A Where we live map

It's a nice idea if it worked, but for some reason it wont for me, I tried entering my details several times, it seemed to accept them but when the map refreshed they were not listed.

Hi Richard, I can't respond off list but if you send me your phone number (Off List) I will ring you & try & find out what is wrong.

Sorry, Richard. I had forgotten that I had altered my list Id the same as you. E mail me at snipped-for-privacy@btinternet.com

-- Dave Croft Warrington England

In message , Richard H Huelin writes

Richard, I think you may have omitted to select an icon by clicking the radio buttons. Your details appear in the list.

Regards

I waited until I had to reconnect and had another go, it seems to have worked now, I suspect that there is some anti-abuse code on the server that stops someone using the same IP address having more than one go. I did e-mail you, but it is likely that if you did reply it bounced back at you. I only remembered a few minutes ago that I have all bt domains black-listed, blocked and set to bounce because all I usually get from them is viruses, mail bombs and spam. I have now white-listed your address and any mail you send should arrive unmolested from now on.

Is there any way we can edit our entries?

As readers will see I've had a bit of finger trouble on mine!

Jimmy

Dave Croft wrote:

Hi Jim, If its text I can edit for you or if you put the wrong site or map I will delete it & you can try again. Just let me know on or off list.

a good idea dave,

mice to know what part of the world people we talk ''engines'' with are in,

all the best ,

john

Gentlemen,

Another has been added "me" We all look close together when shown on this our little Island, heart warming isn't it :-))

Martin P

I have just added myself - it's surprising how there are enclaves forming in various areas. Thanks to Dave for organising this.

Regards

Dan

I've added me but the mouse coughed and I seem to be in Swansea. Can you move the pin to Exeter please Dave or shall I start packing :-) regards Roland

Excellent you can volunteer several days a week from there :-).

Paul

____________________________________

Internal Fire, Museum of Power, Wales

Hi Roland, I can alter the text but not the flag or the position. Consider yourself deleted. Just start again. 8^)

OK, the thickie needs advice. Tried this when it was first posted, & several times since but no success. I can see the other posts & the lists, but cannot input anything.

When I click on post there is no marker to be seen & moved. May be because my machine is stripped of virus-sensitive add-ons (inc Javascript), or more likely just stupidity. Any clues?

Thanks,

Colin

Discovered by trial and error that it will only work if you enter some text. regards Roland

Hi Colin, It might be theJavascript. If you click & release the post button you should get a message telling you to move the marker. The post button turns to a cancel button. Otherwise can you borrow some else's machine for a few minuites?

-- Dave Croft Warrington England

Having entered my details on the map I was left feeling that there might be a little more to the "Free guestmap" than what initially meets the eye. I have identified two issues which I feel users should be aware of.

1. Entering a working email address is almost certainly going to result in many dubious offers once the e-mail address harvesting bots have done their dirty deed. I suspect that if you fail to enter anything in that section your entry will not be accepted, this leaves several options the most oblivious of which would be to use a false address. For several reasons that would not be a responsible option, unnecessary bounces are not a good thing and there is also the risk of choosing a live domain which could result in an innocent person receiving the spam. The way I overcame the problem was by entering "see web site for email details" For those with their own site that would seem to be the best and safest solution. For those who do not have that option I would be happy to provide a web page which map users could use to display their working email address. To overcome the spam bots the address would be displayed as a graphic, which as far as I am aware is impossible to harvest.
2. The map site contains a Data Miner Tracking Cookie. While it is rated as low level risk I feel that it is something users of the map should be aware of. It's purpose would seem to be to gather data to be used by (spit) "marketers" to gather appropriate data to enable them to target their advertising so that becomes more effective. I guess that one should not expect a free lunch without having to give something in return, but it would be nice if people like "bravenet" made their activates clear so that the user would be informed of exactly what is expected in return for their service. I have no evidence to suggest that the cookie is used for anything more than I describe above, but it is certain that PC's used by people unaware of such activities progressively become much slower to use as they become more and more infested with what is basically "phonehome" spyware.

Of course once that you are aware of what exactly is going on it is up to you to make an appropriate and informed choice. The options are, 1. walk away, 2. accept the fact that you are giving information to "bravenet in return for using the service, or 3. you can use it on your terms. By that I mean use it, than clean out what it has left behind. There are now many programs which will remove "spyware" personally I use Ad-aware, a free version can be obtained from this link:

Below is what Ad-aware says about the cookie on finding it.

Vendor:Tracking Cookie Category:Data Miner Object Type:File Size:73 Bytes Location:c:\...\richard\cookies\richard@bravenet[1].txt Last Activity:23-10-2003 09:36:34 Risk LevelLow Comment: Description:Source of this cookie is known to collect information used for targeted advertising

Hi Richard, I have also used add aware for a long time. I don't think the map is any worse than many other sites people use. I do agree that it is a very good idea to download & use Ad Aware whether or not you use the map. I have picked up 7 tracking cookies in the last 2 days not from bravenet. If anyone wishes to be removed from the map just ask me.

-- Dave Croft Warrington England

The map will accept entries which do not have email/web details. It accepted mine which I omitted for the reasons Richard mentions.