It has been brought to my attention that FA security has been breached again. Private messages on FA have been stolen and reposted on various other websites, and if the trolls can get into FA then they could certainly get into BC Furries and our private messages. Just as a reminder, if you are messaging contact information such as names and addresses, you are best to do it over the phone or any other means that do not leave records which such persons might procure. We do have to live and work in this world, and nobody wants there personal lives or careers to be in Jeopardy because of some malevolent trolls.
I had that happen to me last week.
Bugger got a hold of my name, address, postal code, home phone number, email, and even my student id from my high school. He hasn't done anything with it - as far as I know - other than sending me creepy emails, but it's scary to think how easy it is for creeps to stalk you over the internet. :-X
One thing to remember is that if you have ever posted it online, someone, somewhere has it. Even if it's administration you ostensibly should be able to trust, drama happens, staff get disgruntled, and security can be breached. The number one rule as stated here, is do not post *anything* sensitive online, if you can at all help it, even via E-mail or instant message.
To be fair, FA as a site is not well-coded. I mean, it was using plaintext passwords for a very long time when there's no earthly reason for that. I think building off a well-coded application, and also using good password practices, gets you a lot there.
I do agree that caution is almost always the right instinct, though.