Petrolia Google Groups is VERY Public

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Regina Spangle

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Feb 22, 2026, 4:13:19 PM (2 days ago) Feb 22
to Mattole Valley Bulletin Board
Hi loves,

Many of you may already know this. I , however, did not. 

I was getting some front-end work done on my car and walked to the library to use a Library Computer.  I searched my first and last name (on a Public Computer Library) to access my YouTube page and was very surprised to see ALL of my Google Group Emails laid out on the Mattole Valley Bulletin Board for everyone in the world to see.

I have a  Public  Business and would personally  rather NOT have the world know exactly where I live...and that I will be doing Chair massage at the market on sunday etc...😳. 

I spoke with Laura about this, and she said she would speak with Seth about the possibility of making our Bulletin Board Private so at least our Privacy would be protected.  

Its important for everyone to be made aware who post that if your Name is connected to your email and someone googles your name, all of your Google Group emails will come up with Mattole Valley clearly connected to it 

This "Dangerous Man", for instance, could easily see all of the emails about him, including who wrote them if he chose to 



Regina

Xtina Cortez

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Feb 22, 2026, 5:23:48 PM (2 days ago) Feb 22
to Mattole Valley Bulletin Board
Thanks for sharing this Regina. I don’t expect much in the way of privacy these days, but this is good information to know. I didn’t realize that our Google group posts were accessible to the world at large.
-Xtina

Becky Grant

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Feb 22, 2026, 8:07:01 PM (2 days ago) Feb 22
to Xtina Cortez, Mattole Valley Bulletin Board
People comb the internet…I’ve had acquaintances find the board and say they spent hours reading through the messages. I’ve had prospective renters find me through the board. I vote for going back to a private forum which it originally was, and permission to join had to be requested. 

Thank you!




-- 
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3. No personal attacks. Write as though you’re standing on the porch of the general store addressing about 300 of your neighbors.
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Kaitlin Graves

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Feb 22, 2026, 8:25:27 PM (2 days ago) Feb 22
to Mattole Valley Bulletin Board
I also agree with Becky. 

Kaitlin

laurac...@frontiernet.net

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Feb 23, 2026, 12:26:59 PM (yesterday) Feb 23
to Xtina Cortez, Becky Grant, Mattole Valley Bulletin Board
Hi Becky, Xtina, Regina, et. al.,

I will call this to Seth's attention. I moderate incoming messages but don't know how to change any settings.

Nothing has changed. People have always needed approval to join the group and be able to post, because we don't want spammers or scammers or violent content, etc. However, everyone in the world has always been able to see all the posts. At least, in my memory that's the way it's been since 2008.

Personally, i don't see why anyone who's not a member needs to see what's on here... i'm in favor of keeping it private to us. Notice there are about 1200 people on it, though. Over the years the numbers have added up. Friends of friends visiting who needed a ride to town or to the city... or visiting folks who wanted to announce their presence... people who lived here very briefly and moved away and never cancelled their accounts.

I have proposed paring it down to only people who live here and/or who have posted within the last two years or something like that, but the "Don't butt in" and "Free speech for everyone but people i don't like!" folks convinced me that it was better to remain hands-off.

And it's true that it will open a can of worms to set standards as to who gets access to the content (understand that now it really is just a matter of establishing that a person has Mattole Valley connections and is indeed a person, not a 'bot or program), but if enough people will feel better about their privacy by us having the same standards for reading as for posting-- and maybe some kind of heightened level of scrutiny for who gets to be a member at all, now that the general social climate tends toward safety above freedom-- it is probably worth the hassle.

Hopeful that this can be resolved soon,
~Laura

Chris Wright

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Feb 23, 2026, 1:33:40 PM (23 hours ago) Feb 23
to Mattole Valley Bulletin Board
I don't envy Laura and Seth. 

I do wonder how a decision like this can be made, though. Given the very current Co-op discussion about decision making, and aware that the MVGG doesn't (to my knowledge) have bylaws to refer to, the moderators are put in the unenviable position of making a choice between a vocal few (thus far) who are stating their preference to make the GG private (which I understand and respect) vs. a much larger but as yet silent group whose opinions are not known.

As I weigh my own opinion on the matter, I'm respectful of and empathetic toward peoples' concerns about privacy and safety. I'm also very aware that, although the general public wouldn't be able to read the GG if it was made private, Alphabet (Google's parent corporation) can access and use all of the discussions, user data, etc., to train its AI and can sell that data through brokers to third parties, including governments. This is true of all other platforms owned by major tech firms, too. Stalkers can't get at the info on a private group, but DHS probably can (and is buying data with its $billions to circumvent getting a warrant), and the FBI certainly can with a warrant from a friendly judge.

Frankly, I think I trust John and Joan Q Public more than I do mega-corporations and most governments.

I'm in no way advocating for this community bulletin board to migrate to another platform, but I am very realistic about our modern means of communication and its impact on privacy. We should view the GG as no different from (but more accessible than) a public notice board in the town square, where anyone passing through town can read what's posted.

Finally, I was a lurker on the GG for a few months before I asked to be a member of the GG. It was because of the GG that I learned how dedicated this community is to helping each other out, caring for each other, and celebrating/mourning each other. This ethos of mutual assistance (pick up a Rings, ISO xxx found) was a huge factor in my decision to relocate here. So thank you!

Chris

Regina Spangle

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Feb 23, 2026, 5:33:12 PM (19 hours ago) Feb 23
to Chris Wright, Mattole Valley Bulletin Board

These are really good points
Thank you Chris for your perspective 

And thank you Laura for all you do 

Regina 

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