Getting spamed because of the All Trac VIN Registry

[transce080]

I tried finding an email address to contact someone anywhere on the VIN registry itself and I couldn't so I'm posting this here so that someone in a position to do something can see it. My inbox has been filling up with constant spam and I couldn't figure out why because I've been so careful with this email address. I googled my email address, expecting to find nothing, and the All Trac VIN Registry comes up with my email address in plain text right there for every spambot on the internet to find.

Please remove my email from the list right away before any more damage is done. For that matter, you should probably hide all of the email addresses on that list. You just can't leave that information lying around in google search results in this day and age. That's a major breach of privacy.

[Tommy]

Your email address has been removed from the database.

[transce080]

Thank you!

If you're not going to remove the other email addresses displayed there, I very strong recommend making that page so that only members can see it. It should also be removed from Google search results. Leaving plain text emails in searchable pages on the web is the most surefire way to get those email addresses added to a ton of spambot databases. It wasn't like that 10 years ago, even probably 5 years ago, but today a person's email address is a piece of private information (like one's phone number) that needs to be kept carefully and treated with care.

[WarTowels]

What... no one forced you to sign up for the registry. It's not a breach of privacy, at all. It's not even a private piece of information (nor are phone numbers unless specifically requested or cellular).

Leaving plain text emails in searchable pages on the web is not most surefire way to get those email addresses added to a ton of spambot databases, that's just an opinion.

I do agree with you that it should be a members only page, though.

-Towels

[pwadm]

Do we still need the registry with the Garage being available?

[toayoztan]

Do we still need the registry with the Garage being available?

Personally, i'd get rid of the registry..

Bryan

[pwadm]

As you recommended I removed access to the registry from the website page.
If someone wants to list their vehicle just use the Garage. You will avoid getting spammed, as the only way to contact someone listed in the Garage is through the forum.

[transce080]

thanks! I think that's the best solution all around. Sorry for the heat on my first post.

[lumbercis]

The point of the registry wasn't to list details of your car per se. It was to try to track the VINs and status of the USDM alltracs. For instance, if you found a destroyed ST185 in a junkyard, grabbed the VIN and put it up on the registry, that could be interesting information when trying to determine the number of alltracs left and rarity of certain colors etc through statistical extrapolation.

Another purpose is to just have a VIN-based history of the cars which, in a small community like ours, can provide much better info that a carfax can.

We should definitely find a way to retain the VIN info regardless of current ownership.

J