Considering very few of us use our real names as usernames (I can recall a couple of exceptions). How important is maintaining your anonymity when posting something here? Have you ever resisted posting if it gave too much away about your identity?
Don't get me wrong here, I'm more than happy to share who I am with genuine members. Some of whom I've met in the real world and without exception it's always been a positive experience. Ditto when buying/selling on the Classifieds. I'm just conscious that this forum is very public, and with that comes risks of volunteering too much info online.
Not very. If someone could be arsed to trawl back through all the drivel I post on here, they'd probably pick up enough snippets eventually to figure out where I live if they really wanted to. Plenty of other random people know where I live or can easily find out off the forum, so I don't lose much sleep over it tbh.
Not bothered at all about anonymity on here, the stupid name was chosen when I didn’t know I was going to get hooked on the forum. Use the same name on Pinkbike purely for consistency. My real name, Adrian Clarke, well it’s hardly unique.
Not consciously.
I clearly don’t use my real name but I’m sure someone could work out who I was if they really wanted to.
I don’t think I post anything too dodgy so am not too fussed.
Well, when you are interviewing someone for a job, and they say they couldn't find me on the web, but then told me all about my line manager. Let's say he didn't get the job.
Not very. If someone could be arsed to trawl back through all the drivel I post on here, they’d probably pick up enough snippets eventually to figure out where I live if they really wanted to. Plenty of other random people know where I live or can easily find out off the forum, so I don’t lose much sleep over it tbh.
Likewise.
Pretty sure I've posted photos of the front door etc on door threads...
I take a similar view to you. I’m happy to share real world info with genuine members I interact with / be happy to meet in person for rides if required.
I’d still like to retain a semblance of anon to the raw internet and world at large.
I think as a whole, outside of wood stove conversations, this is probably one of the least controversial places out there to be uncovered if did happen. For the most part everyone is polite anon or not and I wouldn’t change it.
I'm so anonymous that my replying to this thread means I'm going to now track down everyone who reads it and kill them.
Anyone who can be arsed can find out who I am. Its not terribly exciting nor much use to anyone. I try not to make it too obvious or easy however.
I like to preserve my mythical malevolent presence.
<p>Big mistake posting under the illusion that you’ve anonymous. Unless you are very careful indeed to cover your tracks, you aren’t. <br /><br /></p><p>Don’t post anything you’d be embarrassed to post under your real name is my rule. Ok I push the boundary a little, but not too much. </p>
I’be held off with a few things but not bothered overall. I’m not that interesting to be bothered about giving too much away 🤣
Not very anonymous, but then I find the way I use the internet is the way I'd try to interact in the real world. Try not to be a dick and be conscious of what I post. Hence I've typed out so many responses to threads then decided not to hit submit, as either its adding nothing new to the discussion or on reflection the tone isn't right.
I still stand by my banning from Twitter for calling Farage an abusive term I'd happliy use to his face.
This is my only online persona other than Google knowing exactly what I'm thinking ect.
I've just missed out on a internal interview because I'm not social enough. or they found out I'm a grumpy sod in the morning
Not very. Used my real name on here a few times and have talked about where I grew up and where I live now. Had a few arguments on here and had a few warnings for calling people names. Would do the same in the real world though 😂
Haven’t knowingly met many forum members apart from when selling or buying bikes from them. Everyone I have met has been lovely.
My ex bosses husband is also a frequent lurker and sometime poster. Used to make me laugh when she would mention something I’d posted on here. Again both really lovely people though.
I like to keep vaguely anon here as I feel more comfortable being open about stuff.
Also, my real name is unique as far as I know, and due to my previous occupation can be easily tied to various other internet presences and profiles. So I like to keep a step apart from all that too.
I'm Dave but like fossy I prefer to keep my personal and work lives separate, if only because I've seen what unfettered access to your social media can bring up. I'm not hiding my personality but it's more a case of using "you know who I'm am but can't prove it" as a way to comply with social media policies since nobody can claim that anything I post could be insinuated to be said in an official capacity.
As I am using my real name then only partly anonymous as only surname.
Here is one of the places I post under my own name. As a result, I’m careful about what I share in terms of personal information, but I also do it because I means I’ll never post something here that I wouldn’t say to someone’s face, nor would I be concerned if it was read back to me in court or to my employer 🙂
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Used to be very anonymous as it was part of my contract at my old job, no mention of what I did on social media etc as I was a cash delivery driver, got even more strict when I became a key holder for the whole cash processing site. Since changing jobs I've become more relaxed about what I post here and elsewhere but have always taken the view that I would never post anything that I wouldn't say I real life, either in general or to a particular person. I do lead a pretty anonymous life in general though, I like to keep a low profile and just get on with my own little world when I can so there's very few pictures of me out there. I could probably be found from my ramblings on here due to pictures of my cars and places I've mentioned as regular haunts but in over 10 years of posting on here I've only once had someone I didn't know call me by my username and that was because they recognized the bike I was on and that was at a Cotic-organised ride in the FOD anf had mentioned in here I was going to it.
So in general I am pretty anonymous, here and in real life.
If you could be bothered to trawl through my old posts, it would take about 10 minutes to track me down as I live in a small village known to many and work in the oldest, well-known shop here.
If you can track down where my big red mining ship is in the galaxy then you’re doing well.l 😀
In all honesty being anonymous on here never crossed my mind when I chose my surname as my username.
I used to have a very vague user name but changed it after The Great Hack whenever that was. Now I use parts of my son's name and he wishes I didn't. As for anonymity on here... I do try to keep things vague enough that if friends, family or work colleagues read my posts/comments they couldn't identify me.
What is this anonymous you speak of 🙂
I don’t post piccies of my face but tbh that’s due to not being instafriendly and I wouldn’t be gurning all over Facebook either.
I think to us non-celebrities being anonymous or not makes little difference other than upsetting work or inviting people to steal our bikes 🙂
Have you ever resisted posting if it gave too much away about your identity
TBH my first names Bruce and I’ve a bit of a rubber fetish and enjoy dark nights out swinging around doing my bit for the neighbourhood watch.
I'm anonymous (ish). My current gig requires it. My real world name is uncommon, too, so there's that.
Have never tried particularly hard to be anonymous, apart from this not being my real name*
I'm not all over the internet/socials but I assume I'm not that hard to find
*
my user name is my name and I must know a dozen or so posters on here IRL, so not very.
I wish I was, not that it would change the way I am on here. I was just very naive when it came to registering and perhaps didn't wxpect myself to become a semi-regular poster on here. I would still like to change my username but also cant be bothered with the faff especially as I'm a full subscriber. Not gonna go back to the nightmare of pop ups, etc just for a different username.
Its difficult to imagine how I could make myself any less anonymous
My user name may as well be my actual name as thats what everyone has called me since I was at school
I've been on here since more or less issue 1, always under the same name and there's probably enough info in terms of me mentioning local trails, basic backstory stuff (you could probably find my degree pretty easily in a trawl through my posts for example) and it wouldn't be that difficult to put 2 & 2 together.
I've also met quite a number of STWers in real life and there's a reasonable number of folk locally.
Twitter, Strava, Facebook and Instagram all use my real name - still wish I had a marginally more anonymous name on Twitter.
My take on Internet anonymity is thus:
If you don't want to risk data accidentally bleeding into the public domain, don't post it in the first place. Friends-locked posting is no security at all.
I have an Internet footprint the size of Belgium. If anyone really cared sufficiently to try I'm not hard to find. I've tried to keep my surname off the forum for the simple reason that there may be those who wish me ill will. When I agreed to be a moderator I was, and I quote, "very strongly advised" by Mark to remain anonymous. I refused because I couldn't make the role what I wanted it to be whilst being invisible. This bit me in the arse once when a former, ahem, 'banned' user started stalking me across social media, but I nipped that nonsense in the bud sharpish.
If you don’t want to risk data accidentally bleeding into the public domain, don’t post it in the first place.
Nothing new under the Sun shocker...
Having said that I'm not very anonymous, I share my name with a quite famous Aussie Rules footballer and an quite well actor shares my surname, so a casual google doesn't turn up much before quite a few pages in.
I don't even ride a Whyte any more....
I'd love to post some stuff but given my line of work I don't want any potential conflict of interest. However if I told you my line of work, I'd have to kill you....
I don't even know who am I half the time.
However if I told you my line of work, I’d have to kill you….
Are you a vicar?
This bit me in the arse once when a former, ahem, ‘banned’ user started stalking me across social media, but I nipped that nonsense in the bud sharpish.
By marrying her?
This bit me in the arse once when a former, ahem, ‘banned’ user started stalking me across social media, but I nipped that nonsense in the bud sharpish.
Now, I wonder who that could be… 🤔
While I’ve never to my knowledge used my real name here, someone from here asked me if I was count zero from STW when I was at a gig once, which was a bit of a surprise.
Once in the middle of Hawes a complete stranger wandered up and asked was I bunnyhop. Still to this day I have no idea who he was.
It's hard to be anonymous when you've gone mtbiking with many, many mtbers from STW. I'm also married to a well known STWer.
By marrying her?
Oddly enough, I did genuinely marry a Louise. Albeit briefly.
