[Spike-A-Pike]

Originally Posted by dlaery

Is this the same as a private message?

No, they're not the same and they're not private. From the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section, I found the following information:

What are Visitor Messages?
Visitor messages are publicly viewable messages posted on member profile pages. To post a message, click on the 'Visitor messages' tab, and use the form at the top of the section. You will only be able to use certain formatting in these messages, as described underneath the edit box. This message will be viewable by all visitors to this profile, including guest users and search engine robots if the administrator has allowed this.

To communicate privately with a member, send a Private Message instead.
Visitor messages can be edited or deleted by site moderators or the member who owns the profile. If you see a visitor message that is not appropriate, you can alert the moderators by clicking on the 'Report' link. The 'View Conversation' link allows you to view all visitor messages between the member and the owner of the profile.

Hope this sheds some light on the subject; we may all want to review the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section, things have changed with the TU Maintenance done last weekend (Apr 4 - 6) and what was a great place has got even better.