Now I’m too embarrassed to start a thread “How many records can I stack on the spindle of my hi-fi? When I get the ladies cha-cha-ing, I don’t need any interruptions, if you know what I mean.”
My SO knows I’m here and I often show her stuff here I think would interest her. She hasn’t expressed any interest in joining, probably thinking this is old people’s activity.
My ex did read something written by me here which caused her to cut all contact with me, post-breakup.
This thread is an example of why I’ve always felt that the SDope should allow us to occasionally use “socks”–i.e. fake usernames. The internet is forever…and there are times when I don’t post on a certain subject, because I’m afraid that I might regret it later. Just like the OP of this thread has discovered.
If we were allowed to occasionally post anonymously, it would make this site more interesting. We could speak more openly.
Here’s my fantasy of how it would be done. (But I realize it will never happen):
Any member here with several years of posting history and no warnings would be considered honest enough to be trusted , and would be allowed to request an anonymous name for temporary use in a specific thread.
For that thread, the mod would somehow notify the Discourse software that username “chappachula” will be translated as “anonymous1”. Someone else might become “anonymous2” in that thread, etc. If the subject of the thread is really “dangerous”–(maybe it has sexual content, maybe it attacks a specific employer and would ruin careers, etc), there might be lots of Dopers who want to remain anonymous in that thread, becoming "anon3.,anon4, anon5, anon6, etc.
But we would all know that these anon folks are our old, trustworthy friends from the Dope, not random trolls from the internet, so the quality of the discussion would remain appropriate to this site.
The anon name would be local, for one specific thread only. If, say, a year later ,the same poster wants to post something embarrassing in a new thread, he would request a new anon name for that thread.
Yeah, I know this is a fantasy. It may be impossible for technical reasons. And in any case, the mods won’t like me for suggesting it. Sorry. 
Some people know I post on a “general interest” board. Some people know I post on horse boards. I’ve never told anyone my user names or the names of the boards. My business is my business.
My family knows. But again they don’t. I’ve said in conversations, many things I’ve read here and I get “Oh, you read that on that board”.
I don’t they mean it disrespectful to the Dope but maybe think I’m not clever enough to know that myself, kinda thing.
They’re not sure of the name of the Dope. I’ve not said it, on purpose. Don’t feel like explaining.
The Lil’wrekker knew about @dropzone and his connection with “that chat room thing” because I ask her to text him when I had surgery because he insisted on updates.
They don’t know my username and would never connect my avatar with me.
The Lil’wrekker would probably murder me if she saw the stuff I’ve said about her.
(To: the Lil’wrekker, if you ever read this I can’t tell you how much I love you and care about everything you ever do. If I said anything hurtful, I’m sorry, it was only in jest. Love, Ma)
My wife and family are quite aware how often I read and post on the board. “Oh, I read a thread about that on Straight Dope” is almost a meme, in my family. And my wife, at least, knows my username and that she occasionally features as Mrs. SMV. As a matter of fact, I now and then remind myself to give her my password, to draft a post should I prematurely cark it. Neither she nor my sister nor friends really care.
Huh, I’ve always parsed your username as referring to solos, like “soloist”. Always weird when you find out that you’ve been reading the name wrong. It’s the @puzzlegal problem all over again - I always thought it was “puzz legal”, rather than “puzzle gal”. (Wonder if @peedin urinates loudly? 
)
Me too! Right up to the point where @solost explained what their username meant in this thread.
Of course until relatively recently I also thought that @puzzlegal was a some kind of lawyer or legal expert.
I guess I do not do well with compound words.
ETA: What @Slow_Moving_Vehicle said. I guess I should read the whole thread before posting. How funny that he brought up the exact same example of another misunderstood username as I did.
I, too, parsed her name as “Puzz Legal,” rather than “Puzzle Gal,” for years. 
I inadvertently doxxed myself to a coworker when he read my thread on puppy separation anxiety. (I’d had a similar conversation with him the day before.) Now I feel like I can’t talk about work issues or personal family stuff. Fortunately, I can still fire up the flamethrower in political threads 
because everyone I work with knows where I stand on those!
I am at a total loss. I feel as if the ground I stand upon has shifted violently.
A few people know that I post here. A couple of them because I suggested they’d like the place (none took it up), and of course, I often read out a particularly worthy piece of analysis or snark to my wife (who also was uninterested in creating an account). Although she was a fan of some of the original columns, she’s more for a Dave Berry style poke-fun at everything rather than the (sometimes) no-holds barred debate style here.
I was more cautious about sharing identifiers earlier, where I’d say “Colorado Front Range” rather than Colorado Springs, and I’ve more or less confirmed my birth year, but I doubt I’d ever have a fully open profile.
My wife knows that I’m active here, and has for a very long time. I occasionally share with her funny or interesting posts that I see here. She has never exhibited even the slightest interest in joining or participating here.
My wife knows I post here because I mention the Dope frequently. She doesn’t post or even read here, unless I send her a thread that’s relevant to her interests.
My wife is also much nicer than me (a low bar, I know). When I would vent to her about some mindnumbing stupidity I encountered here (the rest of you use the Pit), she would immediately conjure a convoluted explanation for why it might not be really be that stupid. I enjoyed these in a perverse way because it marked one of the very few times I was right and she was wrong. (I said I wasn’t nice.) She already knows everything about me, including the fact that my life is so boring I’m never going to post something I need to hide from her.
I’ve tried to get her to post on the Dope. She’s spent her retirement years attending hundreds of webinars and webconferences on a million subjects, so she has cutting-edge knowledge of everything going on in the world. No go. Too bad.
I know it’s puzzle gal. I prefer to think legal puzz. Makes me feel safer some how. 
Her title by her name should be “New sheriff in town”
I’m mildly paranoid about getting doxed, so when I post personal details I change one or more insignificant details (e.g. stepson for son, uncle for nephew, +/- a couple of years in age, breed of dog, city, etc). I’m sure I’m not the only one who does this.
A number of people I know, know I get information from here. My Wife has even said “Why don’t you ask The Straight dope?” Which I often do.
She does not know my username or anything, and does not post here. But she could figure it out based on my comments about where we live. I don’t hide anything anyway.
I also saw it as soloist.
I spent most of my life compartmentalizing different parts of my identity - carefully separating who I was at home from who I was at work or with different groups of friends or acquaintances. Now that I’m (much) older and no longer have to worry about my employer’s opinion of my extracurricular activities or what example I’m setting for my kids, I’ve decided to just be me wherever I am and whoever I’m with. I spent 60-some years worrying about what others thought of me; now they can just think what they like.
i also believed you were a solo ist. and also puzz legal, not puzzle gal. don’t get me started on mangetout, which i always thought was mange trout.
Anyone bored enough could figure out who I am. My ex wife knows my user name and doesn’t care. My ex live in gf does too and she may have checked things out. I’m on great terms with both of them.