# Poster's location.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posters-location/520322>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [December 7, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posters-location/520322 "2009-12-07T15:27:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posters-location/520322/1 "2009-12-07T15:27:47Z")

</div>

Is there any real risk in a poster revealing it’s general location? Not street address, of course, but country, or maybe even state.  
Peace,  
mangeorge

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posters-location/520322/2 "2009-12-07T15:53:43Z")

</div>

It at least gives a serious stalker a place to start.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posters-location/520322/3 "2009-12-07T20:23:31Z")

</div>

Years ago, on some other forum, perhaps Prodigy, I inquired about this fetish with demographics of participants. I go no satisfactory answer.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posters-location/520322/4 "2009-12-07T20:35:17Z")

</div>

> [@mangeorge](#):
>
> Is there any real risk in a poster revealing it’s general location?

Risk to whom?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posters-location/520322/5 "2009-12-07T20:53:37Z")

</div>

> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#):
>
> Risk to whom?

To the poster.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posters-location/520322/6 "2009-12-07T21:02:17Z")

</div>

Depends on how much other information you’ve given about yourself. Your general location is probably not enough to identify you by itself. But you’d be surprised how much information you’ve already given out.

I generally don’t give it out–yet just by mentioning a story in my local newspaper that infuriated me, someone figured out where I live, within a few miles.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Rin\_Twisted](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/82dd89/32.png) [@Rin\_Twisted](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rin_Twisted)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posters-location/520322/7 "2009-12-07T21:55:54Z")

</div>

Honest answer- there’s always risk. But there’s risk, just by being on the internet and interacting with strangers on a message board.

As several people have mentioned, we give away more than we mean to as we get more comfortable. But I would say that if you exercise good judgment about what and to whom you give information to, you’ll cut down on risk.

Really only you can decide if mentioning your location is safe. I would say I’d be less worried about it in a place like SDMB than 4chan or something.