Have you been spotted posting on Mumsnet? Or identified someone you know?

[1reason]

Im fairly new to Mumsnet and have been reading many threads and posts.I get confused with AIBU! Just curious about this.
It struck me that it is likely that if you post very personal information then there is a.chance someone you know in real life could identify you.
Has this ever happened to you?
Spotted someone from real life or have posted on Mumsnet and been identified by people you know in real life.

I spotted someone posting about a specific situation with a Facebook friend of mine
Also on a rather mundane thread I posted about my old secondary school and a poster recognised it as being their old school because of its specific location...

Also interesting - how much on MN is untrue?

Quite a lot i would think or at the very least very one sided.

I have a problem with this. Out of the millions (or at least lots!) of posters on MN how are people so sure they 'recognise' someone?
Unless I post my full name, DOB and address how could anyone be sure it's me?
I think potentially a lot of people that think they have recognised someone could probably be incorrect, plenty of people going through the same issues at the same time. For example children being ill and missing parties, about 50% of the children I know are ill at the moment! Even if it links directly to another situation ie say, a house move, there are hundreds of thousands of people moving house with ill children at the moment.
For that reason if I think I recognise a situation/person I assume I am probably wrong.

I've recognised someone on here, under a few different usernames. They were posting about a fairly niche topic though.

Er, I know it can happen bc it happened to me. A long, long time ago when the site was smaller. And on a very specific topic related to a niche issue. I deflected the accusation of course - I think if you do recognise someone on here, it’s far from classy to point it out to them - but suffice to say I leant from that episode.

I think there's too many people on here now tbh. But I was freaked out a few times by posters quickly posting past posts of mine on threads. I change my username a lot but sometimes I feel stalked on here. People saying they recognise my writing style. I can't see how. It's most inane crap I post.

Many years ago I posted on the SEN board and that's the closest I'd posted identifiable info.

My husband recognised me on a thread but it was just a general comment about a specific medical condition and I was offering advice, so no issue.

I had recently name changed but I doubt he would have gone back through my comments but even if he had I don't see any issues.

It depends what board you post on if your posting on AIBU you are less likely to be recognised due to the sheer number of posters and threads ,it's an extremely popular board if your posting on a less popular more specific board with regular posters than the chances of being recognised would be much higher .

Yes, horribly.
Was going through a horrible family situation, in a toxic work team also. Someone ( I think I know who) saw me logged into MN by looking at my phone when I was in a meeting, found the thread Id posted about it on here. She told the queen Bee toxic person who printed out my op and stuck it to the wall behind my desk. This was 15 years ago and I can still remember walking back into the office.

Wow, that's totally awful behaviour. I can't even imagine how that must have felt b

Equally, it's always been good practice on mumsnet to alter enough key details to make sure you aren't recognisable

If I am posting something where I wouldn't want to be outed in real life then I don't just change user name I change enough of the facts and details to make the situation not recognisable (while ensuring the basic issue remains so I can get the advice /support I am looking for)

I hope the judge told them they were idiots!

Yes. Someone once mentioned that they were annoyed because their husband plays too much golf. No other info, but I instantly narrowed it down to my neighbour's sister-in-law's dog walker's aunt's colleague. If only they had just said "hobby".

Ha!
I made friends with a group of MNetters. All lovely people. Based on their posts on here you would have assumed they all lived very UMC lifestyles....based on FB and meeting them - most of what they post on MN (regarding wealth and lifestyle) is a work of fiction, although a lot of them did feel the need to have an SUV that was bigger than their house

Yes, massive lesson learnt. Plus I got a team move which worked out well. HR got involved as obviously someone looked at my phone , so had to go into my handbag . The TM was a nightmare too and he demanded to know why I hadn't shared any of this with the team !!

Omg they went into your bag and your phone! I thought you meant they spotted it over your shoulder as you were posting. That's horrific behaviour. Genuinely I feel really angry on your behalf, that's a monstrous betrayal on so many levels

Glad you got a team move

She’s a fab MIL and puts up with shit I wouldn’t in million years

Honestly? Probably 99%

Well, if your previous posts had included asking advice about concealing an affair, or getting your ducks in a row to leave your marriage, surely you’d see the issue?

The person I know is 100% the person I know. No doubt about it. Not sure they'd even remember me. Probably would but only vaguely. I don't think they'd really care, other than maybe some normal curiosity.

In my work I sometimes get feedback on a person that then gets shown to them anonymously (think 6-8 people commenting on one individual eg a boss or coworker)

Often the individual will say ‘oh I know John said that … so obviously is him’. And it was not John

so if in a group of 8, people get it wrong, I would be wary of thinking you’ve identified someone - chances are you haven’t. And as stories often demonstrate, hundreds if not thousands of us share the same issues.

Same hell, different devils

@WoahWoahandThriceWoah the cousin I recognised is a very particular personality, but also… she had a poster name including her actual first name, lives in another country which she named, described the number of children she has, the family setup, her job, and quite a bit about wider family including siblings, names of grandparents etc. The site and even the internet back then were different but there’s no doubt it was her.

What’s interesting to me was that people were always accusing her of making things up because her life sounded like a fantasy to others but I knew every detail was true. It means that if I’m going to post at all, I tend to respond to people on here at face value - if I think it’s fake I try not to post.

The odds of someone else sharing the same name (which they've shared and is unique), children and all their details, residential history (especially when it's a bit unique) and personal history are pretty unlikely. You can know for sure, depending how specific the details.

I was recognised by a friend on here ages ago as part of quite a sensitive discussion about my previous marriage. Its made me quite cautious and I name change for anything sensitive or potentially identifying.

I showed My ex partner a story posted here , she somehow managed to see my username.

She found all my posts where I had been trying to find ways to disclose that I had a secret child before I met her.