Add Privacy Settings

I STRONGLY DISAGREE

...w/ utmost respect for @Juniko's idea

If this were implemented, MDL would loose it's special quality .... It would become just another database w/ random ratings and random reviews and comments!!! (Like IMDB, AsianWiki, Viki, etc... Their ratings are meaningless)

1) MDL is Not just a place to list my dramas -- A  spreadsheet or notebook can do the same !!!   (I had such a list before I joined)!
2) MDL is a place where I come to get Recommendations and Suggestions from people in whose taste and opinions I trust! ....
3) MDL is a place I come to share my views and see other people's views, and in the process find people who have similar taste so we can fangirl together, release frustration over a plot, or discuss differing POVs ... sometimes I am enlightened to see a new perspective, and learn in the process!

--->>> The above is only possible if there are NO viewing constraints issued (I don't use "privacy" b/c I believe it has nothing to do w/ it)
-- A random comment on a page or a review mean nothing if I don't know about the writer! Therefore,  I want to be able to see the profile of the reviewer, see their list, see their ratings .... because that is how I determine the taste of the reviewer and whether to trust in their opinions or not!!!

-- Often, I receive friend requests from people who saw my watch list and they befriend me because we have similar taste ... or they want to know more about a comment I wrote somewhere .....and Vice Versa. I have sent out requests after reading a review and reviewing that person's lists and ratings!!! ...

-- I used to refuse friend requests after checking out requester's feeds and seeing a lot of senseless posts .... Helped me judged whether we have things in common or whether they were going to clutter my feeds.

-- just a few examples of the usefulness of being able to see a random person's list, feeds, etc...

--->>> Also,why limit Private messaging? .... If a message is Offensive or Spam, report it to Administration because the issue is larger than who can send you a PM .... Otherwise, this suggestion can constraint  options of users!!
-- Benefits of being able to PM whomever you want:
- example 1: Users I never heard of have randomly sent me a PM to discuss a clarification on an opinion, or ask for recommendations...but they don't necessarily want to be friends, or discuss controversial opinions publicly.
- example 2: I have sent a PM after reading a concerning comment from someone with whom I had only interacted once .... I knew that the person may be offended if I offered my help publicly, and it turns out they appreciated a hand reaching out to them privately and they spilled their guts to me ... and this person is usually so private and introverted, I am certain if they had the option, they would not accept random PMs.

--->>> Why limit who can see ur friends?... what's the point? .... Everybody is anonymous anyway .... Therefore Privacy is already implemented .... some people don't want to be anonymous and they use their Real Names or show photos of themselves .... this is not facebook where most would probably know you IRL anyway so you need privacy! .....
Not much effect on users whether implemented or not .... except for those who use a friend's friend list to make more friends.

--->>> Finally, if this were implemented it would DO a Lot More HARM than Good :
-- This would allow for more trolls to hide and do damage! ....  They can leave random comments, absurd reviews,  etc... A recent stalker/Troll was discovered only b/c other users were able to see his lists, compare them to his banned profile, and gather evidence that he's same person.
-- Most important for drama viewers: this would make reviews and ratings more useless!!!
Already:
* We cannot prevent Trolls and/or Fangirls from rating a drama 1 or 10 w/ out basis
* We cannot see the "Unhelpful" votes on a review 
If I also am unable to see a writer's list, ratings, and/or feeds, how would I be able to assess their Taste and Judgement!!! ....
I repeat: For me, that is the only thing that makes MDL unique!

@Anniee ... But why?.... most everyone is anonymous anyway.

More importantly.... many people, (like I did in the past), use MDL for a while before becoming members... so they also need to be able to view a commentator's or reviewer's profile/lists/feeds before being able to assess that user's taste and judgement.

I really don't see the harm in remaining as open as possible ... and .... what is the benefit of privacy settings in a site where almost all are anonymous? ...
If there's a need to discuss a controversial or personal matter, I use private messaging.

Again, I see mainly positives from remaining as open and as inclusive as possible .... far outweighing any negatives or gains from limiting viewers' access to users' profiles.

Perhaps a Good Compromise would be this, if it can be implemented:

A Privacy Tag, like a "Friends Only", similar to a "Spoiler" Tag, be made available on individual feed comments and/or feed posts .... That way others can still get a good idea of a particular user's general opinions (since many Do NOT write reviews or comments on drama pages, only posts in feeds).

NOTE: "Friends Only" is also useless I believe, as many have friends in the hundreds, so it is not much different than being public ... best option would be to just a pick a few Users' names and make it available only to them...
Again, think of the stalker who sneaked in as one of your many "friends".


@CherryBunny ... I completely understand your concern, one stalker/troll in particular was very disconcerting; however, as you very well know, he was able to sneak back in as ur (and our) friend, over and over again..... All the more reasons why I don't put personal info on public sites ... and why I use PM for personal matters..... B/c even a "Friends Only Feeds" would not have helped in that case...
---> Thus my point: It can do more Harm than Good!

Besides, there are other "Troll Types" out there, and it must be a tough job for Admin to keep a handle on them .... Like the Extreme-Rating-Trolls (rate 1 or 10) .... The Nay-sayer-Trolls on reviews, voting all "Unhelpful" .... and like the Prankster Troll I discovered yesterday on the forums: creating 5-10 accounts, and making just one silly forum post w/ each account .... But I was only able to discover them, by being able to see their profiles, feeds, empty lists, empty friends list, etc... 
---> Privacy, or rather "Viewing Constraints" would not help, and in fact, it would help these trolls hide and make it harder to catch them.

@Rainruma I also want MDL to be a community and a fun place, not just a notebook for lists, don't worry.

But if you look at it closely, a lot of very popular social networks use such privacy settings to help users feel safe in the environment they choose.

If one day MDL has a million users, do you really want a million of people to be able to look at you profile, your feeds, your lists and know who your friends are ? Maybe you do, I don't know, that would be your choice. But that's what those privacy setting are all about : choice. Not everyone want their feed to be an open book.

@rainruma, giving other people the option to make different parts of their page private does not impact you at all.  OK so maybe you can't see their feed, but they don't want you to, clearly they're not the type of people you want to be friends with.  I usually become friends with people because of conversations we have on the forums or on the posts of people we have in common.  that's usually enough to go on rather than what they liked or didn't like, and I have no problem with not being able to read people's feeds before they're my friend.  I'd like my feed to be private, but my lists/favourites to be public.  Sometimes I look at people's feeds before accepting a request to see if they're the type to post spoilers.  I'd miss being able to do that but i think it's easy to remove someone if you find out they're terrible with spoilers.

I would like to see an option to put people they annoy us into ignore list...

I wanna vote for this but i dont have any vote?? how to get votes?

@Naksken
Yeah, I've seen that happening, witch hunts on the Internet are really nasty, and I've seen it happen a couple of time on MDL. Privacy settings could help with that, I agree