Anonymity and the Internet

[Buff]

I'm a shy and private guy. I open myself up more on the boards because I do have the feeling of anonymity. I've met two guys from here.

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by GreenTeaFrapp

While I was in school I was at one point accused of being the leader of a shadowy underground international organization that did all sorts of nefarious things. .....

.......Squirrel Boy's FAQ is hard to find online these days but let that be a lesson that you never know what kook is going to invent crap about you on the Internet.

Doesn't this belong in the confessional thread?

[KevanGuy]

Originally Posted by Buff

I'm a shy and private guy. I open myself up more on the boards because I do have the feeling of anonymity. I've met two guys from here.

Did they put out?

[Dion]

Originally Posted by kevanguy

did they put out?

[HOOT]

For me I don't care much as I could care less what anyone thought of me. I have met numerous CPers and even had some at my place. Even had some add me to Facebook that have never personally met.

I would probably like to keep things like address and phone number private unless I gave it to you, but other than that I don't care. Hell I even posted my license plate once on CP.

However I do respect the people that want to stay anonymous and can understand why. There are a lot of weirdo's out there so you gotta be careful. But I can take care of myself!

I know 4 people on here in "real life". One of them being my husband.

I feel that because he knows I am Puxlut, I have to try and "behave" because I wouldn't want people to discredit what he has to say because I have potty mouth and my mind is in the gutter.

I'd hate to have someone come up to him and say: "Holy Crap! You're wife is Puxlut??? What a psycho/bimbo/schizo!!!!"

Plus:after getting a bunch of people at work hooked on lurking, I have to try and maintain some sense of professionalism. Which is really hard to do when every second post mentions "Hookers and Blow" and my fingers start itching to share some childhood memory from Nanaimo.... although it would be more like "Skanky, loose women and dope/acid"

[Phanuthier]

Yeah I'd have to say I value my anonymity here. I've met probably 4-5 people here in person, I have 2 or 3 on Facebook for some reason and a few others know my real name. I think this site has some pretty wide exposure, and I just don't want something I say here to come back and bite me in the ass in real life. Calgarypuck is sort of great that I can say whatever the hell I want and not worry about it coming back to haunt me, especially since I tend to be a little contraversal sometimes.

[jtfrogger]

I prefer my anonymity. I used to not worry about such things. I really don't care much about who knows my opinion or what I have to say.

One day, I ended up having an internet stalker. This guy ended up finding everything he could about me on the internet. And he found everything. This was someone who was insane (in my honest non-professional belief) and I knew other people that had a restraining order against him. This guy impersonated me on the internet in some places. There were even some threats that he made. The threats were relatively minor, but given that he was nuts, I couldn't take them too lightly.

I never really felt too threatened by this guy, but I started to be a little more careful on the internet. Whatever you say can usually not be unsaid. So, now I protect my real identity. I would trust pretty much all the regular posters of CP with basic information. However, I do not trust the everyone that has access to Google.

[enthused]

As far as I know, I've never really met anyone from here in person, at least not knowingly. A few people know my real name, but that's about it. No one said they recognized me after I posted my picture in the post your mug thread, so I guess so far I am still relatively anonymous. I'm not necessarily opposed to people from here knowing who I am in real life, but I just kind of like the seperation. Plus, I don't really want to be recognized as some girl from a message board..

[albertGQ]

I was actually thinking about asking the Moderating team if I could change my handle. It's pretty obvious what my first name is and I'm not sure if I like that anymore. I've been mulling this over for about a month now.

I was thinking Rex Nova! I love that name

[Gozer]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

I was actually thinking about asking the Moderating team if I could change my handle. It's pretty obvious what my first name is and I'm not sure if I like that anymore. I've been mulling this over for about a month now.

I was thinking Rex Nova! I love that name

Your first name is Q?

BUSTED!

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

I was thinking Rex Nova! I love that name

You want your name to be "King New" ??? That sounds pretty lame!

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Gozer

Your first name is Q?

BUSTED!

He should just snap his fingers and be done with it.

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

I was thinking Rex Nova! I love that name

Are you just hoping to get on the Jim Rome show?

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by greenteafrapp

are you just hoping to get on the jim rome show?

blocked!!!!!!!!!!!

[worth]

Originally Posted by troutman

Other posters make a lot more sense after you have met them. The internet does not convey personality very well.

Everyone was disappointed I did not look like Johnny Cash.

Lol, I don't look like Steve McQueen either.

[jammies]

Some people do adopt a different persona on the interwebz, but I'm just as annoyingly pretentious and smug in RL; I never say anything on here I wouldn't say in person, so I'm not all that chuffed about anonymity.

Some people have legitimate reasons to want to protect their names, though, and I think the policy here about privacy is the right way to go.

[Hack&Lube]

Well, basically what you post on forums or anywhere on the internet can get back to you easily.

For instance, I think I've found those Empire Vehicle Solutions guys posting on craigslist, facebook, car, and clubbing message boards.

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Well, basically what you post on forums or anywhere on the internet can get back to you easily.

For instance, I think I've found those Empire Vehicle Solutions guys posting on craigslist, facebook, car, and clubbing message boards.

Still obnoxiously defending EVS?

[Gozer]

I saw EVS murdering hobos.