I've been very uneasy about this, too. Before, you had to click to a separate page to see who was online and then scan through a long list...that made the information accessible if you needed it, but some effort had to be made to get it...which I think the an acceptable balance vis-a-vis privacy concerns.

Now, my online status is EVERYWHERE and it's so apparent...in the forums AND the galleries. Yuck!

In this day and age, people are much more concerned about privacy. I'm not very optimistic about getting this changed, based on Stacey's response at the top of this thread. But if & when they install the Bondware package to their paying web customers, I'm certain that those customers' users are going to complain about this too...so I just hope Rendo faces that fact now and makes the change now.

Definitely want the option of whether or not to display my online status!!

Check out my full gallery at Cliff-Dweller Artworks