[sup]DISCLAIMER: This is a general question. It is not regarding anything specific that has happened to me. Some of you may recognize the circumstance that inspired me to inquire about this topic. But in that circumstance, I recognize that I had provided the information in question on these boards.[/sup]
Does the SDMB have a policy regarding one poster divulging personal information about another poster?
Put another way: If a poster goes to lengths to keep certain aspects of his or her personal life private (job, personal habits/problems, anything), does that poster get to “control” that information about him or her? Or, if by chance another poster knows about it for reasons other than that it has been posted here by the one whom the information is about, is it fair game?
There are cases where this issue could come up regarding information posted here with non-pejorative intentions, say in MPSIMS, as this is something of a community and many of us care about others here.
There are other cases where it could be quite deliberately pejorative, say in the BBQ Pit.
I may have follow-up questions, depending upon the answer given above.
(I vaguely recall this topic coming up a year or two ago, regarding the use of Stoid’s real first name. But I couldn’t find the thread, and can’t recall what the resolution was.)
I don’t know about a board policy, but it is net etiquette not to reveal information about a person they have not revealed online. For example, I know the real name of several posters from Houston, and they know mine. However, I have never mentioned my real name on this board. I would be a bit miffed if one of the others mentioned my real name here. Similarly, I know Ringo’s real name. There came up a situation where I was writing minutes for one of our gatherings, and some anecdote he related relied upon his first name. I consulted with him before I wrote that story, and adjusted it to use his screen name instead.
Although we don’t appear to have a stated policy, I would imagine that fits under “don’t be a jerk”. If someone uses info like that perjoratively, alert a Mod and have them edit the post and warn/ban the offender.
Even if it’s NOT perjorative, let one of the staff know, so we can take the proper action. And yes, this definitely falls under the Prime Rule of “Don’t be a jerk”.
I imagine in the well-intentioned cases, it might just be a case of emailing whoever posted the stuff about you and saying, “Hey, I’d like to keep that info about me off the boards.” Then emailing a mod to have the information in question deleted.
And as you said, Irishman, most thoughtful people would check first.
Other situations I can envision, though, might require more of a “moderated” response.
