<p>So I recently found this website while looking for ways to procrastinate (thank god I did not find it when I was applying to college otherwise I would have been freaked out). I only have a handful of posts and limited information about myself, but someone I know managed figured out who I was on this website. Does this happen often? I didn't realize how many people knew about this cite when they were applying for college and actually used it.</p>
<p>By the way, I don't know where would be the correct place to post this but I just put it here since this place seemed to have a random assortment of stuff.</p>
<p>A story I told, and in another post I said what school I went to. By sticking two and two together he could figure out who I was. It is not like I am terrified by it and I can defiantly see how he figured it out but at the same time I am wondering if it happens often.</p>
<p>Unless someone personally knows you, based on your answer, the likelihood of someone discovering your identity is dependent on how much information you give out. Also, if your username is similar to others you use, the chances probably increase. If you use the exact same username as another linked to your identity, then it becomes almost probable that someone could search you out if they tried. For that reason, I changed mine for these forums lol.</p>
<p>Try a google search of your username. I did and I found an average of one account per page of results that was mine (for the first ten pages)!</p>
<p>Anonymity is absolutely paramount on this site for reasons I’m still not sure of.</p>
<p>Of course, you shouldn’t give out your personal information over the web, but people on here take it to another level by being afraid of saying what college they go to (most people would just make some vague statement like “I go to a top 50 LAC”.) This isn’t to say that all members act like this, but some do.</p>
<p>I don’t have a problem with it, but I don’t personally see the point of fearing people finding out your identity. I’m a member of another forum in which people often use their real names for screen names. If no harm befalls those people, I’m sure its safe to at least state where you go to school.</p>
<p>I guess some people may want to keep their ID secret to prevent classmates from seeing them making inflammatory remarks about their school?</p>
<p>edit: Well I guess college admissions counselors do browse these forums from time to time, so I guess that’s another reason.</p>
<p>It’d be pretty easy to figure out who I am if anybody bothered to look. I have a lot of very unique life experiences posted on about 12 different forums all with the same username. lol.</p>
<p>I don’t care if my friends know who I am on this website, I haven’t said anything here that I would not want repeated. I was just wondering how often it happens.</p>
<p>I guess the thing that east brought up is something that I find really strange on this website. I can’t understand why people won’t say what school they go to if they are already in college. I frequently see “I go to a top 20 school”. It makes posts a lot less useful. Just because schools are all ranked near the top does not mean that they are all the same.</p>
<p>Some people may be embarrassed that they use this forum.</p>
<p>Also, saying you are from an LAC is different from saying youre from some university. I don’t care if people know what university I go to because too many people go here and not a particularly large proportion of people even know who I am in real life. If I went to an LAC, there would be a good chance that I would be more well known in the community.</p>
<p>That never happened to me on any of the websites I posted on. But I guess it could happen if someone on the same website just happens to know you personally.</p>
<p>I met my first roommate in this website. LOL
It’s usually the other way around, I meet people here and then I meet them in real life… I met like 4 people at least!</p>