Forums are great, but often I wish there was a wiki or Google doc I could access, rather than have to travel the mazes of threads. And I was recently part of a significant volunteering effort that could benefit from better logistics and planning, rather than technical information stored in the community members themselves. So this thread is to discuss like Google Drive, Microsoft oneDrive, Drop Box, GitHub, Wikis, etc.
Or are forums, tumblr and Facebook, actually grate tools for storing robust project planning documents?
I'm currently shifting towards One Drive, but one unique thing which this forum is concerned with is maintain user privacy. So Facebook may be great for planning things wit my RL circle, but not so great for forums, where we a' pretend to be ninjas.
Yeah, storing project stuff on forums seems pretty unprofessional, in my opinion... (Unless it is news, and the focus is recent events, maybe?)
I have a theory that in the future (if not already), Google will probably end up having the best product. (Well, maybe after a number of advancements.) ... I'm actually glad that you posted this topic, because this is something I would like to know.
Wikis are cool, but they seem more anonymous... (Since you have to see the history to know who made what edits.)
I will have to take a look at that One Drive thing...(assuming I haven't already.) and maybe some others?
Quotebut one unique thing which this forum is concerned with is maintain user privacy.
I'm not sure if I call that unique... or how you came to that conclusion.
The whole forum is practically public except for: Clans, staff's secret section, and PMs. ; (I've never seen the staff's secret section before, I think I've only heard references of it. I think it's for the admins and GM.)
Or maybe you are referring to real life identity... Which still doesn't change much since you choose that voluntarily... (You usually just pick a username for most forums.)
I think most people concerned about that would use a fake name anyhow. (And you could easily do it on Facebook and never get caught if you wanted to. Just don't be so revealing. (One time, a long time ago, I used a name that wasn't really a qualifying name... I'm sure people may have saw the name and reported. That led to me being disabled until I gave it another name. Since then, I've left it alone and made like two other accounts. - Yes I know... I broke the rules... Bad me, bad, bad, bad. =P)
Quote from: Teawater on 31, March, 2014, 01:18:45 AM
Quotebut one unique thing which this forum is concerned with is maintain user privacy.
I'm not sure if I call that unique... or how you came to that conclusion.
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I think most people concerned about that would use a fake name anyhow.
It's easier to use a fake name on the forums, than it is to do in integrated environments such as facebook or google or skype, where people tend to have connections to people they know in real life.
Therefore compared to other means of sharing files, forums and tools commonly used on forums allow people to be more anonymous. I.e. compare sharing via DropBox or GoogleDrive or OneDrive to sharing via torrents or rapidshare or mega.co.nz.
To me: It's easy to use a fake name anywhere that doesn't require verification. It just depends on what your purpose for the account is. For example, you mention Skype... well, I have an account on Skype with friends I've met on forums such as these... And for that purpose, it's not like I need a real name on there. I don't even think Skype requires you to input a last name. (Maybe on registration, but you can always remove it.)
I think using real names on even small communities could have some of your friends stopping by if they find it on Google Search. (But that doesn't mean they'll join the Community.)
For me it's a hassle. And so it has also been for other people I've tried to work with. So I suppose that's just experience talking.
If I'm not mistaken, none of the services we've discussed require verification.
I don't get how it's a hassle.... (Although, coming up with any new name might be a hassle.) When you first join a community using anonymous usernames, you know practically no one. The same is when you use a fake name. In both cases you have to "get to know new people"... ; So if we had this Community integrated into things like Facebook... (Think Facebook Groups/Pages.) What then? Do you choose to use your real name instead of "thunder-squall" in that case?
Real names give you the 'head start'... just hope that you don't get so many real life friends that it turns out to be spam-ish.
If you use a fake name, it's not like people know it's fake. (Unless you're friending real life people.) While I like the idea of fake names to a degree, I also somewhat dislike such dishonesty for some reason.. Is that the "hassle" part? Feeling guilty for dishonesty?
And yes, none of those require verification.
Anyway, What do you think of Youtube? Real name or Username? They've practically converted to a Social Network already.
I think it's a hassle to actively handle multiple user accounts, and to sign into things. This is why people have their browser remember their passwords so they don't have to type it in every time, and why some people like using their facebook or google or microsoft account to log into multiple services.
Was it a hassle for me to make up a name for this forum? No, it was not. But now we're about to work on design documents for a joint project. If we simply create a new forum thread for it, then I'd have to do very little work. If we decide to share a google doc, I may have to create a new fake account just to do it. And that's more work than I'd have to do otherwise.
Google Chrome lets you switch into different sessions... So you can still have multiple accounts on the same site without the awful log-in typing... ... As for FireFox, not sure.
If registrations are a problem for you, consider Auto-Fill. ... There are sites like LastPass, for example. (Which I know I mentioned in the Password Security topic.)
I agree that Google makes it easy to switch between identities. It would be my alt.identity tool of choice. But I'd still have to invest pretty heavily in that other identity.
But sure, why not. How many Google accounts do you have? I currently have two. If I do any collaborative work here, I'll make up a new one.
I have two Facebook accounts (real & fake), (The fake account is named Theodore Waters. Sounds like a cool match to Teawater, doesn't it?)
several hotmail accounts (all fake), (I created several probably because I wanted different emails for the different Facebook identities. I sort of wish I used Google emails instead, though.)
and two Google accounts. (Real & fake, but I haven't used the real one for anything.. I simply wanted to reserve an email address, I guess.)
Edit: The first account I created on Fb was disabled, no longer available, so I'm not counting the first one. Since then, I created two more, and those are the two I'm 'counting.'
haha, Theodore Waters is a cool name. You should totally go by Theodore Waters. It sounds right.
I haven't been into online geek communities for very long (as you know), so I haven't done anything social with my fake gmail account. I used it to sign up for online games that I didn't play for very long. I only have one facebook account, which I made when you had to have a university email address in order to do so.
Thanks. There's a feminine version that I made up too: Dorothy Waters. But since I'm not a girl, it might sound strange. (I don't think I used Dorothy as a name for any of my accounts.)
I've had an account on Youtube since 2007... the only stuff I've uploaded seems to be about piano and game hacking...
I think I first used Fb sometime in 2010 or earlier... The 2 currently active accounts were created in later years, though. ... University emails? Okay. (you@school.edu) I assume you used your name?