emulatorloo
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Sun Dec-13-09 01:41 PM
Original message |
Why do some DU'ers 'disable' their profiles? I don't get it. |
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I only recently become aware that some DU'er 'disable' their profile. What is the point of that?
It is not as if there is a ton of personal info in profiles that you would need to guard on the internet from search engines -- no credit card numbers, social security numbers, email addresses or anything like .
So what is the advantage to doing so?
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saltpoint
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Sun Dec-13-09 01:42 PM
Response to Original message |
1. Sometimes I'll disable my profile |
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just to watch it die.
"This one's for you, Johnny."
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RUMMYisFROSTED
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Sun Dec-13-09 01:42 PM
Response to Original message |
2. To kill their "member since" date. nt |
tekisui
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Sun Dec-13-09 01:44 PM
Response to Reply #2 |
4. That is the reason. Any other info can be left out |
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on the profile. It only serves to hide the member since date.
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emulatorloo
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Sun Dec-13-09 01:44 PM
Response to Reply #2 |
5. Interesting! Why would someone want to do that? |
RUMMYisFROSTED
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Sun Dec-13-09 01:46 PM
Response to Reply #5 |
6. Noobs are rightly/wrongly looked upon with a modicum of suspicion. nt |
tekisui
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Sun Dec-13-09 01:47 PM
Response to Reply #6 |
8. Especially those that have 1000+ posts in the matter of a week or two. |
Echo In Light
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Mon Dec-14-09 12:35 PM
Response to Reply #8 |
emulatorloo
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Sun Dec-13-09 01:48 PM
Response to Reply #6 |
9. Got it, But seems like "low post count" + "disabled profile" would be MORE SUSPICIOUS than date |
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I guess you could rack up a decent post count in a short time though.
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Posteritatis
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Sun Dec-13-09 01:53 PM
Response to Reply #9 |
18. The general assumption here is "under 1000 posts = rovian spy" for a lot of people |
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Disabling profiles won't exactly do more damage to their reputations in that regard, since most new people are automatically seen as the enemy anyway.
If someone's already decided that somebody else is Clearly The Enemy, they'll find ways to claim it's so. Low post count, disabled profile, joined on the wrong date, joined 'correctly' long ago but have 'too few' posts for that time...
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QC
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Sun Dec-13-09 01:53 PM
Response to Reply #9 |
19. Some new trolls rack up hundreds or thousands of posts in a matter of days. |
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They hang out in the Lounge and post lots of "LOL!" and "What a cute kittie!!!" posts to drive up their counts so that when their true selves emerge, fewer people will mark them as trolls right away.
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Occulus
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Sun Dec-13-09 01:59 PM
Response to Reply #19 |
22. That's why I think Lounge posts shouldn't count toward the overall post count. |
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Edited on Sun Dec-13-09 01:59 PM by Occulus
We should have loooong since taken care of that vulnerability.
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QC
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Sun Dec-13-09 02:01 PM
Response to Reply #22 |
RUMMYisFROSTED
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Sun Dec-13-09 02:04 PM
Response to Reply #24 |
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Lol.
Slightly OT but what a cute peace sign!
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QC
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Sun Dec-13-09 02:09 PM
Response to Reply #27 |
29. Don't you have any cute photos of kittens for me to coo over? |
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Or maybe some heaving loins poetry?
LOL!
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RUMMYisFROSTED
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Sun Dec-13-09 02:17 PM
Response to Reply #29 |
31. Here goes, the ultimate Freeper test: |
QC
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Sun Dec-13-09 02:26 PM
Response to Reply #31 |
33. How dare you make fun of that lovely creature?! |
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Your lookist agenda is perfectly clear.
(I bet you eat at Olive Garden!)
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Generic Other
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Sun Dec-13-09 02:42 PM
Response to Reply #31 |
42. The Bush years were bad to you I see... |
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Oh my gosh. If that is the result of breeding, then I am not sure I like it.
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emulatorloo
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Sun Dec-13-09 03:17 PM
Response to Reply #31 |
47. We are a big cat tent here. |
Vincardog
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Sun Dec-13-09 06:58 PM
Response to Reply #31 |
54. Now THAT is a cute kitten |
RUMMYisFROSTED
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Sun Dec-13-09 07:47 PM
Response to Reply #54 |
Turbineguy
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Sun Dec-13-09 02:16 PM
Response to Reply #22 |
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I'm going to the Lounge! Right Fucking Now.
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Turbineguy
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Sun Dec-13-09 02:20 PM
Response to Reply #22 |
Bobbie Jo
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Mon Dec-14-09 11:39 AM
Response to Reply #22 |
Iggo
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Mon Dec-14-09 12:37 PM
Response to Reply #22 |
67. And what about Musicians? |
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Or Entertainment? Or Cooking? Or GLBT? Or State Forums? Books? Or Science Fiction? Or Addiction & Recovery? Why just The Lounge?
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Shell Beau
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Mon Dec-14-09 12:50 PM
Response to Reply #22 |
69. I totally disagree. That is basically saying the lounge doesn't count. |
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Most of my posts have come from the lounge. And while many wouldn't have counted as anything useful, there were many of times that I posted some worthwhile stuff.
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Iggo
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Mon Dec-14-09 12:33 PM
Response to Reply #6 |
65. Both rightly and wrongly. (n/t) |
uppityperson
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Sun Dec-13-09 02:34 PM
Response to Reply #2 |
37. Here is how to get around that... |
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hover your mouse over one of the icons, profile, send pm, etc and you will see the address of that page, last bit is ID number. Or click on one of the icons and look at the web address.
Once you get the number, you can compare with others to get the join date down pretty close. I did this a couple nights ago for a returnee that thought was posting before DU began. Came up with date in 2003.
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Brother Buzz
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Sun Dec-13-09 02:58 PM
Response to Reply #2 |
45. Yet the browser progress bar defeats that silly trick |
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DU member ID numbers give a good idea when someone joined. Just point to the mail box envelope or the '+' or '-' head and note the number on the progress bar at the bottom of the page.
I'm ll3392 (drop the first 1) so I'm 13382nd member, I joined in 2002. You number is 122086 (drop the first 1) and you are the 22086th member. A little sampling of members numbers will give you a good idea when someone joined.
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asdjrocky
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Sun Dec-13-09 01:42 PM
Response to Original message |
3. Because they're after me. |
mmonk
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Sun Dec-13-09 01:46 PM
Response to Original message |
7. Originally because of harassment. |
emulatorloo
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Sun Dec-13-09 01:49 PM
Response to Reply #7 |
mmonk
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Sun Dec-13-09 01:56 PM
Response to Reply #10 |
20. I no longer care and have accepted it. |
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But it started by internet stalking to a culmination of inquiring and hostile phone calls. It spooked my family.
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Hekate
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Sun Dec-13-09 02:28 PM
Response to Reply #20 |
34. Ew, that's really, really scary. |
mmonk
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Sun Dec-13-09 02:45 PM
Response to Reply #34 |
43. I decided to no longer be afraid. |
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What I didn't know was that my entire entries in Newspapers went online as well (31 so far). So if people want to take the time, they will track you down. They just have to gather up all the information. But yes, it can be unnerving.
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AllentownJake
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Sun Dec-13-09 01:49 PM
Response to Original message |
11. There is a hostile website that tracks our movements |
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Edited on Sun Dec-13-09 01:50 PM by AllentownJake
our user names, our postings, etc.
I can understand why some people would disable their profiles for that reason alone.
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graywarrior
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Sun Dec-13-09 01:50 PM
Response to Original message |
12. I disabled mine a while ago because I was being discussed over at |
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the Forum Whose Name We Cannot Speak
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onehandle
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Sun Dec-13-09 01:52 PM
Response to Reply #12 |
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Yeah, that would bug me too.
:+
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graywarrior
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Sun Dec-13-09 01:58 PM
Response to Reply #16 |
Commie Pinko Dirtbag
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Mon Dec-14-09 12:46 PM
Response to Reply #16 |
68. Eviler than that. -nt |
emulatorloo
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Sun Dec-13-09 01:52 PM
Response to Reply #12 |
napi21
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Sun Dec-13-09 01:51 PM
Response to Original message |
13. I didn't but I can tell you why I thought about it. |
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About 2 years ago my husband came home from work & told me about a memo he was asked to read at work. It had to do with forbidding any talk or action of possible union organizing. I was soo pissed off, and I posted about it here & named the company. I never said where or what store, but it enraged several other people who shop there and they contacted the company. The post nearly got my husband fired! We got several calls from 2 VP's from the home office. The only way the co. could have tracked him down was because my town is in my profile and it's a small enough town that there can't be more than 1-2 employees from here.
I really did consider disabling my profile, but then decided I would just be more careful what I posted. BTW, hubby's retired now.
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QC
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Sun Dec-13-09 01:51 PM
Response to Original message |
14. It's unfair, but I generally assume that hidden profile = sock puppet. |
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That's often the case, but not always, of course.
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Xithras
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Sun Dec-13-09 01:52 PM
Response to Original message |
15. Some people prefer anonymity. |
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I had mine disabled for the first couple of years I posted here. Not for any reason specific to DU, but simply because I didn't like the idea of potentially having ANY personal information about me available anywhere on the Internet.
After a couple of years, I realized that I'd already revealed so much about myself in various discussions that "anonymity" was moot anyway. A curious person could learn a lot more about me using the search feature than they'd ever learn from my profile.
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mmonk
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Sun Dec-13-09 02:02 PM
Response to Reply #15 |
26. If someone wants to find you, they eventually will. |
UndertheOcean
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Sun Dec-13-09 02:01 PM
Response to Original message |
23. Why do you care , I don't get it . |
emulatorloo
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Sun Dec-13-09 03:16 PM
Response to Reply #23 |
46. Don't care, just curious. I came across it the other day with a newbie and it seemed "WEIRD" |
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that's all. I just didn't understand the reasoning behind it.
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MineralMan
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Sun Dec-13-09 02:01 PM
Response to Original message |
25. That's a good question, and there are many reasons, I think. |
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1. The person is new and doesn't want you to know that. 2. The person is attempting to be as anonymous as possible, although that can still be done with a visible profile, since you don't have to reveal location, gender, etc. 3. The person doesn't want you to see his/her actual post count, for whatever reason. 4. The person never enables any profile on any site, for whatever reason. 5. The person has no idea why, but disables the profile anyhow.
Funnier to me are the profiles where the user hides gender or attempts humor with place or something else. When that happens, I have to use him/her, she/he, etc. in replies to posts, to avoid getting chewed out for making a gender assumption. That's a PITA. What's even funnier is when the person hiding his/her gender is the one complaining if I happen to get it wrong somehow.
Personally, I consider a hidden profile as a negative when thinking about a post the person has made. It's just how I am. I also display my profile, and include a link to my website, where anyone can learn my name, see a photo of me, and, with a little effort, find out my contact information. Doing that keeps me a little on my toes, although not a lot.
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NJmaverick
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Sun Dec-13-09 02:05 PM
Response to Original message |
28. They have something to hide |
La Lioness Priyanka
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Sun Dec-13-09 02:31 PM
Response to Original message |
35. because they can and its none of your business. |
PeaceNikki
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Sun Dec-13-09 02:33 PM
Response to Reply #35 |
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Get outta my head!!
:loveya:
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emulatorloo
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Sun Dec-13-09 03:18 PM
Response to Reply #35 |
uppityperson
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Sun Dec-13-09 02:36 PM
Response to Original message |
38. I wonder why any of us think anything on profiles, except join date, is real |
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I tell people with hidden profiles to just lie if they don't want "real" info out there.
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emulatorloo
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Sun Dec-13-09 03:19 PM
Response to Reply #38 |
49. That's why I didn't "get it". You can make up anything to put in your profile. |
Blue-Jay
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Sun Dec-13-09 02:38 PM
Response to Original message |
39. I really don't click on anyone's profile. |
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Mostly because I don't give a shit about where people live or their gender or what their favorite fucking color is.
But that's just me.
(Note to OP: I didn't click on your profile either. I doubt that it's enlightening.)
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Lucian
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Sun Dec-13-09 02:39 PM
Response to Original message |
40. I don't understand why this has ever been an issue. |
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Some people want their privacy.
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snagglepuss
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Sun Dec-13-09 02:42 PM
Response to Original message |
41. A pointless concern because you are assuming that people who post |
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a profile are being honest.
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emulatorloo
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Sun Dec-13-09 03:20 PM
Response to Reply #41 |
50. that was why I found it strange to "disable' a profile. You can put anything you want in a |
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profile, say that you are the Queen Of England if you want to.
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bananas
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Sun Dec-13-09 04:30 PM
Response to Reply #50 |
51. I do it to weed out the idiots. |
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Since a troll can put anything they want in their profile, I can tell if someone is an idiot when they start asking why I disabled my profile.
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Bobbie Jo
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Sun Dec-13-09 05:14 PM
Response to Reply #50 |
52. Yes, anything BUT the registration date and # of posts. nt |
Cleita
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Sun Dec-13-09 02:55 PM
Response to Original message |
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Trolls don't offer information. I've noticed this on other websites as well even conservative one. We do have some celebrity posters, so they probably disable their profiles as well so it's not as easy to figure out whom they are although there are others that use their real names and we know who they are.
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A-Schwarzenegger
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Sun Dec-13-09 06:29 PM
Response to Original message |
53. IF you have a decent IGNORE list & are MILDLY obsessive, you can find the rough join date |
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of a hidden-profile poster by putting them on ignore, then they pop up in between two others on your Ignore list & you have the rough join date. Not that I have a decent Ignore list or am mildly obsessive, of course. :*
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snagglepuss
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Sun Dec-13-09 07:08 PM
Response to Reply #53 |
55. IMO this puts you in league with |
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Sherlock. My hat off to you. Very impressed:)
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A-Schwarzenegger
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Mon Dec-14-09 12:44 AM
Response to Reply #55 |
61. It is my contribution to humankind. |
snagglepuss
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Mon Dec-14-09 01:08 AM
Response to Reply #61 |
62. I just took this opportunity to eyeball your blog. Your observations are great. |
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Edited on Mon Dec-14-09 01:52 AM by snagglepuss
I'll go back to peruse when its not so late. Absolutely love the remark that people in Quiet City make hippies look ambitious and aggressive. LOL. This sounds like a film I gotta see. If you like satirical films about alienated people you might enjoy a non-mainstream Austrian film that came out several years ago called Dog Days. :hi:
edit name of movie
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A-Schwarzenegger
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Mon Dec-14-09 04:41 PM
Response to Reply #62 |
71. Thanks, snaggle. I'll keep an eye out for Dog Days. |
apocalypsehow
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Sun Dec-13-09 07:52 PM
Response to Original message |
57. A very low post count + a disabled profile almost always = PUMA. Or FREEPII. n/t. |
HipChick
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Sun Dec-13-09 07:53 PM
Response to Original message |
58. There are sites that keep track of DUers.. |
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R/W conservative-sites-that-cannot-be-named..keep track of DU'ers...name changes..what's going on in that person's life..etc..
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gleaner
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Sun Dec-13-09 08:04 PM
Response to Original message |
59. Some people do it ,,,, |
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because they want to give out the least amount of personal data. This is not necessarily out of a bad motive, sometimes it is just innate caution.
When I was posting on a different forum one of the other posters began "following" me around the board asking me questions of a very personal nature that even your friends don't ask. I couldn't shake him. When I posted on other boards, there he was too. I googled his name which is what he used as his internet identity, and found out that he was a stalker and had been barred from a lot of forums for harassing women. No one knew if he was dangerous or if he would take it beyond following you when you were online to trying to find you offline.
It seems what had triggered his interest in me, is that I had inadvertently chosen the name of his latest TV infatuation as my posting name. So in his mind, I had become his current great love and was therefore going to pay attention to him. I immediately stopped using that name, but it didn't help much. I left his favorite place and began posting other places. He followed me for a little while but my husband went after him, and finally he got a new flavor of the month and left me alone. Also, the owner of the forum I had left threatened to bar him because he had antagonized so many female posters. Some people think the less information given the better. On the internet you never know who you are talking to.
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TexasObserver
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Sun Dec-13-09 08:10 PM
Response to Original message |
60. I don't place much confidence in the postings of those who do. |
Cessna Invesco Palin
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Mon Dec-14-09 01:24 AM
Response to Original message |
63. Ask the people who got fired from their jobs... |
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...because some stupid ass Freeper with nothing better to do took it upon themselves to deduce a person's actual identity from information in their profile and then informed their employer of all of their "dubious" internet postings. (Yes, this has actually happened before.)
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whatchamacallit
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Mon Dec-14-09 12:54 PM
Response to Original message |
70. I can't figure out how to tell what the status of mine is. Would someone check and let me know? |
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Edited on Mon Dec-14-09 01:00 PM by whatchamacallit
Edit: Never mind, found it under preferences. It is enabled, but pretty much devoid of details.
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Fri May 10th 2024, 04:39 AM
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