Do you ever worry that someone could find you in RL from your postings on here? Or are you more careful than that?

[WideWebWitch]

For example, I posted once (ages ago) about where we were going be at half term and vaguely worried about it at the time and wondered whether I should have done so.

I also posted some details about another event which could have led someone to my rl name and address (it's my old one so it's not relevant now)

I haven't tried but I wonder if I searched on a particular mumsnetter's name, would I be able to find something that would lead me to their rl details were I to want them? I wouldn't, of course as I'm not a weirdo or a stalker but this is the www and anyone else could.

So, should we all be careful what we reveal here? Or am I being over cautious?

So, does anyone agree to a challenge? I'd rather not volunteer but I think I've been reasonably careful about identifying details since we moved.

Yes, I worry about it. Especially when I write something that I want to keep confidential and forget to name change!

I just assume that nobody is that bothered or interested in me; I'm not really the type to attract stalkers I don't think.

I'm going to have to think about this one - there are some interesting points on this thread and it has worried me in the past.

I have posted some personal stuff in the past but I've done it under another name. However, I have shared my occupation and where I live so I suppose someone could put two and two together. The only things I've posted that could be problematic are moans about work I suppose, but since none of my colleagues have children it's highly unlikely they'd be on here. As for strangers, like others I can't think why anyone would be interested.

I could be IDed by someone who knows me but I haven't posted (under my own name) anything I wouldn't say in RL so am not that bothered.

What sort of a challenge, www?

Katelyle - I think WWW means a challenge to people to find out as much as they can about you from your posts.

In answer to the OP: no.

If someone really wants to find out who I am and what I'm up to - and they'd have to be pretty pitiful because I'm a real peon - they'll find a way to do that no matter what.

There was a thing on the news the other day about ID fraud - not really applicable here as we don't generally give away our real names - but they had this guy who, from a woman's entry on a website (is it "my space"? We need an old fart emoticon...) found out her name and d.ob. and within minutes had her full address and phone number They said that sort of site is a goldmine for internet fraudsters.

I think if someone looked at all my posts it would be fairly easy to ID me - I've mentioned where I live, where dh works etc. The only time it's ever given me pause was at the time of the Judge Flounce thing. I'd always said I would never put pictures of my kids on the internet but I'd become a bit too 'lulled' by that whole MN - one big happy family thing and I did. JF was one of the ones who commented on them so it really shook me up when it was revealed that s/he wasn't who s/he seemed. One of the pictures was ds1 in his school uniform - knowing where I live, it would have been easy to ID his school. I've been a little more circumspect since then.

I really think I must be missing something. My children go to a primary school with over 400 pupils. That meeans that something approaching 1000 people (parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and so on) know my name, and my children's name. My children go to lots of clubs and so on - all of which have a record of our names and sddresses. I am on the electoral roll. I am a member of lots of societies and a political party. The list goes on. Anybody could find out who I am and where I live. But why would they want to and what would they do with the information? Yes they might be a wierdo, but then so might the person in the queue next to me in Tescos and he might follow me home.

Well that's true Katelyle. I suppose the question is, would you be happy posting your address and phone number here? And if not, be careful what identifying details you post. And you're right, maybe no-one would be interested in any of us. But there are some weirdos out there. It's ok though because as Lizzer points out, most of them are taken care of

katekyle - ok, extreme example maybe, but what about peadophiles looking through the lone parents/feeling depressed topics for vulnerable women with children to befriend etc. People may know you and your kids from real life but they may not really know your feelings/state of mind, which is what is often posted here.

pae not pea, doh! Of course, a pea lover may also want to befriend you.

I must be totally naïve but I don't understand this paranoia. Axe-murderers? Al Quaeda? You can't be serious! Do you walk down the street with a paper bag over your head? Do your neighbors know you under an assumed name? Why would anyone wish any of you harm?

I am more worried that someone I know in RL reads stuff about me that I may not want them to know!....

I don't post anything particularly personal on here - but do post stuff that I may not share with EVERYONE I know..

To be honest it's not the axe-murderer type stuff that bothers me - it's more the stuff when some people seem to begin to blur the lines between the online 'anonymous poster' and RL people. For example recently there was a lot of discussion about whether a particularly well-known and somewhat controversial poster on here was REALLY who she said she was. Several people then started speculating who (in RL) she seemed to be, and some people took it upon themselves to e-mail the RL person to 'check' if it really was her. While I think their intentions were well-meant (concerned that someone was 'passing off' as her) I think personally I would have been p*ssed off at the way in which it kind of 'outed her', if people chose to be nosey/ google etc.

I also had a minor niggle as a result of meeting someone at a MN meet up, and then subsequently being on some same threads as them. I started to get lots of unsolicited e-mails from people trying to sell me all sorts of business services (I was in a corporate role with quite a big budget). Turns out this person was giving out my e-mail address to people she came across in her own line of work. Worse still, she had added me to her hotmail address book (I'd unwisely had an e-mail exchange with her after the meet up) and I started getting loads of jokes/ silly pictures which she clearly thought it was fun to circulate. Unfortunately she also copied everyone's e-mail to everyone else too, and before long I was getting mountains of spam, and had to change my e-mail address.

Hardly life-threatening I know, but it just highlights how you don't really 'know' anyone, or know if their values and actions would be the same as yours.

Sorry, bit of a ramble, I know

somoone foudn em and psoted my address details on someone elses amzon wihs lit
no idea who the peerson was but mn towers foudn otu

Fecking ell COd!!!!

i know

freak out
we have our suspects

Name and shame. Then I can follow them round and bully them.

I probably do that already though

Didn't someone on here put a link (without asking) to someone's blog thing which had family photos and clearly identified them. And it was done in quite a nasty way, I seem to recall. The poster who was outed has never been back under one of her usual nicknames, I don't think.

I don't worry about stalkers but I worry about revealing too much personal emotion/detail

I don't want my neighbours reading my opinions on anal sex

Bad enough they have to listen to it MP

I'm not too bothered about what I post on here. If i had friends I was close to I would tell them anyway, but I don't!

I accidently 'outed' a mumsnetter, I wish I hadn't now as I feel bad for freaking her out...im sorry!