Anonymity

So is this your new name or your old one?

I regret telling my family that I use this site, and they would soon guess my identity, and would recognise my garden and pets on my profile if they joined. I therefore never reveal anything about them that I think they wouldn't like. If I felt I needed to, I would re-name myself. There have been several such changes by others who then give us a hint of their original user name(s).

Some give a hint or a little more than a hint of who they used to be when they change their names. Some just change them and eventually it dawns on the rest of us who they were in a previous incarnation. Some insist that they are new members rather than members with new names. There are not really any rules about this.

I worry that stuff I have described may be recognised and I have revealed a lot of stuff on here at times I would not want to broadcast.

I haven't told many people I am a member for that reason.

I am in danger at times of mentioning something and say that I have heard it on Gransnet. Like the lovely Rory story.
The anonimity is very helpful when one wants to sound off.

I blether about gransnet to my family all the time, including talking about what discussions I'm taking part in. They know me well already so I doubt if anything on here would surprise them if they recognised me.

Quite a lot of people, including Mr absent and absentdaughter, are aware of my membership of GN, plus if anyone who knows me well happened to read my posts, they would soon recognise me. Who else write cookbooks for a living and had a cat called Fishpaste, for example, both things mentioned on here a couple of times at least? Like Bags I quite often mention some discussion that is going on or an anecdote that has amused me. (Mr absent loved the children being put into a quiche.)

I've said a good deal about my past which would enable old friends to identify me if they were likely to be on this site, which I doubt. My time in local politics gave me away at one time, and I had a pm from someone who considered me to be a traitor and who never again turned up on G'net, so I assume she joined simply to contact and slag me off. Anyway I subsequently changed my name though not my politics.

I also changed my name after realising that I could easily be identified by family or neighbours. I'd written about how worried I was about a family member and I got tremendous support which really did guide me and help me so much. I could do with similar at the moment, too, but am unsure whether to post about it in case the cause of my concerns picks up on it, should they be having a wee browse - though they aren't members of GN.
We can't change our names every time we feel the need to share personal concerns, so is there a way of doing this that would ensure anonymity, I wonder?
When I changed my name before, I was able to make myself known by hinting at my previous identity, and those who had 'known' me soon cottoned-on.

I have been thinking of changing my name also, as its such a stupid name and I could be easily identified by my family, if they should have a peep. But I'm not sure how to do it, also I've made a few friends here and would like them to know who I am. The other reason is that I would like to post on issues to do with family but am too scared to do it in case I'm identified by those concerned. Any advice please.

forbes, just email HQ and they will help you.

GNHQ would advise you, but I think if you want to use the same email address you have to be removed first, then re-apply with a new unrecognisable user name. *j08 will know, having done it many times! I am always surprised at GNers who post photos of children on their profiles it makes me uneasy, but cannot really explain why.

Marelli if you are worried about being identified, could you PM a few of us with the situation which is worrying you? I think you have been here longer than me so would know who you would be comfortable talking to. I do hope you get the support you need, wherever you go to find it.

No, you don't, shysal. If you ask HQ to change your name, you don't have to do anything else and you don't need a new email address.

You don,t have to de-register.

I changed mine but I think everybody knows me.

Thank you all for your helpful advice, I will PM the folk I am closest to and then e.mail HQ. Didnt think of that. xx

Movedalot, that's always an option of course . What is really good about Gransnet is that we can chat more or less anonymously to each other, and this is useful when posters have personal concerns where they feel they might benefit from quite a few others' opinions or guidance. This is how the open forum works well, but if there was a way that we could be really anonymous (something like 'Furious of Bournemouth' for example!) and that could then be replied to without much chance of the poster being identified, as it would only work for that particular thread and would eventually fade away. I think!

My family know that I chat on a website but have never asked which one.

DH knows I am on GN and have occasionally read out funny bits. I chose not to be anonymous. This means that I have to be just a tad careful about what I say about other people.
I don't link to GN on Facebook to keep a bit of a separation between GN and other aspects of my life. But I do follow GN and Geraldine on Twitter.

I recently had an idea for a story that included a sub-plot that involved the serial murders of members of a social forum not unlike Gransnet, although there are some distinct and important dissimilarities. To check whether it is possible to identify people on a social forum where they use only screen names I asked a friend to see if he could track down six names picked at random without any special software and, most importantly, without breaking the law.

He traced all six names, addresses, numbers of children, workplaces and bank accounts. In a couple of cases he traced hospital treatments and appointments. He backtracked to schools, colleges and universities but didn't have time to check all of them. This was done in his spare time in a week.

Obviously, if my character is a member of this imaginary forum, he/she will become au fait with many aspects of the lives of other posters.

I don't think there is any such thing as privacy any more.

Btw The random names didn't come from gransnet.

! Not surprised though!

So, were these random names from a real social networking forum, and were they user names only, absent? Unless they provided a profile, how would your friend even know in which area of the country (if in the UK at all) they lived?

I would be one of those who wish to remain anonymous for the simple reason I would not want to be identified by my grandchild's other grandmother, not that I expect her to be on Gransnet. I have on occasions posted how disgusted I was that she had gd's ear's pierced at a few months old without consulting my son. That's one example of how poles apart we are. I very much agree with Nelliemosser's comment about "sounding off". GN fulfills that need, as well as being a refuge, somewhere to give each other mutual support with problems we may be having and to draw on the experience of others who may have been through similar situations and of course to discuss and exchange different points of view with things that interest us.