Do you worry about being indentified on Gransnet?

nanna8

I sometimes wonder if I know someone on here whose chosen name and comments fit someone I am related to. Not game to ask. Forever a mystery.

Well, if it's me, feel free to send me a PM. Though I don't have any relatives in your country.

No I don’t.

I’ve just sent a long (ish) reply to this and on checking, it’s disappeared into the ether! Annoying! Not writing it out again, but just to say, yes, I am concerned about identity being revealed. The attraction of GN is for me the anonymity of it. I don’t reveal too much personal info as I like the fact that no-one knows who I am. I’m a private person, but I find many of the threads on here very interesting and want to comment, with complete anonymity. It can be a “release” for me to post and I want to do so with no-one knowing who I am.

Yes, that point has been made many times but many people don’t bother to read threads beyond the first post, so it’s worth repeating.

Also, many posters decry Facebook and other social media, but GN copies threads to FB so anyone who is on there can see them, and make comments outside of here. You may not see them if you don’t have an account but your words travel further than here.

Doodledog many posts above I voiced the same concern.

Gransnet is open to the world and its dog. Some posts are so revealing and ultimately identifying and some posters make quite derogatory remarks about family, friends and colleagues.

Remember Gransnet is not a cosy club open to a select few. And remarks made remain available forever.

fancythat

The world has already got our data. Those of us online.
In my opinion.

Though I looked up something once, and it was right about me, 4/5.
I was pleased about that.

Data mining is not remotely the same as your neighbour seeing you complain about her reluctance to take the bins out, or your daughter seeing you call her selfish, or a colleague seeing you moaning about how she uses all the coffee or whatever.

Data don't really matter. Actual comments really do.

kittylester

I think everyone is getting a bit paranoid. The world isn't full of people trying to 'get' you.

🎼Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not after you 🎶

The world has already got our data. Those of us online.
In my opinion.

Though I looked up something once, and it was right about me, 4/5.
I was pleased about that.

kittylester

I think everyone is getting a bit paranoid. The world isn't full of people trying to 'get' you.

I quite agree. I do not worry about it.

kittylester

I think everyone is getting a bit paranoid. The world isn't full of people trying to 'get' you.

No, of course not. But it could be embarrassing if someone identified a poster and kept reading what the poster thought were private thoughts.

IMO it would be good manners to tell someone if you thought you'd 'outed' them, to allow them to change their name and maintain their anonymity, but not everyone would do so - in fact, the more mannerless/malicious the person, the less likely they would be to come clean, I think.

Grammaretto

Well done Pamela! on your attempts at disguise. Unless AI writes for you, you might be recognised by your writing style. 😂

Are you my RL friend?

You are quite correct but my friends in RL don’t know what my writing style is😂
No , you aren’t, not saying who is but she mentions things and places that are near to me.
Re. The window photos - someone in Japan was killed by a stalker who worked out where she lived by a photo she posted from her balcony. I had a quick look at that thread but I think most posters were careful not to give too much away.
There are some real nutters out there!

I think everyone is getting a bit paranoid. The world isn't full of people trying to 'get' you.

No, I don’t worry as I don’t post pics of pets/ garden/ view from window and so on.
Or mention holidays or anything very personal.

If you read my post, and there are a few grammatical error, that is the real me. If you read my post and the post is in perfect English, that is not the real me, that is me using Co-pilot editor.

To stop being paranoid, you need to think like a crook.

In my case, I never attend any GN meeting, I never disclose the town or county where I live. I am not on Facebook or Instagram.

If a scammer managed to hack GN system and retrieve my email, there is no trace of my email on the internet. So, there is little chance of linking the online me on GN to the real me, unless you know me personally.

Guess what happened the other day. Some scammers managed to hack into the mobile app of my husband’s bank and send a message to my mobile phone. They also have access to my mobile phone and landline number.

The usual message 'We have frozen your debit card, call this number to unfreeze it'

I just delete the message and decline the calls.

Well done Pamela! on your attempts at disguise. Unless AI writes for you, you might be recognised by your writing style. 😂

Are you my RL friend?

Sorry should have checked my post.

Well I sometimes put up in correct information. It really doesn’t usually matter to the rest of the posters what age I am, what star sign I am where I live, so sometimes I’m older or younger than.
If there is someone on here that wants to find out anything about me they may get confused.
I don’t think that anyone that knows me is on here except one poster who I suspect knows people that I might know.
She might suspect the same? Never been a problem but I think I might find out who she is if I was so inclined. I’m not inclined and neither should I think that many of you are?

However just recently there has been a lot in the media about protecting yourself on line so don’t be surprised if I live in Cumbria, Devon, Knightsbridge and I’m 36 with a baby or 60 with a bladder problem,

I sometimes wonder if I know someone on here whose chosen name and comments fit someone I am related to. Not game to ask. Forever a mystery.

Sago

I was really shocked when a regular poster inadvertently revealed exactly who she was.

I tried to DM her via Instagram, Gransnet and FB but she does not accept private messages.

In 5 minutes I had her name, her husbands name, her business and home address.

If it's the same real life ID I saw, I reported the post to GN.

She no longer posts.

Some of my friends know I post, we sometimes read GN together over coffee if there is an interesting thread, or something funny. One of them used to post some years ago, before I did.

As far as I know no one in my family apart from DH has ever heard of GN or Mumsnet.

If someone knew my family very well they may be able to guess my identity but it's unlikely.

No , but I’m very careful what I post which isn’t much . I’m always surprised at what posters do post . Especially with family issues, which could out you.

kircubbin2000

A couple of people I follow on another site have been followed and harassed by people who disagree with their views. Police have been involved.

Ditto.

Very unpleasant.

dragonfly46

It bothered me a while ago when someone in an exercise class rushed up and asked me if I was dragonfly46. I laid low for a while after that. Now I no longer have contact with her it no longer bothers me.
However, I am aware that, unlike FB this is an open forum so I am careful about revealing my exact location and when the am going to be away etc. I believe posting when you are away on social media invalidates your travel insurance.

Really 😳

No, I don't worry and yes you may be a wee bit paranoid.

There are many posters here who reveal that they have experience of some poor relationships IRL; neighbours, ex-partners, family members, bosses and work colleagues. inlaws, who turned out to be cheats, liars, abusers who took advantage.

So everyone should know, there are some dodgy people about. Who can't be trusted. Who are not what they claimed to be.

Yet people here still post that they live alone, are old, female, lonely and socially isolated, have mental health problems or physical disabilities, they'd love to meet new people for a chat or a coffee / are desperate to find a workman. They name their ailments. and identify the prescribed drugs they keep at home.There are people on Good Morning and Soup's Kitchen who regularly reveal where they live, their daily itinerary, the details of their life.

This is not a private conversation.

Also reading GN are an unseen sewer of neds, toerags, scammers and crazy persons looking for easy prey . Easy to PM/ befriend just long enough to be trusted with a working email, real name and address, a photo of you or your home, garden, dog.

You probably never think about this stuff; and if you do,
you 're sure it won't happen to you. The regular familiar posting names are like family; , they're all old women, we know each other so well.

You really don't.