To think you know the OP IRL

[justkeepongoing]

Reading some of the threads got me thinking. Had anyone ever read a thread and thought I know who that is IRL or I think I know who/where they're talking about? Light hearted Sunday night post of course!

"I've seen a lot of posters and thought "someone who knows me could well think that's me", with same child age, marriage length, region, background etc etc.

I've been recognised twice - once by a good friend, which was unsurprising, but the other time by someone I don't know socially at all, just move slightly in the same circles (she mentioned she'd recognised me).

Fortunately I very rarely post anything I wouldn't talk about IRL, and always do a temporary namechange for anything sensitive, but I think it's very easy for regular users to notice two or three facts on different posts and realise who someone is.

Someone once replied to a post of mine with my real name so instead of saying Captain they addressed me as Sarah (different username and real name!) I name changed and never addressed it, just pretended not to notice. I have posted a completely identifiable situation under another username and got such useful advice. It's a really useful aspect of being able to name change so freely though I guess that creates other problems too!

Yes I have been identified more than once.
Its not fun.

Sort of.
Someone posted on here something very similar to what they had posted on a local Facebook site. Having read the latter, it was so obviously the same person and as it was a very personal, possibly risky situation, I posted to let her know she was identifiable and if I could read it, so, potentially, could her ExDH who it was sort of about.

A former colleague recognised me on here from something I said about my son's school. Fortunately there was nothing untoward for her to find if she'd advance searched my posts!

On another forum, a long, long time ago I mentioned something about the school where I worked. I'd previously mentioned which part of London I lived in. Another poster immediately said 'Oh, do you mean * School? My wife works there too, and she thinks she knows you in real life'.

A useful lesson. In this case too there was no harm done, but there easily could have been. No one post of mine would have told him who I was, but he had a retentive memory and had remembered several separate details, so when that final clinching detail came in he worked it all out quite easily.

Someone nearly outed me once and that was not fun at all. I posted something that had happend which had really upset me (an incident of racial abuse) a while back and someone asked if I had posted it on the local forum where we live. Hence, she outed where I lived. I wasnt impressed but never addressed it as didnt want to draw attention to it. It is a pretty shitty thing to do.

I was called in by my Head Teacher for her to tell me some awful stuff that was going on for one of my pupils. As the story unfolded, it seemed very familiar, and I realised I'd read it on here the evening before.

Yes. A very close relative is on here. I can tell by her posting style and some stuff she says which is true, the rest is utter bullshit and I'm getting very close to calling her out on it. She likes to be controversial but really she's just sad.

I once found a thread in babynames slagging off my one of my DCs names. It is very uncommon (think there were only about 5 babies named that year with that name according to ONS) and one poster had actually written "can you believe, I know someone who has actually named their DC xxx and xxxx (naming my both my DC) and wrote something disparaging. I knew it was about me and could not believe any of my friends or acquaintances would slag off my kids names. Through AS, I eventually deduced that it was written by a good friend of mine's work colleague who I've never even met. My friend challenged her and she admitted it. I only worked it out as she had posted the name of her child and I asked my friend if any of her colleagues had recently named their child Eve (not real name).

Yes. I didn't comment & didn't say anything when I saw her last. She dug herself a very big hole & didn't come out of it particularly well. It was very odd as it was situation that I knew from both sides & the truth was very firmly in the middle.

I've never recognised anyone but when I've posted I have had a slight concern that I've outed myself IRL.

I recognised an OP on another, more local to me, parenting forum once. It was a very painful marriage / family drama with a lot of identifying detail. I know the OP's husband. I felt very sympathetic as it contained details I didn't know before, and a bit guilty that I'd stumbled on it. I never post personal stuff like that online, the internet is too small!

I commented at work once that I read mumsnet a lot, my boss commented that he had spotted my posts. I just politely asked if he enjoyed reading/seeing my heartbreak in my posts (I had discovered h's ow).

I namechanged after that and he hasn't mentioned it since.

I recognized a poster. She posted a lot of very identifiable details. I wanted to tell her, but I didn't want to out myself too. She has now name changed.

My friend found me but only because I send him links to funny theeads.

I then realised I posted far too many personal details about myself on here which if outed could hurt people, so I deregisterd for 6 months.

Have name changed now but rarely come here anymore as I don't like seeing people get roasted and everything they say getting twisted.

no, but I don't mind if someone does recognise me anyway!

Never on here - I don't think! I also never post anything except mundane things. Although I am probably overdue a name change!

On the other site with a similar name! There was a thread about our wedding, I barely recongnised the situation and things had been twisted and distorted to sound terrible. The poster irl is known to be a terrible drama lama and loves to create a stink. I was really disappointed with her tbf but not surprised. Posters on the other site did point out she was being unreasonable which gave me an enormous amount of pleasure!

I don't really write anything I wouldn't say in real life. If I recognised someone I'd probably tip them off so they could nc if they wanted.

There was a poster I liked started getting nasty pm's. I don't know if she knew her in real life or was a fantasist either way it was upsetting. Shame there's such malicious people about.

Someone posted their son's name on the baby name threads, and then posted a question about child-friendly activities for a family in the place they were going on holiday. The combination of the two identified her.

She's a warm and lovely person in RL, and just the same on MN. She doesn't know I've recognised her, but she has never AFAIK posted anything personal.