shocked!!

[Guest me123]

:osorry deleted

[Guest Guest75]

well true i have been rather bored these last couple of days...and so been browsing certain functions on this site...and to be honest i think it gives far too much in details about everything you do/read/reply/view etc...

 

People do put far too much in in the way of emails / tel numbers.

[Guest WhatNow?]

Even though I have spent years of my life teaching relatively non-technical people how to use their computers I am still surprised that any otherwise sensible person is willing to divulge the personal information often seen on forum/social networking sites. I used to ask my learners if they would walk out into the street and give their phone number/email address/front door key to someone they had no way of knowing. Their response was often 'Of course not', yet these same people are happy to give personal info away on a public website. I know a few 'paranoid' IT folk who make a big deal out of personal identity theft and sadly, they do have a point. The recent posts on AFL and Adelaide's shortcomings are prime examples of how you really don't know who you are talking to online and how an apparent online 'friend' is only as he/she chooses to appear.

 

Please people, use some discretion and apply the same sense of personal security to your online dealings as you would in your offline life.

[Diane]

I think this is particularly important when it comes to details about kids. Sometimes I shrink inside when I see people posting on an open forum about which school/class their child is in, with teacher/year group etc. I used to have my kids names and ages in my signature, till I thought a bit about it and took it off. Lots of the site can be browsed by non-members and it's a scary world out there sometimes!

[Guest kangomik]

How will the site address this problem?

[Guest Guest75]

How will the site address this problem?

 

There is no way to monitor or stop all this Mik.

 

There are warning scattered around the forum,but people do not read them - as with warning about advertising /trolling and so on.

 

I for one have given up trying to stop people divulging to much info.

[nikkinoodlesuk]

this is a tricky one surely, as there's been plenty of meets advertised on here which some of us attend on our own, how do we know we are not going to meet nutters, we don't!!.. perhaps we are the sad ones trying to make friends with people from an internet site that are infact total strangers, lets face it we are doing exactly what we tell our children not to do.

 

And I often see people posting their having bbq's and saying pm them for address, and there's a lot of you on here quite happy to go, and then say people are publishing too much information................

 

Dammed if you and dammed if you don't I think

[Guest WhatNow?]

Yes Diane, I agree,

"I think this is particularly important when it comes to details about kids. Sometimes I shrink inside when I see people posting on an open forum about which school/class their child is in, with teacher/year group etc. I used to have my kids names and ages in my signature, till I thought a bit about it and took it off. Lots of the site can be browsed by non-members and it's a scary world out there sometimes!"

 

...and too many people don't understand the dangers of having their kids' pictures in their posts. A lot is said in the media about kids on Facebook etc sharing information that can help those prone to 'grooming' children, yet their parents are sometimes regrettably much more naive. I know we all like to think of this forum (or any other social networking site) as a 'friendly' place but think about it...would you post photos of your kids, their ages, names and which school they go to in the window of the local shop? As Diane says, the site is public and any potential groomer can see what you post on here as well as all the lovely people that offer help and advice to the rest of us. Please parents, wise up...

[Guest downunder123]

Some people are just completely thick.

[Guest me123]

------------

[Guest The Dimmocks]

Maybe people do put to much info on forum sites, but then it is a forum for people to share experiences, advice and to make friends (if I got the nature of the site wrong then please tell me). Some of the experiences are a little hard to explain if not much detail is given.

 

I can not be alone in people asking what my kids names are and how old they are whilst we are out shopping. Do I tell them?? Yes I do, so does that make be a bad mom for divulging to much info to strangers??

[RockDr]

this is a tricky one surely, as there's been plenty of meets advertised on here which some of us attend on our own, how do we know we are not going to meet nutters, we don't!!.. perhaps we are the sad ones trying to make friends with people from an internet site that are infact total strangers, lets face it we are doing exactly what we tell our children not to do.

 

And I often see people posting their having bbq's and saying pm them for address, and there's a lot of you on here quite happy to go, and then say people are publishing too much information................

 

Dammed if you and dammed if you don't I think

 

There is a big difference between meeting a group of people from an online community, some of whom have already met each other, in a very public place such as a busy beach or pub, and meeting one person you've talked to online for a date that could potentially end up away from the public eye.

 

Yes, people from the internet are strangers, but then so are all the people at that salsa class you might have seen an ad in the paper for.

 

Besides, I would hope that people attending meet-ups are sensible enough to let someone know where they're going, similarly to any situation where you are meeting strangers/going somewhere new.

 

Re the BBQ, it's no different to throwing a party where friends of friends of friends of friends might end up turning up. Some people are comfortable inviting strangers in, provided there's a big enough group of non-strangers around (I mean what are they going to do, stab you in front of loads of witnesses?)... Personally I wouldn't want complete strangers in my house (then again, I'm not really a big party kind of person), but I wouldn't have a problem turning up to one of these, provided the person throwing it had already met several others from the site. Though if was going on my own, would probably get someone to drop me off and double check it's legit before going in...

 

However, I don't post name, address, phone number, employer, or other such personal details online. I would give my email and first name in a PM, but that's about it. Yes, by looking at all my posts, people who know me might be able to figure out it's me, but a stranger wouldn't. Nor would a google search of my name or other private info be able to link to the forums I post on.

[Diane]

I can not be alone in people asking what my kids names are and how old they are whilst we are out shopping. Do I tell them?? Yes I do, so does that make be a bad mom for divulging to much info to strangers??

 

Actually - and in no way is this to be taken as a judgement on your parenting or otherwise as I am sure you are a fantastic parent, it just made me smile to remember it - I used to have a great friend in the UK who absolutely refused to buy her kids any of those tops you can get with the child's name on (she'd have a fit at the Year 7 sweatshirts over here!) and even went so far as to not call her children's names out in public places. She was paranoid that if someone found out the child's name that way , they could have called them over in a park for instance and snatched them! She did spend time living in Lebanon though and I never found out her husband's job but think it was something a bit sensitive!!

 

Having said that, I think everyone working in any lost property office in Adelaide knows my daughter's name (and my mobile number, and what clothes she wears, what size shoes she takes, what she looks like - from her ID card - and what school she goes to!)

[Guest The Dimmocks]

I dont take offence easily

 

I dont think the names on tops are a good idea or the car stickers that say (for example) "Toby on board", or the hair bands with names on. With 3 littles ones it a bit hard not to call out names when in public, especially if you want them to come back to you. I'm a friendly person and if someone asks me a friendly question then I try to answer it. I use own my judgement on who I talk to. There was a man on a park once with his little boy, he asked where I came from as recognised my accent, he had lived here for a long time. But his questions were getting a bit to personal for my liking so I politely ended conversation and walked away.

 

Everyone at some point in time has been a stranger.

[Guest The Dimmocks]

Having said that, I think everyone working in any lost property office in Adelaide knows my daughter's name (and my mobile number, and what clothes she wears, what size shoes she takes, what she looks like - from her ID card - and what school she goes to!)

 

Take it your daughter miss places things often then

[Diane]

Take it your daughter miss places things often then

 

Oh yes....

[Guest Guest75]

Some people are just completely thick.

 

Very constructive comment there chief:goofy: