A Word of Caution About Free Stickers

[Fishin Fool]

I am not trying to get anything stirred up, but with the recent issues concerning the signature file I decided to go ahead and post this thought:

When the "Free" CFF sticker was announced I did not order one. My reason was simple and may be totally wrong. It may just be me being paranoid and hopefully is. When you order a sticker you are required to submit your home address in order to receive it. Information is power in today's age of the internet. My suspicion is that by doing this, people ordering the sticker are giving up personal information that can be shared or used by either First Light or anyone they choose to sell the information to. In addition, remember, in order to register for a screen name on CFF you have to submit an active email address. The sticker program provides a link between your home address AND your email address, which can be a huge security issue. If you have bills you pay online, Paypal, eBay, make purchases online using your email address, a good hacker would have all the information they needed to cause a good deal of problems. Id theft is a major issue right now.

As I said at the beginning, I hope I am just paranoid. I am certainly not wanting to hurt the site in any way. But I can't help but wonder about this. I would certainly be careful about giving my private home address to anyone that doesn't state clearly that the information is secure and is used ONLY to mail a sticker. I would also like to know what steps First Light would take to protect our information.

 

[SpurHunter]

FirstLight has already stated that email address's are not sold. I would doubt they sell personal address's if that is the case.

Besides, if you have EVER ordered from Cabelas, BassPro, Gander Mountain, Macks Prairie Wings, etc, your complete info is on HUNDREDS of lists already. FYI.

 

[beetlespin]

I don't think you are paranoid.I think you are very wise.

 

[Fishin Fool]

There is a vast amount of difference in buying something from Bass Pro Shops or another online retailer, filling out a secure encrypted form, that has a non-disclosure/privacy agreement, versus sending a simple email to First Light with your info linked to your personal email address with no stipulations on it. Just my opinion. As I recall, Bprice even put up a cautionary thread about having your email address in your profile here. Again, it is up to the person doing the ordering as to how much info they want to share with a company that hasn't said how they will use it.

 

[ditchdoc666]

emoThumbsup

 

[Guest]

Fishin Fool - 2/12/2009 1:02 PM

There is a vast amount of difference in buying something from Bass Pro Shops or another online retailer, filling out a secure encrypted form, that has a non-disclosure/privacy agreement, versus sending a simple email to First Light with your info linked to your personal email address with no stipulations on it. Just my opinion. As I recall, Bprice even put up a cautionary thread about having your email address in your profile here. Again, it is up to the person doing the ordering as to how much info they want to share with a company that hasn't said how they will use it.

Agreed here. emoGeezer

 

[WLG]

SOmetimes I REALLY get fed up with all this BS on this forum. Its not been the same since first light took it over!! emoBang

 

[theangler]

Hello Fishing Fool,
"YES" your right you are totally WRONG and in my opinion you are taking something good and turning it in to something bad. We are not a new company. We have been in business since 1996 doing the same thing we do today.

We build relationships not burn bridges. What you are suggesting is illegal and inaccurate. Further it is totally irresponsible to make the accusation.

 

[polo-dog]

I think that I have missed something. I don't remember reading anything about the CFF Signature Files and when I click on the ones associated with you guys I don't get linked to anything special. What is the Signature File set up to do? I must just be ignorant of the term and usage.

 

[dragfish]

Is there any way the stickers can be made easier to get? I dont't get to all of the boat ramps but, I don't see as many as I thought I would. I don't even have one myself. But yeah, the process was a little more than I expected.

 

[NRG]

What process ... you send an email , with name and address , how hard is that ?

I guess they could distribute to tackle shops, boat dealers etc and offer 2 per person or what ever .. but then there always is the greedy ones that try and take 20.
And then give the shop a plug on here as where to get a free sticker.. the shop gets some walk in traffic, the sites gets more recognition.
If they are already sponsors, they still get more traffic than they would by a banner ad alone.
Just a thought Mike .. roll it around

 

[theangler]

Hello Polodog, there is a pretty detailed explanation about it at http://www.chattanoogafishingforum.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=27578&posts=22&start=1 but it really wouldn't affect your signature.

Dragfish, not really now, it could have been done a bit more organized in the beginning but we kinda already spilled that milk. The initial delay was printing but once they started going it only took about a couple of weeks to send all initial requests (it could have been more organized because our plan was to send 100 or so to each moderator and admin first so they could also have some available but somehow we messed that up, some moderators just got theirs and some are still waiting, sorry). Now the initial printing has all been sent and we have ordered an additional 4,000 that should be in in a couple of weeks. If you have suggestions we are open to them but at this point we are kinda looking at it in retrospect. Again I apologize, we frankly didn't know we would get sooo many requests, and even today they are still coming in.

 

[theangler]

Great Idea NRG! We would be happy to send a local tackle store supplies to hand out and if it was a sponsor we would be willing to reduce their ad rate by half.

 

[foodsaver]

if for some reason people are soooooooo concerned about their privacy feel free to let us know you would like to meet up to get a sticker. I personally haven't got mine yet but when I do I will gladly meet anyone to give them away and will also keep them in the truck so if we meet at the ramp you guys can ask for them.

 

[Fishin Fool]

theangler - 2/12/2009 9:03 PM

Hello Fishing Fool,
"YES" your right you are totally WRONG and in my opinion you are taking something good and turning it in to something bad. We are not a new company. We have been in business since 1996 doing the same thing we do today.

We build relationships not burn bridges. What you are suggesting is illegal and inaccurate. Further it is totally irresponsible to make the accusation.

I am taking nothing and turning it into anything Mike. I simply asked a question and made a post regarding what I thought COULD happen. I was very careful to stress in the post that I had no idea if it was fact or merely a paranoid thought. Perhaps you should read the post again.

I don't personally care that you aren't a new company. I don't see what possible impact that has on this discussion. There are a good many companies that have been in business much longer than that and they use bad judgement all the time. I shopped with a Capital One Credit card only to find they had a security breach. I am sure they would have (and did on the news) tell everyone how long they had been in business and how secure they were. Everywhere you turn today you see various merchants losing sensitive information about their customers.

As far as what I am suggesting being illegal; where is that written that it is illegal for your company to collect information about CFF members? I'd like to see it if there is a law about it that I am not aware of. Data mining is a common practice. Are you prepared to tell us that you DON'T collect any information about what we click on, how long we are online, how many page views there are? It is a part of business with most internet companies today.

As far as my post being an "accusation" you must have read something I didn't. It was a thought about the process and the security risk that entailed. You COULD have posted a statement telling us that all our information was safe, and was never shared or used for marketing. You COULD have told us what your security methods were to protect the submitted info. You could have told us any number of things but you chose to make a post that I thought was a total over reaction to the subject.

Fishermen and hunters are what make CFF work. Without them there is no CFF. I realize that you folks have to make money and I respect that. Just be honest and informative when a concern is raised and there won't be an issue.

 

[Fishin Fool]

NRG_BigFish - 2/12/2009 10:27 PM

What process ... you send an email , with name and address , how hard is that ?

I guess they could distribute to tackle shops, boat dealers etc and offer 2 per person or what ever .. but then there always is the greedy ones that try and take 20.
And then give the shop a plug on here as where to get a free sticker.. the shop gets some walk in traffic, the sites gets more recognition.
If they are already sponsors, they still get more traffic than they would by a banner ad alone.
Just a thought Mike .. roll it around

Excellent idea Sean! First Light could present the idea to someone like Hamilton's in return for a small ad on CFF and both sides would profit. I am sure a lot of CFF members would make a special visit to get sticker.

 

[Shark]

Sorry..... but has gotten out of hand.

This is really very easy..............


Either send in the info required to get the stickers.

- OR -

Keep your little ole' email at home with you and don't get the stickers to
show you are a proud member of CFF.


NUFF SAID! :emoticon:

 

[mallardecho]

Shark - 2/12/2009 9:53 PM

Sorry..... but has gotten out of hand.

This is really very easy..............


Either send in the info required to get the stickers.

- OR -

Keep your little ole' email at home with you and don't get the stickers to
show you are a proud member of CFF.


NUFF SAID! :emoticon:

Dude,
You need to back up a little. Fishin Fool was one of the original moderators on this site. I have never met him in person, but several people I respect on this site think very highly of this gentleman. He has been here since the beggining, so I am sure he is only tryimg to watch out for us all.

 

[JaSkynyrd]

mallardecho - 2/12/2009 11:09 PM

Shark - 2/12/2009 9:53 PM

Sorry..... but has gotten out of hand.

This is really very easy..............


Either send in the info required to get the stickers.

- OR -

Keep your little ole' email at home with you and don't get the stickers to
show you are a proud member of CFF.


NUFF SAID! :emoticon:

Dude,
You need to back up a little. Fishin Fool was one of the original moderators on this site. I have never met him in person, but several people I respect on this site think very highly of this gentleman. He has been here since the beggining, so I am sure he is only tryimg to watch out for us all.

I second that.



I have never met him either, all I know of him are his posts concerning the gorge explorer, they were well written, patient, and understanding, just like his posts in this thread.

 

[JDK]

I have meet Fishing Fool and he is a str8 up fellow and he still owes me a fishing trip! I put an email for the sticker(still havent got it) but I did have some of the same thoughts but I mean there isnt a whole lot they can do with them besides send you junk mail..I really enjoy the site but all the ads and lots of changes you can tell profit is becoming an issue for the guys who run it.. but hey I get to chat and meet people who enjoy the same great hobby I do and it is doesnt cost me a dime.. and I am thankful for that..and Fishing Fool Im ready for that trip I wanna see Riverpark on that handy dandy sideimaging unit you got!