I don’t really understand this absolute fear that people seem to have about posting anything that might make them slightly recognisable in the fear of being “outed”
Its especially frustrating when people post they aren’t in the UK but refuse to say where they are in case their location means we suddenly all realise it’s Sandra who moved to Costa Blanca in 2022 and she’s made herself vulnerable by sharing she’s had some house guests stay and they have been getting a bit too comfortable.
It’s often relevant to the post as well like possibly seeking advice about tenancy laws or having a termination and so you get hundreds of people asking “Which country are you in OP?”
The OP just completely ignores the question most of the time!
People must think that they are instantly recognisable by their nearest supermarket, hobbies or what county they live in.
What are the chances that a hobby is going to lead people to your true identity anyway? Even if it’s a pretty niche hobby there will still be thousands of others that do the same.
The weather posts are so frustrating like -
“it’s been raining where I am all week”
Other posters comment they have had nice weather and ask where the OP is and they clam up and say it’s outing. No one wants their full address and post code but a vague “Birmingham area” wouldn’t even give a private detective much to go on unless your other posts are full of personal details.
I have shared details about my vague location, that I swim as a hobby and I have nightmare neighbours and a cat. I don’t think I’ve compromised my true identity just yet…
Anyone that knows me would recognise the user name anyway, I thought that’s why we had the option to name change?
This is my biggest annoyance on this forum. Unless you are on the run, under witness protection or have a job in a hated profession like traffic warden or tax inspector, no one is going to put together a profile on you based on small details you share on a parenting forum.
I actually think it would stop some of the nasty posts you get if people were a bit less anonymous. I’m not saying to share every detail but acting like you are a secret agent and refusing to share where you went on holiday in 2018 and got food poisoning in case it “outs you” just makes you sound secretive or petty. It’s far more likely to get a sympathetic response if you said “We went to Cyprus for my husband’s hobby of cooking authentic Greek food and unfortunately got so ill with food poisoning it ruined the whole trip that we’d saved years for“
Rant over (that’s another saying I hate! 😂)