gets the job done!) So anyway, if anyone has lost track of who or where he or she is, give me a holler.

I guess then, the question is which do we hate more: spam or inability to see emails in a javascript disabled browser... What about encoding it _less_ strongly, so that all browsers could see it, at the risk of making the spammers write scripts to deal with the encoding. <BR> <BR>(Specifically, getting rid of the javascript, and simply entity encoding the emails a-la <BR>&amp;#101;&amp;#98;&amp;#114;&amp;#111;&amp;#1 19;&amp;#110;&amp;#64;&amp;#102;&amp;#108;&amp;#11 7;&amp;#120;&amp;#46;&amp;#99;&amp;#97;&amp;#112;& amp;#97;&amp;#99;&amp;#105;&amp;#116;&amp;#111;&am p;#114;&amp;#46;&amp;#110;&amp;#101;&amp;#116; <BR> <BR>which evaluates to: <BR>ebrown@flux.capacitor.net <BR> <BR>What do you guys think?

I think I'll stick to something I know something about, like writing Limericks.

<BR>I'm with Helen!! As you can tell (?) from my email address I am computer illiterate but I love my webtv. I can read all the above addresses like normal. All that other language and explanations are beyond me! Excuse me now, I have to go write Tony a welcome back limerick.

I drive a car and understand a 4 stroke engine, intake/compression/power/exhaust. I fly, I understand the theory of flight, thrust overcomes drag, lift overcomes weight. I use a PC but I don't have a clue as to what Kanike and Emmett are talking about. I enjoy my naivete, shoot, I didn't even know "shag" was a nasty word, I thought it was a dance.

Well, I'm in this field, should I admit that? I think the long strings that Dr. Brown is suggesting are a tad annoying. It doesn't matter THAT much if you can't see someone's address, I think you can still see the messages (at least Paul and Al clearly can). I imagine most of us are using javascript enabled browsers. I also think that Emmett has a great pen-name, but might be watching too many "Back to the Future" movies :-) <BR>

Pen name? What are you talking about? :) <BR> <BR>Anyhow, no, I'm not suggesting that fodor's use those strings and print them out literally for the users... As it is now, they are using document.write or some such to print out the email addresses. On non javascript browsers, the stuff between the script tags are ignored, which causes Paulo's problem of missing email addresses. (I mean you don't see the document.write's that I mention either, right?) If instead of using javascript, if they just used the html entities (that I put in my previous post) then Paulo would probably be able to see the emails again, _but_ at the expense of making it easier for email collectors to get at our email addresses... Of course, I'm never in a single time period, so I don't have to worry about such things, but for people without the Delorean, you know... <BR>

Whew, still don't have a clue, don't know 'bout Deloreans, my fun car is a 1966 big Healey.

Say What?

First - thanks [again] to Fodor's for taking care of this site. <BR> <BR>I wish to report a small mystery though. I used Netscape 3.0 with java enabled. I can see the addresses on the Europe fprum, but not on the US forum. The only assumption I can make is since the US forum was the target of the spammers, hat you enacted a slightly more stringent protocol over there. I am NOT complaining. I WANT to see people's emails, fictional or not. So please DON'T change it! Was just curious. <BR>

S. Fowler, <BR> I don't _believe_ they're doing anything different on the U.S. forums vs. anywhere else... Perhaps it's related to what Paulo was talking about in the U.S. Forum? I'll requote it here... <BR> <BR>"You're right Kanika. Although I have both, Java and JavaScript enabled, apparently there is a bug in my browser. (I'm still using the old Netscape 3:01 Gold). To see the encoded bit, I have to open any of the Preferences in Options and close it with an ok ... and that for every single new page I visit :-( Guess I'm going to get myself a newer version. <BR> Paulo <BR>" <BR> <BR>Emmett.