Has anyone ever been found out via a Mumsnet post?

[clickyteeclick]

I’m always too afraid to post anything on Mumsnet for fear of being found out in real life.
Some of the posts I’ve read on here recently have been very outing and I wondered if any if you who’ve posted have ever ben found out?

I once had someone intimate that they knew me on a thread. But I looked through their posting history and they referenced the other end of the country a lot. I know people can move but I thought it was unlikely she knew who I really was.

People do know I am on mumsnet so maybe someone has recognized me. I don’t think I am that interesting tbh. I also think I am the same in real life.

No, but I have recognised other people.

I have been recognised and someone DM’ed me but didn’t say who they were. Freaked me out initially but now I don’t care.

I think a couple of things I’ve posted on here will definitely have been picked up by my sister in laws, through dh making me tell them the same stories not realising I’ve posted online 😆

Yes, I was outed.
I was going through a terrible time with a family member ( suicide attempts, MH crisis) and had posted for advice. A work colleague guessed my username and had told the whole team.
I de registered for while and re registered after I moved to a different country .

That is awful, hope you took that further to HR.

Someone figured out who I was and acted on it in real life and in turn outed themselves. It didn't really matter because I don't say anything online that I wouldn't say in real life 🤷

No idea bit I have recognised someone in my family.

Not that I am aware of. I am very surprised at times by the level of detail that some posters share that can be outing, especially if this relates specifically to their work which could be damaging.

I've found someone I know on here before, knew it was her without a doubt. I never mentioned it because her post was incredibly personal and I didn't want her to be upset/embarrassed that I'd read it.

I have posted some personal things here, but I name change quite a lot so if anyone has recognised me they won't find out ALL my deepest darkest secrets 😁

It was a horribly toxic team managed by a toxic manager. HR were already supporting me via the Employee Support service.
One person was given an official warning - she had printed off my posts to hand around the team.
Unsurprising I left that team soon after this happened.

No but I recognised someone I knew. Didn’t know her well, I worked with her husband, but I looked at her posts when she mentioned her three children’s unusual names. She had also mentioned the city they lived in and other identifying info and asked about some personal situation. I didn’t say anything to anyone obviously but have been careful about what I post now.

When I was going through my divorce, I posted on here. I was offloading, plucking up the courage to press go on the application.

Two weeks later my stbxh (at the time) confronted me and was furious. Demanded that I deleted the post etc. Apparently he'd "stumbled across it" and recognised himself straight away. I'd actually held back a lot so it wasn't identifying.

Yes lots of people have.

Not the same, but someone posted a very unusual birth story and then I heard them recounting it at baby group. I don’t know what on earth possessed me to but I went ‘oh, did you post that on Mumsnet??’ She looked embarrassed and said yes. What an idiot (me!).

I personally don’t worry about being found out myself because

1. I NC a lot
2. I don’t post anything I wouldn’t say in person
3. the mount of times I’ve posted something I thought was quite outing and someone has responded ‘me too, exact same situation here!’ makes me realise the world is massive and essentially a lot of us are living the same life 😆

I had a weird experience where I’d posted about a private school (nothing negative) then received an overly-friendly private DM asking for my phone number so we could chat about said school. I declined then the message and my posts were deleted.

I've seen a very close family member on here , she posted about her job and at other times life during lockdown and also about her kids that's how I clicked of who she was .
I haven't outed her nor would I mention it . But it did prompt me to having lots of names in here and changing regularly .

My twin sister and I both found each other very easily! It only took a couple of posts.

I recognised someone from photos they’ve posted. She’s not very complementary about her family, despite seeming close to them irl and she’s posted things about her work life that could cause huge issues for her if certain people saw them. She either doesn’t care or she’s really stupid.

The ex partner of a friend posts here too, although I didn’t recognise him from posts, my friend found out his usernames when she was suspicious of his online behaviour. He presents himself VERY differently here compared with in real life. He’s one of the reasons I wouldn’t ever post anything on the sex board, although he posts on other boards too. Creep.

I recognised someone on here as something traumatic happened to her which I knew about - but it was a while ago when less people. I let her know immediately and I didn't search any previous threads. I'm guessing she changed her name.

Not on here, but I recognised an in-law on another forum.

He had used a user name that was associated with something he had done in the past and also recounted the story of a coincidence that had also been told at a family gathering. He hadn’t posted much but in some ways it made me feel a bit more empathy towards him.

Beware of describing coincidences or ‘unique’ situations online!

I’ve recognised several people on here from their posts. I just scrolled on.

I name change frequently so if I get recognised, it’s not a big deal to me.

I can't get over somebody being so unbelievably vindictive and unpleasant as to do that.

Me too!

Someone posted once that it’s a shame the Daily Mail picks up stories from here as it makes MN less private! 🤨

I think some people genuinely forget that MN is a public site that anyone in the world can read. It probably has a greater reach than the Daily Mail!

Maybe because people post in private, in their home, it feels more like a diary or private friendship circle to them?

I actually amazed people say they are keeping things vague to avoid being outed. Fair enough nor using names etc, but I have no idea how the hell anyone would ever recognize anyone? Surely mumsnet has thousands of users and lots of scenarios are quite generic - 'not invited to birthday party/upset about a will/husband is cheating, etc.