Account details...
xiao_liang
May 21, 2010, 10:18 PM posted in General DiscussionI just noticed something new on the dashboard. Right hand side, it says
Some of your account details are below:
- Joined: Oct 22, 2007
- Last login: May 01, 2010
- Location: RUGBY, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
xiao_liang
my location is now mysteriously correct. How's yours? :)
zhenlijiang
Mine has been mysteriously changed (nearer now) but it's still off. And actually I find it a bit annoying.
Off or not, as Bodawei says I don't need this info on my dashboard, and would rather that CPod didn't put users' personal info out in places where it could accidentally be made public, should some glitch or slipup occur during website adjustments.
xiao_liang
And now location has disappeared completely!
zhenlijiang
Really? Not from my page!
bodawei
No, my details are the same - wildly inaccurate. Of all the information that could go up, ostensibly 'for your eyes only', your current location may be the least useful, hey? Then again, I am getting old and forgetful. :)
xiao_liang
I've just worked it out. It's a different location for me now (Nottingham). It's doing that thing where it reads the exchange your Internet connection is currently routed through. Kinda pointless :-)
bodawei
Oh, so I am routed through Beijing. But how did you work that out? How do they choose that point in the network; I am routed through lots of other cities too, not just Beijing, right?
xiao_liang
I have no idea. I recognised the switching locations because sometimes ad engines do the same thing on the net - "Find a plumber near you in PLACENAME" etc etc.
bodawei
So if I understand you correctly the PLACENAME in your example would be the place where you live, right? Otherwise you could not afford the call out for the plumber. So it is locating your computer right? It is using the physical location of your IP address. The ChinesePod thing is not doing that - it has me more than 2,000 kilometres from home.
xiao_liang
That's what I mean, except it always gets it wrong. So often I'll see "Find a plumber near you in Rugby!" and I'll think "but I'm not in rugby?"
That's how I recognised it, the same incompetent mis-naming of where I am!
bodawei
May 22, 2010, 01:42 AMDid you join 22 Oct 2007? My details are wrong too - I don't live in Beijing and my date joined is wrong.
The real question is: what purpose does this serve? Who sees it？ I assume that we can only see our own dashboards - & I don't need this information on my dashboard.