Creeped Out

[cricket]

All of a sudden I'm really creeped out about the 1537 registered users who haven't posted here. Sort of like people who look through your bathroom closests when they think no one is watching.

Yeah. I know that it's a public place, but I'm still weirded out by it. Wondering how many people I know personally who now know more about me than I'd cared to share.

Hmm.

[cricket]

On other forums there is a link that will take you to a list of members. Can we do that here? Is there a way to know who is in which "private forums"--at least the ones that we have membership in?

[LynnDel]

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Wondering how many people I know personally who now know more about me than I'd cared to share.

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That's why one must always post with that in mind. It's easy to forget, because after awhile you begin to feel that you're among known friends. I've had at least five people tell me they've read my posts, and they don't make posts themselves.

I remember the first time I made a post in a forum, after being a lurker for awhile. I was shaking, I was so nervous - even worse than the nerves I used to get from public speaking. I think it was the idea that once you hit that Post button, whatever you've said is there in perpetuity - something like the sins you commit that only God can erase from existing throughout eternity. Hey, sounds like a sermon illustration. . .

LD

[Gail]

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I remember the first time I made a post in a forum, after being a lurker for awhile. I was shaking, I was so nervous - even worse than the nerves I used to get from public speaking.

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I'm sure glad you got that nervousness out of your system!!!

[Nicodema]

I liked it when we had private forums where you had to clear it with everyone already there before bringing another in. Now that we don't have that anymore I feel less safe to post my real feelings, thoughts and experiences in places I thought existed to preserve that level of psychological and emotional safety/comfort. For example, if I had a problem with eneuresis (I don't; this is just an example) I would not want others reading it unless they had the same or a similar problem and could relate, due to the embarrassing nature of those problems.

Oh well.

[Bravus]

[i removed posts by Neil and Nico that were essentially a private debate gone public. I don't believe it was appropriate or helpful to have that discussion here. My counsel (do with it what you will) would be to find *some* way to thrash it out privately - if not with PMs then with a disposable free e-mail account. I'll even send you a gmail invitation each if it will help.]

[Bravus]

Christine, basically I post everything here in the full knowledge that:

(a) it's potentially readable by anyone who has internet access - including my boss, wife, kids, work colleagues, old friends, parents etc. and

( it will potentially be archived or in other ways continue to be accessible essentially forever, even once I've grown up a lot more!

So the 1500-odd 'lurkers' aren't really the issue, it's the billion or so people with Internet access!

I think it's as simple as posting while remembering the old 'Whatsoever things...' <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

[LifeHiscost]

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I think it's as simple as posting while remembering the old 'Whatsoever things...'

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And I guess I should give an apology here, Bravus, to you and maybe some others, for entering something on another thread that seemed to bring out the heat of the dragon for a couple of posts. While not always capable of controlling

other's responses, and I wouldn't want to if I could, it's probably the better part of discretion to consider how one's words will be received.

[:"red"] "If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men" [/] Romans 12:18 NASB

Lift Jesus up!!

[Naomi]

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All of a sudden I'm really creeped out about the 1537 registered users who haven't posted here. Sort of like people who look through your bathroom closests when they think no one is watching.

Yeah. I know that it's a public place, but I'm still weirded out by it. Wondering how many people I know personally who now know more about me than I'd cared to share.

Hmm.

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I understand how you can feel that way. I know I was really insecure when I first came on C/A. And, still have not ventured into other on-line "Clubs"

Perhaps this is <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/129933-offtopic2.gif" alt="" /> but, like it or not, we live in a world that even the mail on our car seat can be read by an exterior camera; our telephone conversations can be monitored by "unknown" sources; what we say inside the privacy of our own home can be "heard/recorded" All this without our premission and knowledge.

And, it's not a matter of which political party is at the top of the heap! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> ?

Not a pretty picture, is it? MIF (most important fact) you don't have to be paranoid to know it's the real world of today. Therefore, it becomes our individual responsibility to, at all times, be aware of our words, surroundings and actions . There is no "private" place, especially when we go on-line.

I propose that, as Christians, we should be used to having our most private thoughts known ... it just makes it more personal when it is by our fellow man. But, it is much more serious when God knows. Ok, off my morning <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/soapbox.gif" alt="" />

To venture further <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/129933-offtopic2.gif" alt="" /> perhaps this is bootcamp time ... to be used as a training ground so that we can be prepared for the "Time Of Trubble"

What do you think?

[Bravus]

I guess the other way of looking at all that stuff (and I agree, it's important to be careful to avoid (a) blackmail, ( identity theft and © just embarrassment) is 'how interesting am I?' Someone can try identity theft on me if they like, but all my credit cards are at their limits anyway - they're not gonna make much. Similarly, although there's lots of info out there about me, I'm modest enough to think that no-one really cares enough to do the work of collating it.

I'm just careful not to annoy people who display symptoms of instability...