<p>It does not take much to connect the dots. One of my friends was able to figure out the identity of a poster on Yahoo message boards. The guy left fewer than 20 posts on just a few boards in a couple of years, but that was more than enough. Yahoo and Google are powerful tools. I do not think my friend frequents CC, so I can say it here. :D</p>
<p>And remember these posts potentially live forever. </p>
<p>My signed posts from 18 years ago (before we called it the 'internet') are still around, and I thought they were just transient messages that people were going to read and discard.</p>
<p>I have frequented several different boards (none anything at al like CC) over the last ten or so years and have found those where the majority use real names and have shared things like address, phone numbers, photos etc are the best internet communities. The dark side is all that info is available to any whacko who wants to seek it out. That's not a problem for me as I refuse to live a life behind a wall. However, posting here on CC is about my kid, and that makes it a whole different deal. Not my place to let the entire internet know who and what my child is. Isn't that what their Facebook account is for?</p>
<p>Thanks for the reminder thumper.</p>
<p>Just making a BUMP to this thread. Seems timely.</p>
<p>Uh … well, I just made up everything I ever said on any of my posts here anyway.
I don’t even have children. What I mean is, I do have children, big mean children, but they are all away in the Army … I mean in the Marines … in secret places overseas. Except for the three who work for the FBI and live in my basement with all the dogs.</p>
<p>I’ve been reading these forums for a couple of months now. Lots of good information on here to process. I’ve enjoyed following the successes/prom stories/college visits etc on the 2009 and 2010 threads - kind of giving me a glimpse into what’s in store for us in the future (I have a sophomore D).</p>
<p>Reading some of these threads and based on the information posted, I began to suspect that one of the posters was actually from the same school as my D. With a few additional posts, this did turn out to be true and I was able to identify the kid.</p>
<p>I had a “what a small world!” kind of reaction to this - but that was it from our end. Not intending to contact that poster or her child. But just the fact that this can indeed be done so easily is a bit scary…</p>
<p>I just had the same experience as arisamp. I was reading one of the college boards and was immediately able to ID someone who went to school with my D. It was an eye-opener, and not because the kid had said anything inappropriate.</p>
<p>So what if someone connects the dots and identifies me or my son? I could care less. I have identified a few on CC by doing this and while I would never blow their cover, I have communicated with a few privately. And you know who you.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE=originaloog]
So what if someone connects the dots and identifies me or my son? I could care less.
[/quote]
This probably depends on how much potentially embarrassing, damaging, or just hurtful information one has posted to this “community” using the same userid that can be traced to an identity. Some of the stuff I’ve read here is :eek:, especially in threads like the “get it off your chest” thread. And the posts by students about cheating, partying, that sort of thing… even if they’re ■■■■■■■■, they probably wouldn’t want that stuff coming back to them in real life.</p>
<p>I’ve been circumspect, but probably could be identified by someone in our family’s circle of friends. Just not by the whole world, I hope. :o</p>
<p>If someone wanted to track me down via my online postings, they probably could. Though that’s unsettling, I’ve tried not to write anything untrue, or anything my kids would find intolerably embarrassing. Re the “say it here because you can’t say it in real life” thread - I’m 99 percent certain that someone I’ve addressed there several times has read it, and I’m delighted, because said person deserves every word and more.</p>
<p>I think the worst scenario would be someone’s kids or family members identifying the poster and being seriously offended or angered or hurt. My kids know I post here, and even my member name - but I guess they’re not interested enough to stalk me online. 
Whenever a thread comes up that I think they’d find helpful, I have to beg them to read it!</p>
<p>Last year, I was a lunch hostess during a prospective student weekend. One commented that the food is probably better than average on such days. I replied that it was gross sloppy joes when I visited and we haven’t suffered ones like that since. I posted a similar comment on CC to that effect, though not recently. Based on that one comment, a student asked “are you WendyMouse?” Guilty as charged.</p>
<p>I’ve refrained from posting certain things on occasion because one of my children might be reading, and I don’t want to annoy or embarrass them (NOT that I’d ever say anything embarassing…)!</p>
<p>I once posted my humble opinion. Quickly another poster asked a question about the nature of my offspring. I was positive – thank goodness – as soon that poster typed “Hi Mom!”.<br>
You never know who will be lurking!</p>
<p>I had the same experience as some earlier posters, back before CC was active, there was the PR (Princeton Review forum- can you say prestige hungry!!??) and I was virtually brand new, in the course of reading posts one day I spotted one of my DDs best friends. I did not post myself for several months in order to avoid being cross spotted. I also posted real stories but changed key details to make it less simple to ID.</p>
<p>After a few years I got confused about my kids being boys or girls, so I had to keep the basic story true, but changed some unimportant identifiable details on anecdotes so that the names were changed to protect the innocent and the guilty. (dum da dum dum)</p>