Putting my name in the Google search engine to check on the placement of my web sites, I was surprised to see two links to the Magic Cafe above my sites, one to my profile here and one to my postings...

Guess I'd better be even more careful what I say...

If you post here, there is more than likely a link to your words of wisdom (or otherwise)

Paul.

Oh I've seen the Magic Cafe listed on several search engines.

Yes...

Try typing in your username and see what comes up...

If you have the same username on several forums you'd be surprised at how many different pages and/or sites come up!

Try it out...

Thanks,

So what happens if you come on here with your real/stage name and then a potential client decides to look you up on the web?

It's a bit like having them peek into the wings isn't it...

The secrets won't be gone but it might taint the mystical aura.

Cheers,

Matthew Blackwell

Yes, there is that about it Matthew, I wish now I had joined the cafe under a "handle" rather than my real name, which is the name I perform under. Guess I could always change my performing name to Paulo The Magnificent or The Great Hallasini or something:)

Paulo The Magnificent.

I made a similar mistake when I mentioned my stage name in the bio on my Visions column. I'm going to take it off from now on, and eventually it may phase itself out of the search engines, but for a couple years at least I wager that anybody who does a search for my stage name will come across my real name writing a column on mentalism for a magic magazine. Oh well...no big deal, but still, in hindsight I probably wouldn't have done it had I thought about the search engine thing.

I wouldn't worry that much. This all falls into the same category as when a spectator says, "Why don't you just tell me how it works because I know I can just go to a magic store and buy the secret." Well, they don't. Most people are too lazy to take the time to do investigations on their own. I'm sure there will be one or two who will go the full route and do some legwork, but overall, you're safe.

I joined under a handle rather than my real name (well, not my full name--I am "Allan") for this very reason. However, I wasn't thinking about the profiles being available on search engines.

Can anyone from the staff advise as to whether it is considered appropriate to pad our email and web addresses in our profiles? I would like Cafe members to be able to view these things, but do not want someone getting here by searching on them. I'm thinking of something like:

naANTISEARCHme@addrPADDINGess.com

A better solution would be to configure the software to put a no-index tag on the top of all the cafe pages, to prevent them from being searchable in the first place.

re;
A better solution would be to configure the software to put a no-index tag on the top of all the cafe pages, to prevent them from being searchable in the first place.

That sounds a good idea, maybe Steve and Mary can think about that one, suggest it to the management (just in case they don't read every e-mail lol).

The downside may be that it prevents searches within the forum for members?

Paul.

A no-index tag is there to tell web crawlers (search engine indexers) to ignore the page. The Cafe has its own search facility, which would not be affected.

What is also interesting is that member's who post regularly pop-up! Sometimes people never heard of you now have access to your web site by virtue of being an active participant in the Magic Cafe. An unanticipated reward for helping other magicians.

Im not worried about it all at least not from potential clients. I don't think they really care what I have to say on a forum like this.They are hiring me for my talent, not what I am saying to other magicians. Well it hasn't affected my business yet anyway. I really don't have anything to hide in my posts. I would be more worried about a psycho ex girlfriend popping up under an unknown name and finding out when Im online and when Im not...Hmmmmmm...LOL, Oh well!

P.

For this and other reasons, I never use my performing name in anything that is connected with any magicians' purposes.

... Doug

I have notified the Cafe's Technical Staff about this issue. They have put in a fix. It is being tested.

I made some changes to the profile page to protect your email addresses from search engines and spam bots and the like. You can click on my avatar to see what effect the changes have. Anyone wanting to email you will have to edit the address manually, but spam bots won't get your address.

Due to the way the Cafe pages are generated, a noindex tag would render the entire Cafe unsearchable by outside search engines. Allen is correct, the internal search function of the Cafe would not be affected. We want the Cafe to be searchable by outside engines, so at this time a noindex tag will not be implemented.

Matthew and Paul, we can change your usernames quite easily - send me a PM to request that, and give me the new name exactly as you would like it to appear by your posts. It takes all of about a minute to change the name.

Please feel free any time to offer suggestions for improving the Cafe. Some may be implemented, and some may not, but all will be given due consideration.

I remember a few years back a discussion that was going on about my using a pseudonym to write. I actually had some folks in an uproar because I refused to reveal my pen name in a magic newsgroup.

I still use a pen name and I still refuse to reveal it. I write about 70% of my material using a name that only my bank, one publisher and me know. To everyone else who has read my material under that name, that's who I am.

Google be ***ed!

Best,
Ray

Let'em Search. I welcome any potential customers to look up "Riff, the Magical Clown" If they see I'm part of this then that's all the better. Then their only worry is:
-Is he a clown that does magic? or
-Is he a magician the also clowns?
-Testa? (inside joke)
-Croce? (rest of inside joke)

Either way I win. I'm proud to be associated with the Cafe whether formally or informally.

I did do a search using my username and was surprised.

If you want to see who's linked to your website, type the URL in at Google. You might be surprised there as well.