# Has a posting on the SDMB ever gotten you into trouble in real life? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 26, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-posting-on-the-sdmb-ever-gotten-you-into-trouble-in-real-life/558430 "2010-10-26T18:38:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-posting-on-the-sdmb-ever-gotten-you-into-trouble-in-real-life/558430/1 "2010-10-26T18:38:33Z")
I’ve never posted anything especially compromising on the SDMB. I wouldn’t really care if my friends or family ever realized that **Absolute** was me and read all my past posts, but they might find a few things that were embarrassing or that I would otherwise prefer were kept private. I mean, some of my firsts posts on here are almost 11 years old - I was 12! Occasionally I’ve contemplated making posts on here about specific work and personal issues, and decided against it, on the basis that they will publicly accessible on the internet for the foreseeable future, and might eventually be seen by the people involved. I’m curious if anyone has ever made a post on here and then had it cause some kind of problem in the real world, because someone (either a board member or non-board member) recognized your real-life identity from a post you made, and took issue with something you posted (either that post or any other one in your history). I am mostly interested in posts that you assumed were anonymous or otherwise untraceable to your IRL identity - it is less interesting if you posted something troublesome on here that you knew would be tied to you ahead of time (e.g. your S.O. posts on here too and got pissed off), but I added a poll option for that anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-posting-on-the-sdmb-ever-gotten-you-into-trouble-in-real-life/558430/2 "2010-10-26T19:02:32Z")
My family knows I’m here. I try to remember that when I post, but yeah, there’s stuff I’d rather not have to defend. They don’t appear to be checking up on me. _glances left, right, left_ ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-posting-on-the-sdmb-ever-gotten-you-into-trouble-in-real-life/558430/3 "2010-10-26T19:13:41Z")
Oh, that’s the kind of trouble you meant - I thought you meant like posting/surfing at work and getting busted for it. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-posting-on-the-sdmb-ever-gotten-you-into-trouble-in-real-life/558430/4 "2010-10-26T19:26:51Z")
I had a g/f totally freak out about something I posted here that eventually lead to our breakup. I posted something that was kinda tmi in a positive light about another woman I dated right before her. She found it and got very upset. In retrospect I wish I hadn’t posted it, I really did love her to death. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-posting-on-the-sdmb-ever-gotten-you-into-trouble-in-real-life/558430/5 "2010-10-26T20:09:50Z")
I had a small kerfuffle recently. I don’t believe it was ever linked to my IRL name because the person who took offence to what I’d posted didn’t know me (we had a mutual acquaintance). ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-posting-on-the-sdmb-ever-gotten-you-into-trouble-in-real-life/558430/6 "2010-10-26T20:25:00Z")
I _do_ have to keep in mind that my wife reads the Dope (although she doesn’t post much). On occasion I will make a joking remark in a thread that gets me in hot water. The one that springs to mind was a thread asking for your “pet names” for your SO. My one-word contribution to the thread was “Godzilla.” I heard about that, believe you me. 😃