Cookies / Viewing "New Posts", etc.

What antivirus software you are using, how often (and where) is it popping up on the site, and what is the exact message it is telling you?

When you register (and also when you login using the form at the top of the screen), you will be given the option to 'Remember Me'. This will store your identity in a cookie on your computer.

Cookies are used to enable functions such as showing whether or not a thread or forum you are viewing has new posts since your last visit, or to automatically log you back in when you return to the site after being away for a while.

If you are using a shared computer, such as in a library, school or internet cafe, or if you have reason to not trust any other users that might use that computer, it is recommend you do not enable this.

How do I clear cookies?

You can clear all your cookies set by the forum by clicking the 'logout' link at the top of the page. In some cases, if you return to the main index page via the link provided and you are still logged in, you may have to remove your cookies manually.

In Internet Explorer 6 on Windows XP: Click the 'Tools' menu. Select 'Internet Options' from the menu that appears. Click 'Delete Cookies' on the dialog box that appears. It will be in the center area of the 'General' tab.

In Internet Explorer 7: Click the 'Tools' menu. Select 'Internet Options' from the menu that appears. Click 'Delete...', beneath 'Browsing History' on the dialog box that appears. It will be in the center area of the 'General' tab. Click 'Delete cookies...' on the next dialog box that appears.

In Firefox: Click the 'Tools' menu. Select 'Options' from the menu that appears. From the dialog box, select 'Privacy' on the left. Find 'Cookies' on the main pane, and click the 'Clear' button adjacent to it.

In Safari: Go to Preferences, Security, then show Cookies and either select 'Remove all' or select individual cookies and then the 'Delete' button.

In Opera: Go to Tools, Preferences, Advanced, Cookies, Manage cookies then select the name of this site and click the 'Delete' button.

Your cookies should now be removed. You may want to restart the computer and revisit the forums to be sure.

Other browsers may have a different method of clearing cookies. Refer to the documentation for your own browser if you are unsure.

 

You can block cookies from this site through your browser settings. After that you'd have to manually log in every time you access the site and you may not be able to see whether a thread or forum you are viewing has new posts since your last visit.

For Explorer:

Tools > Internet Options > Privacy tab > "Sites" button

For Firefox:

Tools > Options > Privacy tab > Exceptions

 

I made a change to have the server do the work of seeing whether a thread or forum that members are viewing has new posts since their last visit - rather than through cookies. I'll watch the server load over the next few days to see the impact.

Having the server do this makes it more accurate for members but slows things down a bit more for all - though it should be negligible. It's usually preferable to have member's computers do more of the work to speed up things.

Most of those things I mentioned, like where people come to this site from, or leave this site and go to, are done at the server level and are stored in various logs, so it really doesn't matter.

In general, cookies are safe on your computer because they're just text (.txt) files and are not executable.

The problem people have with cookies are marketing related. When you go to sites that have lots of ads running on a page, many of those ads install cookies on your computer that tells that company what website you saw their ad on. Or worse, they contract with companies like RightMedia who track for several companies and then sell the info to others for marketing purposes.

Cookies also determine who get's paid for sending referral traffic to e-commerce sites.

For example: If there was an Amazon.com ad on this site and an Amazon.com ad on another site you visited, then an Amazon cookie installed on your computer could keep track of the sites you've viewed their ads on. If you click on one of those ads then they can use the info in that cookie to determine what products you may be interested in buying. For example, books or movies on interracial dating.

The other concern with cookies would be if your computer gets hacked or a virus/trojan is installed on your computer that searches through your cookies looking for username/password info. -- usually for banking or financial sites. Or if someone physically accesses your PC while you're away (like a jealous b/f or g/f) and tries to see if they can auto-login into a dating or similar site to see what you're doing.

Hope that covers it.

 

I split this off into it's own thread and titled it "Cookies / Viewing New Posts, etc."

Due to concerns anyone may have about cookies from this site, perhaps thinking they're being spied on, I decided to have the server keep track of posts you've previously read or subscribed to, rather than through a cookie stored on your computer.

As you can see, the server does a WAY more accurate job of that and does not lose info like cookies would. It not only shows you threads you have not read, but also threads that have not been updated since your last visit but still contain unread posts. As well as all the threads you're currently subscribed to in your User CP.

 

On the menu bar under - "Quick Links" - if you select - "Mark All Forums Read" - it will clear all those threads that contain posts you have not read.