I tend not to post under any particular assumption of anonymity – I suspect it would be pretty easy for someone to figure out who I am with a sufficient study of my posts, and that doesn’t really bother me. Like BigT says, there is a bit less social pressure, so it’s possible I might be just a little bit more free with words; but in general, if I’m not comfortable discussing it with friends face-to-face, I probably wouldn’t post about it here.
I can’t really think of many such topics, though. Does that mean I’m self-assured or just boring?
I am slightly concerned that of the two animals used in this hybrid, the one that wasn’t deemed necessary to redact is “shark.” I’d be much obliged if you could at least inform me if I should avoid coastlines for the rest of my life, or if there is even anywhere safe left on dry land. Thank you.
Not really. I am aware that things I say may be read by people I normally censor myself around.
I wouldn’t discuss flatulence with a little old white haired lady I see at my church. But, who knows, she may be reading my posts here. :eek: Now, that’s kind of weird.
That depends.
One of the reasons I have NEVER suggested a friend join SDMB is simply because not everything I post is for everyone I know.
Some friends have totally other political positions - others don’t need to know about some past stories - sometimes I might mention someone they know, etc.
So are they “secrets”?
Not exactly - but some info is for close friends only, and sometimes those friends vary. Not sure if that makes sense, but sometimes is is nice to vent without having someone I know bring it up two weeks, or two years later in conversation.
That being said I have posted one which I prefixed with something along the lines of “until I press the “send” button, only myself and the other person involved have been the only people aware of this in the last 25 years.”
Like others, I have said things here that haven’t necessarily come up in real life conversation, and some things that are not appropriate to blurt out in the middle of a conversation I have been quite open about here. However, my real secrets are just that.
Yes, I do. But then I usually feel bad that I’m keeping secrets so I tell whomever I wasn’t telling. I used to keep secrets all the time - which was why people were shocked when I left my abusive husband. People had no idea.
Nnnnnnnope. Not only is it way too easy for people to connect my account here with my account in the real world (ha ha, so clever to think that up), I just haven’t found y’all very sympathetic or understanding. Or interested
Normally, yes, I keep my secrets to myself and that includes the Dope. Why have I shared on rare occassion? Because it was crucial to the topic at hand. The aforementioned one I felt could best be tackled by someone who was in the situation I was in 25 years ago to give the best answer to the question (instead I was called out for doing what I did - last time I share a deep secret with you folks!)
Would I have disclosed that particular information about my past if it was a RL conversation? Probably not (or at least not put it in the first person but rather using the time-honoured “a friend did” dodge), so in that sense secret-sharing strictly because it’s the Dope matches.
None that I can think of. Anyone who knew me could pretty easily guess who I am by some of my posts (well that and the pic in my profile.) Also, what goes on a message board stays on the internet forever.
There’s nothing here that I haven’t told somebody offline at some point, but there are things here I definitely wouldn’t tell most people, so I guess the answer is yes and no.
