"Name changed as so outing"

[GlitteringUnicorn]

I see this often.
Is it a real thing?
Has anyone ever been recognised on a website this massive?
Even worse has anyone joined a thread to give their counter argument if they recognise themselves being malligned?!

Yes a very spiteful person recognised me from a Facebook support group I had posted in and seems pretty obsessed with me! It was really weird. No idea who they were and don’t post in the group anymore but they recognised me on here.

The most annoying ones are when it's about if a potential baby name is ok but they won't say what the bloody baby name is so no one can actually say anything meaningful!

If someone posts an anecdote or details a situation they've shared in real life with people then it's not hard to spot them at all. I often change small details of posts and NC regularly. I think it's a fab feature. Although some people misuse it and get away with being dicks, I'd prefer that to keep the anonymity.

I've recognised a couple of school gate acquaintances. Nothing too awful but I think they thought they were anonymous.

You must mean Geoff then?

Edited:- sorry, couldn't help myself

Ive been recognised as i told the same story of something that happened to me on here as elsewhere.

and ive recognised my friend from her style of writing, not anything she said. It was a fashion thread but i read it in her voice, did an advance search and it was absolutely her. So it was a very mundane thread about an outfit so she would never have thought it outing, but it was her style of writing that was unmistakable to me.

90% of the time they’ve name changed because it’s outing that their husband golfs at the weekend
😂

I have a close friend who has some quite specific issues with her ex. She posts sometimes and even with details changed, I know it’s her. She knows I’m on here, and sometimes asks if I’ve seen her thread. On that experience, I think if you do know someone it can be quite guessable. So I can see why you wouldn’t want threads linked under one name.

I've recognised someone before now. Pmd them to let them know that if their initials were xx that they might want to name change and then tried to forget their username. It's been years and I managed it, probably very quickly.

I didn't advance search as it felt like an invasion of privacy.

I've been here 17 years and recognised three people, and a couple of people recognised me once after I posted the same question here and on FB. I don't care though. I'm very boring and uncontroversial.

You see! Instantly outing 🤣

Maybe I'm missing something, but I always wonder why people have to 'announce' that they have name changed? Why not discreetly name change...post said thread...and then return to previous name🤔

Because the very first post will say 'interesting first post OP 🤔'

When people name change & talk about their post being 'outing', they sometimes mean, within MN.

So people will link their previous posts together, via an AS or otherwise, and it will affect the replies they get. 'Oh OP, last week you posted that you were frustrated how much contact your DP had with exW & now you're asking for wedding destination advice'. Then the thread gets derailed.

But also, there are several Irish posters that I could probably figure out who they are, if I really wanted to (and similarly, they could with me). They work in universities, in a similar role to me, and it's a small world! I wouldn't have any interest in doing so, nor I assume, would they!

Except for the fact that their husband cycles/plays golf which are totally unusual and outing hobbies apparently...

I disagree. I think many threads are outing, with lots of very specific information. Whether someone is going to genuinely read it & know them in real life, is another matter.

Sometimes you can understand as, either very unique circumstances or when put together with other threads/responses could be identifying.

The ones that mystify me though are things like ‘I’ve named changed for this but long term poster, penis beaker etc. I’m married with kids and irritated by my DH as he’s a complete slob. What should I do?’. Or, new school year ‘I’ve name changed for this but long term poster, penis beaker etc. My child has been put into a class without any of their friends. I’m not happy. Should I approach the school?’. In what universe, even together with other threads is that sort of universal shit identifying? Invariably the thread goes poof as Mumsnet admin message ‘the poster believes this is identifying them in real life and we don’t want to cause any further distress’, when it’s clearly never identifying in those types of scenarios (obviously different for things that are universal or unique, but I’ve noticed they do it for a lot of needle in haystack stuff also).

On a website with literally millions of users, if anyone has been "outed", then they've chosen to share so much personal information and details that they've outed themselves.

We tell our kids off for doing this online...

People like to take the piss about posters not mentioning their DH's hobbies, but it's not because it's the actual hobby that's outing - it's the hobby plus everything else in their thread (and any previous threads) that could be outing.

I got recognised as the DailyFail picked up my thread and ran a story with it which was quite outing. I name change regularly now.

If I’ve posted across different threads various bits of my life - that I am a paramedic who is married to an engineer who trained as a teacher in their 30s, have 2 kids one of which is called Henry, go riding at weekends, went to Turkey last year on holiday, recently moved house to south London etc etc it can be quite easy by advanced searching the username & looking at their posts…

Its to try and stop people saying they're a troll and getting the post pulled.

Nah, the posts are usually anodyne with Geoff the cycling DH failing to pull his weight at home due to his all day cycling trips or spending too much money on his bike.

"Name changed as this will be outing.

My DP has a hobby......"

Look we know it's cycling and unless your original username had "Wiggins" in it, we won't guess who you are!!!

Even if they don't know people on here (which let's face it, they probably do as it's a massive site) by the time the newspapers get hold of it, it could be a massive issue if you're talking about a person or a situation and they recognise it's you - even worse if they can link it to your other posts. I think you'd be stupid not to name change if you're talking about something personal. Also, the reason people have to announce it's a name change links to the reason people have to do it in the first place. For example, "interesting first post". People are actively searching for their past posts which is so fucking weird.