Remove Private Profiles From Challenge Leaderboards

[ChrisBerry]

It almost never fails that the top few spots on every cycling challenge leaderboard are held by people whose profiles are private, and the number of miles or the amount of elevation these people claim to have ridden are almost impossible to believe. Having your profile public so that everyone can see your activities and have the opportunity to flag them should be a requirement to particiapte in the monthly challenges. 

[Megido]

I can't help but wonder what the future holds for people with private profiles. It's possible that some of them could be professional athletes who are in training season or some segments are close to their residences or daily routes. I understand the importance of respecting people's privacy, but it will be interesting to see how things develop in the future. For now, I'm sitting on the fence on this one.

[Silentvoyager]

The same rules should apply for any leaderboards - segments, challenges, and clubs.

Only public activities should count towards any of these leaderboards. If the person is in the leaderboard then clicking on their name should reveal all their public activities that counted towards the leaderboard position. For segment leaderboards that would be a single activity. Simple as that. 

[anchskier]

@Silentvoyager - As far as segments go, the activities already have to be public to show up there.  Anyone can click on the activity from the leaderboard and see it (and flag it if necessary) even if the profile is private.  If the activity is not set to public, it won't show up in the leaderboard.  I totally agree with you regarding the other leaderboards like challenges.  If the leaderboard result is based on activities that are not viewable and verifiable by other users, then they should not count.  

[Silentvoyager]

@anchskier - yes, I am aware that segment leaderboards work that way. I've been using Strava for a decade. My point was that exactly the same rule should apply generally to all leaderboards. For example, I am annoyed that all top places in my club leaderboard are often taken by users who are completely private. There should be transparency. 

[willz]

@anchskier 

But they can block you. You've had no interaction with them beyond riding the same segments, they block you. 

[anchskier]

@willz - Yes, they can.  In those rare instances, I will submit a support ticket to Strava and they take care of it.  It does happen, but not very frequently.