# Is this Board like my fridge? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 1, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-board-like-my-fridge/205010 "2003-10-01T22:58:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-board-like-my-fridge/205010/1 "2003-10-01T22:58:58Z")
I have a camera in my fridge so I know the light goes out when I shut the door. To the left of my “Profile” button below every post is my online status. At what point does it turn off, a la the one in the fridgitator? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-board-like-my-fridge/205010/2 "2003-10-01T23:07:26Z")
I am guessing there is a timer, every time you do something here it is reset. If you don’t do anything for a set period it switches your status to offline, even if you have a page open. Just a guess though. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-board-like-my-fridge/205010/3 "2003-10-02T01:35:54Z")
You can go to User CP, click on edit options, and the first option they give you is “Invisible Mode,” allowing you to surf the boards with your light off. See? I’m online right now, but you’d never know. 😉 | | | | | / ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-board-like-my-fridge/205010/4 "2003-10-02T02:09:46Z")
I think I read somewhere further back in this forum that the light goes off 15 minutes after you’ve left the site. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-board-like-my-fridge/205010/5 "2003-10-02T02:15:06Z")
Logging out would be a good way to tell the software you’ve gone, but pretty much all dopers never go through the motions of logging out. Am I right? ---
**Author:** ![Nobody\_s\_Fool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ba8739/32.png) [@Nobody\_s\_Fool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody_s_Fool)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-board-like-my-fridge/205010/6 "2003-10-02T03:23:13Z")
Log out, you can log out!? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-board-like-my-fridge/205010/7 "2003-10-02T03:53:19Z")
Weird. A post has disappeared from this thread. I could swear someone replied to **Ice Wolf** saying that if you log out, the light goes off instantly. Now my previous post looks out of place (it was in reply to the lost post) BTW - I logged out and then came to view this thread. My status was still online. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-board-like-my-fridge/205010/8 "2003-10-02T03:58:59Z")
Thanks, **Happy**! I had tried to avoid using the “stealth mode,” but now I have discovered I’ll have to log out or let my session lapse (I’m not sure of the time frame) to change the status. I’m just wondering about the guts of this – I guess I’d always expected it was cookie-driven, such that when I leave the site, or even the Forum, my status would change. Strange. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-board-like-my-fridge/205010/9 "2003-10-02T04:41:28Z")
**Lobsang** , you’re right. **Maj. Obstikkal** , who originally came after the first post from **Ice Wolf** , is now gone…