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 try to do this too.

I work with a woman who is CONVINCED that she’s always finding friends, neighbours, people from work etc. but when she says why it’s always really run of the mill stuff ‘ I don’t like my MIL’ or school ‘dramas’ so statistically I don’t think she does … she can’t possible spot that many people!!!

Sorry, but this made me laugh.

Seriously, though, I hope the outing wasn't a problem/inconvenience for you.

I knew that I hadn't written anything like that, hence the comment about there not being in issue. That was just my experience. Other people may have an issue.

No, the person who spotted me was already aware of my skanky footner’d feet 😆

I was at a consultation event (run by the Dept of Education) and there were about 100 representatives from different companies there. Lots of men and they were did their usual - tried to take over, loud and talked over each other. There was another woman on my table, who had been trying to make a point for ages, so (being the loud, assertive person that I am) I stood up and asked that people be respectful and allow others to speak. She then made her point. It was very well received and she really thought outside the box, rather than just moaning like the blokes did. She used a phrase at the end that sounded very familiar ‘that would be a hard no’

At the break, we approached each other and I literally just said ‘Mumsnet’. She started laughing and said ‘yes, how did you know’. It was a very surreal moment.

Never met anyone else who posts on Mumsnet and I have never recognised anyone from their posts.

Yes, through 13 username changes too! She's just very recognizable. I even saw a post where she was saying how she'd recognized a post of mine once - well only the once, Love!

I had it the other way round and recognised someone in real life after reading a thread on here. They had posted a photo of their distinctive hairstyle without obscuring their face and a few days later I spotted them at a leisure activity I attended with my children. I was nowhere near home at the time so quite a coincidence!

Soon after joining MN (in 2009, I believe), I was on a thread where I posted an anecdote about a friend. Someone replied, referring to "our friend". I immediately thought I'd outed myself, panicked and name-changed.

It was only much later that it occurred to me that there was probably a typo in that message and the poster had most likely meant to say "your friend".

I'm an idiot, of course, but I've stuck with the name-change.

I have. One was a friend on a few of the pregnancy boards - we were due at the same time and there were some details that could only have been her. It was a little sad in some ways as a few things she posted weren’t quite true. It was harmless, but it seemed like she enjoyed telling stories about what she wanted - eg her boyfriend proposing with a big ring when it hadn’t happened yet etc.

Second one was my SIL who is pretty immature and spoilt at the best of times. Again, very distinctive details about her life and some quite outing stuff. She’s actually never written about her wider family, but she has posted about various health conditions and the fact she had a boob job 🙄

Someone thought they'd recognised me... They thought I was their colleague, and they were going to report me to our boss for being unprofessional etc.

It definitely wasn't me, I wonder what happened to her real colleague.

I have. The ex of my good friend. She was on here slagging him off and asking how she could stop him having contact with their young child. I havent told him because it would absolutely crush him.
I dont even know her, never met her, but I knew exactly who she was from everything she wrote.

Kind of.

my friend came over to my house in the summer and she mentioned Mumsnet. I didn’t say I was on it. She showed me a thread she had started and how posters had told her she was being really unreasonable about a topic and I was one of the posters that she showed me. I then admitted that was me. We burst out laughing. Disgust the topic in person and she stopped being a dick 🤣

One of my siblings searched online and found a recipe I had posted on MN. I never admitted it was me, but I did ask MNHQ to change the user name against the recipe.

Yes, identified one of the mums from school, never told her as she had such a hard time on here. The pile on was vicious.

I read a thread on here of a local woman who's child was dying. A ton of vile posters came on here accusing her of lying, really hounding her. That's when I realised what a cesspit full of toxic people MN really was.

Someone I know in real life posted on here doing market research for a business she is starting. It was broadly the same thing she had sent to real life acquaintances so easy to spot, plus the username had some confirming info. I haven't said anything to her, mostly because I don't want her trying to spot me on here!

One of my threads was published in the Daily Mail. I was asking for advise on my extremely toxic divorce. I did my best to conceal identifying details. But some of the incidents I shared were enough for friends to realise it was me. Even though I completely made up the number of kids I have, ages, sexes etc.

Awful as I confessed one specific thing I wish those who recognised me wouldn’t have known. Never again.

I recognised a mum whose dc joined my dc's niche hobby a while back. Location and specific hobby were named. I admit to advance searching her username. She had posted personal information on another thread. I'm discrete and her secrets are safe.

No but I have on Reddit. A dad at my kids school posted a pic of the kids homework sheet and I recognised it. I went to his account and saw photos of his dog so I knew exactly who it was. I then read through his entire post history hoping to find out something juicy but it was very mundane.