Website Privacy Q & A
Posted Friday, October 16, 2009 05:19 PM

  1. Can people find my Classmates' Profile pages by searching Google or other major search engines?

    Answer: It depends. Your Classmates' Profile pages are fully indexable by major search engines, but each individual Classmate has the ability to permit viewing of his or her Profile only to fellow registered Classmates. If Profile information has been restricted to only fellow Classmates, then search engines can not get into this information and index it, nor can any non registered Classmate get in. Please note that your Classmates' public profile is found in the search engines when no restrictions have been set by the Classmate him or herself. This is the same information that anybody can see simply by visiting your web site unless a Classmate has restricted Profile viewing to only fellow Classmates. Your Classmates' private information is not findable and will never be displayed even if their Profile is left open to the public. Specifically, your Classmates' email addresses, mailing addresses, and telephone numbers are completely protected and not visible to the public, and not findable/indexable by search engines no matter what. Please note that anyone can still send an email to your Classmates by filling out the contact form at the bottom of any Classmate Profile page. This allows open communication between Classmates and non Classmates alike, while protecting Classmates' personal information.
  2. We understand that Classmates' private information is not visible to the public, search engines, and even other Classmates, but that's still not good enough. We want to password protect our Classmate area so only our Classmates can read other Classmates' profile information. Is this possible?

    Answer: Yes. When you are logged into your Administration Area click on Edit Site Pages, and place a checkmark in the Password column next to your Classmate Profiles page. Then set a root system password at the bottom of the page and click the Save button. When you have done these two things the public and search engine will no longer have access to your Classmates' profile pages. Classmates with an account will still be able to see all pages of your site, even if you have password protected them.

    Note: If you choose to password protect your Classmate Profile page, new Classmates will no longer be able to join your site unless they have your system password to get in. For this reason we recommend you send a mass email to your entire class after password protecting your Classmates Profiles page informing them what your system password is. Classmates who have not yet joined your site will need this password so they can access your Classmate Profiles area and create an account on your site. If you don't have an email address for a Classmate and the Classmate finds your site on his or her own, the Classmate will need to email you to get the system password before an account can be established. Only 15% of schools choose to password protect their Classmate Profile page. You should do this only if you realize that you will have more work to do and will receive more emails from your Classmates trying to join your site. This is the tradeoff for having the extra level of security.

  3. If I do not password protect our Classmate Profiles page, can individual Classmates do anything themselves to protect their privacy?

    Answer: Yes. Each Classmate can select an option that allows only registered Classmates to view his or her Profile. If this option is selected, search engines and the general public will be blocked from accessing the Classmate's Profile page. People have different security concerns for many different reasons, so we've put this security decision squarely in the hands of each Classmate. Note: Any registered Classmate who is logged in will be able to view all Classmate Profiles.
  4. My Classmate's Profile and pictures are being seen when you Google her name. She has her Profile restricted to viewing by only logged in fellow Classmates. Why is this happening? It appears the Profile restrictions are not working.

    Answer: The Profile restrictions are working fine. Your Classmate is currently logged into your web site. When she logs in a thing called a "cookie" is set on her hard drive that tells our system she is logged in. Even if she leaves your web site and goes somewhere else on the Internet (e.g. Google), she is still logged into your site. So when she goes out and Googles her own name, up comes a link to your Classmate Profiles page (or sometimes a link directly to the Classmate's Profile itself). Next she is going directly to her own name and clicking on it, which brings her to her Profile and her pictures. Remember, she can see her full Profile because she has remained logged in throughout this process. Logged in Classmates can see restricted Profiles as they are supposed to. Had she not been logged in, however, instead of seeing her Profile she would have seen a message saying her Profile was restricted.

    If you or your Classmate wants to see this process like the public sees it just do this:

    1. Go to your web class site and click the "Log out" link on the left.
    2. Go to Google and search for your Classmate's name.
    3. Click on the result that takes you to your Classmate Profiles page.
    4. Now click on your Classmate's name.

    You will see that you get the Profile restricted message — you do not get access to the Classmate's Profile.

    Bottom line, if a Classmate thinks his or her Profile restrictions are not working it is only because your Classmate is still logged in. Have the Classmate log out of your site first by following the steps above, and then search Google for his or her own name, and it will become apparent that everything is working properly.

  5. I see on some Classmate Profiles people can leave comments for the Classmate. What if a Classmate doesn't want public comments left?

    Answer: The presence of the Classmate Comments board is solely under the control of the Classmate. If a Classmate doesn't want comments left for them that others can read, they can simply deactivate the Comments area under their Edit Profile area.
  6. On some other web sites I see a security code that must be entered in order to fill out forms or submit emails. Why isn't there a feature like this on our Classmates' Profiles? I'm concerned my Classmates might get spammed.

    Answer: There is no need to worry about your Classmates being spammed. Class Creator utilizes an invisible-to-the-user form of spam protection that stops automated spam attacks cold. Our spam protection system works like some email spam protection systems, in that it uses a series of tests to find out if an email is from a legitimate user, or a spammer. These tests are sophisticated, and include things such as analysis of mouse movements and keyboard strokes. Simply, real email will get through, spam email will not. All of this is possible without making your Classmates type in hard-to-read text, and without blocking Classmates who are seeing impaired.

Nerie Manayon-Jamison