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Public versus Private and Anonymous Choices
On AntStorm you have complete control over your trails. You can make them public or private, and you can also choose to remain anonymous as an author:
- Public Trails. If you want to share your trail and its links so that others can see, use and benefit from your experience and work, then make the trail public. AntStorm users will be able to find and use your trail. And others who are searching using Google, Yahoo and Microsoft search engines will also be able to find and use your trails.
- Private Trails. If you want to use a trail yourself, and you do not want others to see this trail at all, then you should choose to keep it private. Private trails are not published to the AntStorm site, or to other search engines like Google, Yahoo or Microsoft. Only you can see your private trails by logging into My Nest and/or by being logged into AntStorm and using the toolbar.
- Anonymous Trails. If a trail is private, then the anonymous choice doesn't matter because no one else can see your trail at all. But if you choose to publish your trail and share it with others, you can choose to do that while also choosing to remain anonymous as the author of the trail. If you make this choice, then other users can find and use your trail on AntStorm or using the major search engines, but your username will not be displayed on the View Trail page, and the trail will not be displayed on your public nest page, so others will not know that you are the author of the trail.
How To Make Trails Public, Private or Anonymous
Following are instructions on how to make trails public, private or anonymous:
- First go to My Nest by clicking the My Nest link in the upper right corner of any page on the site. If you do not see the My Nest link, then you need to sign in by clicking the Sign In link in the upper right corner of any page.
- Once you are in My Nest, click the Trails tab.
- On this page, click on the name of the trail you want to work with in the Trails column. You will see a menu. Click on the Edit command in the menu. A set of trail editing choices are presented on a yellow background.
- Look near the bottom of the yellow trail editor area. You will see two checkboxes labeled "Publish this trail to the site to share" and "Do not show me as the author of this trail". If you do not see these checkboxes, use the scroll bar on the Trails column to scroll down until you do see these checkboxes.
- To make this trail public so that others can see and use it, check the "Publish this trail…" checkbox, and click the Save link at the bottom of the yellow edit area.
- To make this trail private so that only you can see and use it, un-check the "Publish this trail…" checkbox, and click the Save link at the bottom of the yellow edit area.
- To make this trail anonymous so that others can see and use it but other users will not now you are the trail's author, check the "Do not show me…" checkbox, and click the Save link at the bottom of the yellow edit area.
- When you click the Save link, you will see a message that your changes are being saved, and then the Trails column will be re-displayed.
After You Make a Trail Public, Private or Anonymous
After you have made a trail public, private or anonymous, here are some other things you may want to do:
- Verify Anonymity. Go to My Nest and click the Trails tab, and then click on a trail you have saved. A menu is displayed. Click the View menu command, and the trail page for this trail is displayed. Look at the yellow box at the top of the trail, and you can see that your username is no longer displayed next to the trail name as the trail's author.
- Verify Privacy. Type part or all of a private trail's name into any search box on the site, and click the Search button. You should not see your trail in any search results list on the AntStorm site.
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