Do you think niche forums like this attract any attention?

[agloval]

I've never been particularly into conspiracy theories, but it's something I've occasionally wondered about. I think we can all agree that complete privacy on the internet is pretty much an illusion. Websites can log IP addresses, retain user data and private messages, and have security vulnerabilities that most users know very little about.

There are also plenty of historical examples of intelligence agencies and law enforcement keeping an eye on online communities, sometimes through infiltration and sometimes by exploiting weaknesses in the platforms themselves. It's not exactly a secret that online activity can leave a fairly extensive digital trail.

I'm not suggesting that anything untoward is going on here, or that Wizard Forums is being specifically watched. I'm just curious about how people see this, particularly given the sort of subjects discussed on forums like this. Do you reckon niche communities tend to fly under the radar, or can you imagine circumstances in which they might attract a bit more attention than their members would expect?

I'd be interested to hear from anyone with a background in cybersecurity or experience running online communities, particularly regarding how much information forum operators can actually access and how securely it's handled.

 

[Robert Ramsay]

Unless someone starts talking about illegal things - which is expressly forbidden by The Rules anyway - I can't imagine the Men in Black being bothered with us.

 

[Frater M.M.]

If the feds are that desperate to work their way thru threads like this, then good luck to them

https://wizardforums.com/threads/bardons-bullshit-kabbalah.15962/

 

[nunaphael]

If I was a federal agent, and one of my hobby interests was the occult and paranormal (maybe because I'm a fan of X-Files or something), I would almost certainly browse this website in my off-hours. However, I don't think there's any kind of formal investigation into this website happening right now. Is it being monitored? Oh yes, I'm certain. But is that any reason to be concerned? No, I don't think so...

 

[agloval]

If the feds are that desperate to work their way thru threads like this, then good luck to them

https://wizardforums.com/threads/bardons-bullshit-kabbalah.15962/

Where’s my like button on here? Haha

 

[Aeternus]

Where’s my like button on here? Haha

In controversy we don't have like / reaction button.

I think this to not have a sort of possible spamming of troll, angry or sad emotion which would affect one's reaction score as those reactions are negative. And it is pretty laughable to understand that if the like button was active and someone was a little bit snowflakey, that they would spam the Angry, Sad or Troll reactions .

 

[agloval]

In controversy we don't have like / reaction button.

I think this to not have a sort of possible spamming of troll, angry or sad emotion which would affect one's reaction score as those reactions are negative. And it is pretty laughable to understand that if the like button was active and someone was a little bit snowflakey, that they would spam the Angry, Sad or Troll reactions .

I imagined it haha, I just wanted to express it somehow lol. But yeah, that makes total sense. There’s always that one smartass who downvotes everything because they’re against everything and everyone.